*CBB(1.5u): Saint Louis +1(-110) vs St Bonaventure–1:30 PM CT
Saint Louis looked great on both ends of the floor in their first round matchup with La Salle yesterday, eventually winning 71-51. Now, the Billikens will face a St Bonaventure team that hasn’t played in a week and are prime candidates to come out of the gates rusty. Saint Louis is simply superior in almost every offensive category, but one huge disparity is that they shoot nearly 5% better from 3-point range than St Bonaventure does. Not only do I like SLU’s offense better, but they are also the more physical team on the defensive end of the floor, grabbing 4 more rebounds/game and ranking 30 spots higher than the Bonnies in defensive efficiency. St Bonaventure was able to beat this SLU team twice in the regular season, but I think the momentum is all on Saint Louis’s side having gotten their feet wet in Washington DC yesterday. I rate Saint Louis almost 3 points better on a neutral court, and with the dynamics on their side, I have no hesitation playing them as a slight dog as today’s best bet.
*NBA(1u): Rockets +10.5(-110) vs Mavericks–7:10 PM CT
Don’t look now, but the Rockets are playing some really solid basketball at the moment. Over their last 3 games, they have home wins against the Grizzlies and Lakers, and vibes seem to be high around this young roster. I know this organization is far from where it used to be, but this isn’t the first time the Rockets have gone on a hot stretch this season. We saw them win 7 straight games back in late November/early December; when this team catches fire, they tend to go on a nice little streak. In any case, Dallas is nowhere close to being where they need to be to be laying double-digits on the road. The Mavs just lost by 30 at home to the Knicks and aren’t playing well on either end of the floor. While this is typically a trustworthy team, Dallas has won by double-digits just once since January 29th. Even at their best, the Mavs are not built to blow teams out given their lack of offensive firepower. Houston is playing well at the moment, and they are going to give Dallas everything it can handle. I’ll take the 10.5 points with the Rockets given their strong current form.
