If you are looking for a mid-major team to be this season’s Butler, look no further than Missouri Valley Conference leader Wichita State, although the Shockers face a big challenge on Wednesday night at a good Illinois State club.

The No. 19 Shockers (24-4, 14-2) enter off a very impressive 91-74 Bracket Busters win Saturday at Southern Conference leader Davidson. Wichita State guard Joe Ragland turned in one of the best games of his college career Saturday, scoring 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting and Wichita State shot 80 percent in the second half to break open a tight game. Ragland hit all but one of his four 3-point attempts and made all five free throws. The senior finished one point shy of his career high set earlier this season against UNLV.

Toure’ Murry scored 16 points and Carl Hall added 13 points off the bench for the Shockers, who’ve won 22 of 24. Seven-foot Center Garrett Stutz, the Shockers’ leader scorer this season, had eight points. Wichita State came into the game ranked in the AP top 25 this week for the first time since 2006 and has since moved from No. 24 to No. 19.

Illinois State (17-11, 8-8 MVC) looks like an NIT team unless it somehow wins the conference tournament. The Redbirds enter off a 79-75 BracketBusters win last week over Oakland. Jackie Carmichael had 25 points and 19 rebounds to lead the way. Carmichael’s basket with 17 seconds remaining gave Illinois State a 77-75 lead. He made a pair of free throws with 4 seconds to play to complete the scoring.

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Wichita State and Illinois State met Jan.10 inWichita. The Shockers won 65-62 behind 15 points from Ragland. The Redbirds trailed 47-28 with 14:42 to play, but a 24-6 run got Illinois State within 53-52 with 4:05 remaining. But Nic Moore and Tyler Brown, who had 13 points, later missed 3-pointers that would have tied the game.

Illinois State has not beaten a ranked opponent since downing No. 14 Iowa, 89-88, on Dec. 29, 1987. The last Redbird victory over a ranked foe in Normal, Ill., was a 91-81 win over No. 9 Tulsa on March 3, 1984. The Redbirds have lost 23 straight games against ranked opponents and are 0-6 against ranked teams all-time in Redbird Arena.

Wichita State is looking for its sixth-straight win in the series and its second-straight regular-season sweep over the Redbirds. The Shockers are 6-17 all-time when playing on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Illinois State has won six-straight home games and boasts a 14-2 home record this season. An ISU victory would equal the second-most home victories (15) in the history of Redbird Arena.

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The Miami Heat have been playing as well as anybody in the National Basketball Association but online sportsbook fans need to be cations when using them because their 24-7 slate to kick off the season has not transferred against the spread. Regardless of scoring the best in the league per game at 103, they only started the season 16-15 against the spread. Take a look at some other individual tidbits courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Heat defeated the Cavaliers by 24 points in Cleveland on Friday night, extending their winning line to five games. Each of Miami’s wins through the streak has come on the road and have all been by a double-digit margin.  Just one other team in NBA history has won five consecutive games, all on the road, all by 10-or-more points: the Knicks in November of 1969 (five straight).

And the Knicks won the Championship that year too.  The Minnesota Timberwolves, thanks to an assist from Ricky Rubio, are off to a great start against the number. They opened the season 17-14 ATS in the sports betting books.

Kevin Love has been a regular player for Minnesota but he is getting help now with the emergence of Nikola Pekovic. Love had 33 points, 17 rebounds and two blocked shots the other night and Pekovic chimed in with 30 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Timberwolves to a 111-98 win over the Rockets on Friday night.

Over the last 25 seasons, only two other sets of teammates all recorded at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots in the same game and one pair happened to be Big Game Bob Horry and Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon.

Orlando is a perplexing team to wager on.  They would need 17 straight points late to cover a recent game but overall kicked off the season tied for fifth in the league ATS at 18-13.

Dwight Howard recorded 26 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Magic to a victory over the Bucks in a game last week. Howard has now recorded at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in seven of the 31 games he has played this season. Before to Howard, the last player to register seven 20/20 games in as few as 31 games right into a season was Moses Malone, who was a three-time MVP, named one of the top 50 greatest players of all time and an NBA champion in 1093. 

Rookie Brandon Knight registered 23 points and 10 assists and didn’t commit a single turnover in a Detroit win over Sacramento last week. Knight became the first rookie with no less than 20 points and 10 assists with no a turnover in a game since Houston’s Steve Francis did it a dozen years ago.

Knight is no fluke. He hails from Kentucky and the School of John Calipari, who produced some of the best guards in the league now in the name of Derrick Rose and John Wall. Knight is an over average scorer, has a quick first step that allows him to have to the hole and he makes the best judgements for a youngster.

Detroit has been the best cover team at home for the sportsbooks this season and going into Sunday had won 6 of last 8 when covering all by one game.

The 4 worst teams ATS to kick off this 2012 season are the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns, the Charlotte Bobcats and the Washington Wizards.

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Disappointments reached a new-high for Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers following Sunday’s 104-97 failure to the Phoenix Suns. Bryant, who turned the ball over 10 times in the loss, sounded off on journalists in regards to the Lakers’ management failing to plan to center Pau Gasol in the long term and the negative consequence that indefiniteness has had on their team. Los Angeles has treaded around the .500 mark during its past 10 games, and while a road game against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks doesn’t look like the best ideal situation for them to turn things around, Dirk Nowitzki and company haven’t fared any better over the past couple of weeks.

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Nowitzki and the Mavericks are right there with the Lakers for teams hovering around the .500 mark over their past 10 games, even though they’ve been excellent at home where they have registered 12 wins in 19 contests. That can make Dallas the sports betting  favorites for Wednesday’s game, their final contest prevouis to the All Star break.

The Lakers still have a visit to Oklahoma City to face Kevin Durant and the Thunder before they reach All Star weekend, but taking into consideration the distractions surrounding the team they will have to approach this game with the mindset that it is the only thing that matters right now. While management in Los Angeles has certainly played a role in the team’s struggled, including a move that has not been criticized enough in the shipping away of Lamar Odom in the offseason, the Lakers will have to put it on themselves to get the duty done. Bryant has not been the same player he has been in years past, and that has led to him looking to blame those around him rather than looking in the mirror.

Odom has been a great addition to the Mavericks since his arrival, averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds coming off of the bench. Odom’s presence in Dallas allowed Nowitzki to take some extra time off to get his legs back underneath him, and the result has been better play from both players so far. The Mavericks were victimized by Linsanity and the New York Knicks’ border game much in the exact way that the Lakers had been only days before, suggesting that neither team is playing its greatest basketball.

The Lakers definitely won’t let this one go easily, Dallas has been excellent at home and should be able to handle its business. Los Angeles was already handling with a large amount of distractions even before Kobe sounded off, but the superstar’s recent tirade will only serve to consider even more from the team’s focus.  Odom will be motivated to play his best against his former team, while Nowitzki continues to have his legs underneath him with the assistance of the crowd as sports bet  favorites at home.

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The NHL trade deadline is only six days away.  Which means action ought to begin to pick up soon once teams fading away in the playoff race officially choose to announce themselves sellers in hopes of adding young talent for the future.  There is no lack of rumors flying around as fans would wait for at the moment of the year. From superstars like Rick Nash to underrated players like Paul Gaustad, every kind of player is accessible if the cost is right.  Carter’s first season with the Columbus Blue Jackets has been one both he and the team wish they might forget. He’s scored just 22 points in 38 games and has lacked the nightly intensity that made him a superstar with the Philadelphia Flyers.

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Now there’s talk he could be teaming up with former Flyers pal Mike Richards with the Los Angeles Kings. CSN Philadelphia is reporting there is mutual interest between the two sides and Richards said acquiring him would benefit his new squad.

It’s clear Carter already needs another change of scenery because things aren’t working out in Columbus. The Blue Jackets will benefit from clearing cap space and the Kings need another center, so it looks like a perfect fit.  Philadelphia filled its biggest need by acquiring blueliners Nicklas Grossman and Pavel Kubina within the last week, so it appears the team’s pursuit of Nash might be on hold. The Blue Jackets sniper has been linked to numerous teams, including the Flyers recently.

Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News reports general manager Paul Holmgren isn’t in a rush to complete any more deals. That likely means the Flyers have backed out of the Nash sweepstakes since it could take an intense effort to snag him.  While acquiring a marquee player like Nash would grab the headlines, the Flyers are better off after upgrading their defense with two trustworthy veterans. They are a competitor with or without Nash, so there’s no reason to overpay for him.

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The Sabres have failed to live up to sky-high expectations this season, which suggests the team will likely be sellers at the deadline. They have several players, including Roy, who could be attractive to teams hoping to make a Stanley Cup run.

Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News reports Roy’s days in Buffalo could be numbered. His record of success combined with a reasonable cap number make him a better option than Nash or

Carter for a team seeking to wheel and deal. It will be interesting to see if the Sabres are willing to break up their core group of players. There is plenty of talent on their roster, but things just haven’t worked out this season. Trading Roy would leave an even bigger void up the middle than they already have, so his situation warrants watching.

Paul Stastny has long been viewed as one of the NHL’s best young centers. He’s scored a minimum of 20 goals in all but one season, which was shortened by injuries, and is also a solid passer as well. So it’s no surprise the Colorado Avalanche have kept him off the market.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reports that may  be varying, however. He says Colorado would listen if a anxious team was willing to pay a heavy price for him at the deadline. His $6.6 million cap hit plays into that choice.

It’s still a long shot at this point because of Stastny’s talent, but it’s a report that surely made a couple teams in need of centers to do a double take. He would supply an immediate boost to any team he was dealt to and wouldn’t be a rental.

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Los Angeles has been an enormous betting disappointment this season as the Kings have scored issues all season, and it could knock them out of the playoff picture. One of the teams in search of the Kings, Colorado, will take advantage of this on Wednesday versus a tired Los Angeles team that will be in action on Tuesday.

The Kings will be in the desert on Tuesday night to tackle the Phoenix Coyotes, and they’ll be getting to stop a two-game skid after a 1-0 loss at home to Calgary on Saturday. In an eight-game stretch where the Kings have dropped six of eight, they had been blanked or handled just one goal in all six of those losses (three were shutouts). That has been a running theme for the Kings, who’re 30th in the league in goals scored and it is a shame for goalie Jonathan Quick, who has 26 losses on the season, and 18 have been by a single goal. Anze Kopitar is doing everything he can to spark the offense, but Dustin Penner continues to epitomize “bust” after his big-money deal, while Mike Richards has been underwhelming, to say the least. If it wasn’t for Quick, the Kings wouldn’t be close to a playoff spot, but as of Monday, they were just outside of the playoffs as they were tied with eighth-place Calgary, who owns the tiebreaker. Jarrett Stoll (hip) has been out since February 9th and is close to returning, but Stoll won’t jumpstart their offense.

The Kings might try to boost their position, as well as their NHL betting odds, via a trade. The deadline is simply round the corner and rumor is, defenseman Jack Johnson is on the block, and the 25-year-old has never really fulfilled his ability as the third pick in the 2005 draft. The Kings may check around and see if they can find some offense, because they’re not going to get to the postseason this way. The Avalanche have dropped three of their last four after they were handled 5-1 inWinnipeg on Sunday, and all four games have been with Simeon Varlamov in goal with Jean-Sebastien Giguere heals. Varlamov stopped 20 of 25 shots against the Jets and he has now given up 10 goals over the four-game stretch. Gabriel Landeskog notched a power-play marker for the Avalanche, who are eighth in the league with the man advantage, but that was the lone bright point for Colorado, who are three points behind the Kings and are still in the running.

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The Avalanche are 25th in the league in goals scored and 20th in goals allowed; they most likely shouldn’t even be in the running for a postseason mark, but such as Kings, have to get a few more goals, particularly since they stop as numerous as Los Angeles. However, they may end up getting a boost as Matt Duchene (knee) returned to the lineup against the Jets after seven weeks on the sidelines, and he looked rusty as he couldn’t manage a shot on goal in 18:06 of ice time. If Duchene can find his legs quickly, he can inject the offense with some life for the Avalanche. Giguere (groin) skated with the team on Sunday, and he is questionable to begin against the Kings, so make sure to check on his status before gametime. With the Kings travelling from Phoenix to the high altitude of Denver, the Avalanche have an excellent possible opportunity to jump on the Kings early. Colorado is likely to be home favorites in this NHL betting contest, even though it won’t be by much, and the Kings have won three of their last five in Denver. However, the Avalanche have had the Kings’ number this season, winning all three meetings and holding the Kings to four goals in those three games; the Avalanche have scored eight in those games, but they were over enough.

The Avalanche will run it to a perfect 4-0 against the Kings, who have the talent to be one of the best offensive teams in the league, but it hasn’t come as one and hasn’t been lots to encourage fans and betting players that will change anytime soon. Combine that with travelling, and the Kings will again struggle to light the lamp on Wednesday, so take Colorado at home in your online betting picks.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ struggles hit a peak last week once they dropped a ninth-straight game to fall to seventh in the Western conference standings. However, just when it looked like it was time to hit the panic button on a team that many considered among the sports betting favorites in the west, the Blackhawks responded with a four-goal first period outburst against the top team in the Eastern conference and cruised to a 4-2 road win over the New York Rangers.

A date against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday ended a season-high nine-game road trip on a positive note but it won’t get any easier for Chicago now on home ice as they welcome the Detroit Red Wings to town on Tuesday.

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For as bad as the Blackhawks have been lately, they also have won five of their last six games on home ice and should be anxious to get back in front of the fans at the United Center. Meanwhile, an NHL-record 21 straight wins on home ice has pushed Detroit to the top of the Western conference standings, even though they haven’t been excellent on the road.

Despite winning 24 of a possible 27 games on home ice, the Red Wings have hovered around .500 on the road this season, and will need to be better as the visitors in order to finish first in the Western conference, unless they plan on winning every game they have left at the Joe. Detroit managed to continue its impressive play even with starting goaltender Jimmy Howard out with a broken finger, and may be that much stronger with its No. 1 netminder back between the pipes.

The Blackhawks sure could use a netminder like Howard at this point, as fans continue to cry out for them to make a move before the trade deadline to acquire a goalie able to stepping ahead of Corey Crawford and Ray Emery. While neither of those netminders has been great, it’s impossible to put all the blame on them behind a Chicago defense that hasn’t been the same all year. With the Blackhawks struggling to score, their defensive deficiencies are that rather more prominent, so it is up to the offensive stars like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to step up and make things happen.

Chicago has been excellent on home ice, and the Red Wings haven’t been excellent on the road, yet still this game appears to favor Detroit as they are playing a more complete game at this time. The Red Wings have shown that they are adequate to win regardless of the man they have in goal, and will come prepared as they face a test against one of the top sports bet contenders in the west.

Get  NHL odds and place your wagers here: Bet On Hockey

February 19, 2012. Edmonton is the underdog in this matchup, getting 1.5 points here at home. The Total has been posted at Over/Under 5.5.

When viewing the last 70 games in this series, we can see the home team has won 39 games compared to 31 wins for the road team. Average points scored per game for the home team in the Vancouver/Edmonton series is 2.9 ppg while the vistor has put up 2.7 ppg, creating an average margin of victory of 0.2 favoring the home team.

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As stated, the precise advantage spanning the last 70 games represents a median average advantage for the home team in this series of 0.2 ppg. That represents a value number of 1.7 when meassured against the offered line of 1.5, suggesting a wager on Edmonton makes the most sense – at least, when considering betting against the number according to the historical series trends.

The average Total points scored spanning the last 70 games between the Canucks and the Oilers is 5.6 per game. That creates a face value cushion of 0.1 against the line, suggesting a bet of Over 5.5 may be in order. At least it appears as such on first impression compared to the series history.

When looking at the last 37 games in this series while Edmonton has been the home team, we can see the Oilers have won 18 games in comparison to 19 wins for the Canucks. Average points scored per game by Edmonton in this situation is is 2.8 ppg while Vancouver has put up 3 ppg, creating an average margin of victory of 0.2 favoring the Oilers.

Unlike most series’, this one has leaned towards the road team. Specifically, the road team in this series has enjoyed an average benefit of 0.2 ppg. That represents a value number of 1.7 when meassured against the offered line of 1.5, suggesting a wager on the Oilers makes the most sense. No less than, that’s the way it looks betting against the number looking at the series situation in the vacuum of this trend.

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The average Total points scored spanning the last 37 games between the Canucks and the Oilers is 5.8 per game. That creates a face value cushion of 0.3 against the line, suggesting a bet of Over 5.5 may be in order. At the least it appears as such on initial feeling when compared to the series history.

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Maryland was excluded in 1974. UCLA was the only Pac-10 team in the 1978 tournament (Utah, now a Pac-12 Conference member, was also in the 1978 tournament).

The Pac-12 Conference’s 12 teams have a total of 219 NCAA tournament appearances, 40 Final Four appearances, 16 championships and a total March Madness win-loss record of 301-222.

Oregon claimed the first NCAA tournament championship in 1939, with a 46-33 win over Ohio State.  With 44 appearances and 11 championships, the Pac-12’s UCLA holds the title of most NCAA tournament championships, followed by the SEC’s Kentucky(7), the ACC’s North Carolina (5), the Big Ten’s Indiana (5) and the ACC’s Duke (4). Despite the fact that the Pac-12 has one the most decorated histories of the NCAA tournament, it has been repeatedly recommended that this year only one Pac-12 team may be participating in March Madness.

Last year the Pac-10 sent four teams to the tournament (No. 5 seed Arizona, No. 7 seed Washington, No. 7 seed UCLA and No. 11 seed USC).  The 2011 Pac-10 Conference tournament champion, Washington (20-10, 11-7 Pac-10), with no regular season wins over AP Top 25 ranked teams, went on to beat No. 10 seed Georgia (68-65) before barely losing to No. 2 seed North Carolina (83-86).

Arizona, the 2010-2011 Pac-10 regular-season champion (25-6, 14-4 Pac-10), with no regular season wins over AP Top 25-ranked teams, went on to beat No. 12 seed Memphis (77-75), No. 4 seed Texas (70-69) and No. 1 seed Duke (93-77), before a close loss to No. 3 seed Connecticut (63-65) in the Elite Eight.

UCLA (22-9, 13-5 Pac-10), with regular season wins over then-No. 16 BYU (86-79) and then-No. 9 Arizona (71-49), beat No. 10 seed MSU (78-76), before a 65-73 loss to No. 2 seed Florida.

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USC (18-13, 10-8 Pac-10), who had regular season wins over then-No. 19 Texas (73-56), then-No. 19 Tennessee (65-64), and then-No. 10 Arizona (65-57), lost (46-59) in the first round of the tournament to No. 11 seed VCU.

In the 2011 NCAA tournament, the Pac-10 had a win-loss record of 5-4, not stellar, but with Arizona’s outstanding performance it was not an embarrassing year either.

A major argument against the Pac-12 this season is that aside from Cal (RPI rank: 31), the conference has been largely absent from the top-50 RPI rankings(Washington currently ranks at 59).

How has the Pac-12 performed against AP Top 25 ranked opponents during the 2011-2012 season?

During the 2011-2012 season, Pac-12 teams have played a total of 12 games with then-ranked AP Top 25 opponents. In those games they have a win-loss record of 0-12. Not great.

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However, about half of those losses have been by two possessions or fewer: Arizona against then-No. 12 Florida (72-78), Oregon State against then-No. 18 Vanderbilt (62-64), Stanford against then-No. 5 Syracuse (63-69), Washington against then-No. 11 Marquette (77-79) and Washington against then-No. 7 Duke (80-86).

Following Duke’s win over Washington, Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski had this to say: “I’m proud of our team. We beat a really talented Washington team, a team that was two possessions away from being 6-1. They played really good basketball…”

Any of the Pac-12 teams can get into the NCAA tournament by winning the Pac-12 Conference tournament.

As it currently stands, conference leaders Cal (21-6, 11-3 Pac-12) and Washington (18-8, 11-3 Pac-12) have the top chance of receiving an at-large NCAA tournament bid. These two teams need to continue winning in their remaining games if they do not want to worry about having to go very far in the Pac-12 Conference tournament to get a bid.

Arizona (19-8, 10-4 Pac-12), Colorado (17-8, 9-4 Pac-12) and Oregon (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12) are not far behind in the conference race with four or five games still remaining.

With no Pac-12 standout leader, any of these teams might be seen as potentially winning the Pac-12 Conference tournament this year.

While not the Pac-12′s best season, looking at its NCAA tournament history and the current team records, there is little reason to believe that come the first tipoff of 2012 March Madness.

Get baskeball odds and place your NCAAB bets here: Bet Basketball at BetOnline.com

Minnesota is scheduled for 7PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by the NBA League Pass.

The Philadelphia 76ers will travel to play the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA pro basketball game on Sunday night.  The point spread opened up in this NBA game with the home team Minnesota Timberwolves favored by -1 point with an over under of 190 points.

Money early from the bettors has not move the betting line as Minnesota remains favorite by -1 points. The total has moved up to 191 points.

Minnesota Timberwolves money line bettors will lay -115 odds with the road underdog Philadelphia 76ers returning -105 odds to earn the outright win with no need for points on their side.

The Philadelphia 76ers won and covered the points spread in both of their two meetings with the Minnesota Timberwolves a season ago. There was one over and one under.

Philadelphia will travel to Minnesota with a mark of 20-11 on the year. The club is 7-5 on the road this year.

The 76ers put up 94 points and connects on 45.3% from the field with 37.6% coming from beyond the arc. The club hits on 72.7% of their free throws.

On defense Philadelphia allows 87 points and connects on 41.9% shooting. Opponents connect on 31.7% from the three point line against them.

Philadelphia has dropped two straight and four of their past six games.

They are coming off the 82-75 embarrassing loss on Friday night to the Dallas Mavericks as a -3 ½ point betting favorite. The total landed under the closing line of 179 points.

Philadelphia was held to just 24 points in the second half and blew a 15 point lead in defeat.

The Sixers shot just 33.7% from the floor along with 1 of 14 coming from beyond the arc.

Off the bench Nikola Vucevic led Philadelphia with 16 points and seven boards on 7 of 8 shooting.

Thaddeus Young had 15 points and grabbed five boards as he made 6 of his 13 shots.

Louis Williams scored 12 points on just 4 of 15 from the floor in defeat.

Philadelphia allowed Dallas to make just 38.3% of their shots with 5 of 14 coming from three.

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There is no doubt Duke has had a good season so far. However, there has been cause for concern.  These concerns make us believe Duke is in line for an upset come the NCAA tournament.  

While freshman have done well in March, it’s a big risk going into the tournament with the main player having no experience in that type of environment.

The second concern deals with the Blue Devils’ ability to fall way behind in games. While Duke had a remarkable come-from-behind win against NC State, why was the team down by as much as 20 points on its home court? This isn’t the first time this has happened this season.

Earlier in the year, they went to Columbus, where Ohio State beat them by 22. While playing from behind has allowed Duke players to display their resilience, the fact that they continue to fall behind by double digits is concerning. If they repeat this process in March on a neutral court against a good team, they’ll be going home.

The last concern deals with the basics.  Simply put, Duke isn’t a power house on the boards, which will be a obstacle when the school plays bigger, more physical teams like Ohio State.

Duke’s players also need to improve the ball movement, as they average only 13 assists a game. While talent will take a team fairly far, the Blue Devils will need to build on these fundamentals if they want to win in March.

When factoring in these three concerns, it’s easy to see why Duke could go home early.

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