On Jan 12th, things heat up when the Cleveland Cavaliers enter into Phoenix to battle against the Suns. A few years ago, this might have been an outstanding game with LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire going head to head in a collision course. In the age of free agency nevertheless, times surely have transformed as this game appears considerably different. Phoenix is favored by 6 points over the Cleveland Cavaliers and this is apparently a secure bet.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have experienced quite a sea change in the last 3 years as a team. With the departure of LeBron James still wreaking havoc on the team all this time around later, the Cavs have struggled mightily to produce an outstanding basketball team to put on the court. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a record 23 consecutive competitions last year with the only bright spot coming by means of Baron Davis who helped the team with a couple of late year victories. Baron Davis departed for New York right after the lockout ended and the Cavs again are faced with the prospect of a difficult year. The Cavs are paced by vets PF Antawn Jamison and fan fave PF Anderson Varejao. SG Daniel Gibson and also PG Kyrie Irving comprehensive the backcourt for the troubled Cleveland Cavaliers.
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The Suns additionally are going through changing times in this existing NBA landscape. Star PG Steve Nash is consistently questioned about his future as Nash is in his final year under contract. The rumor is that the Suns could maybe deal him to a challenger before the year ends. Even though both Nash and the Suns front office deny those rumors, it is sure to be a slight diversion to the team. Ageless SF 39-year old Grant Hill has skilled a rebirth of sorts in Phoenix. This resurgence has persuaded former all-star SG Michael Redd to sign with the Suns at the league minimum contract to stage a miraculous comeback after 2 devastating knee injuries over the past 3 seasons in Milwaukee. C Marcin Gortat and SF Jared Dudley are doing their greatest to make up for the loss in frontcourt production as a result of Amare Stoudemire’s defection to the New York Knicks.
The Sacramento Kings have their work cut out for them when they take on the Houston Rockets in Houston on January 13th. This is a situation of both teams reconstructing for the longer term as both teams look nothing like their early 2000′s heydays. The Kings look to get back to their previous popularity in the west with standout play from their young stalwarts. The Houston Rockets are still dealing with the fallout from the retirement of Yao Ming. The Houston Rockets are preferred by 3 points by the oddsmakers and this looks to be a hard game to call.
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Sacramento is paced by G Marcus Thornton and PG Tyreke Evans, which offer a young core for the Kings to build on. The frontcourt is helped by PF DeMarcus Cousins and his steady play. The Kings are additionally helped by the seasoned presence of SG John Salmons arriving from the sideline as a deep menace. Former Indiana Hoosier great Keith Smart coaches the Kings.
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The Houston Rockets look substantially different from the era of Yao Ming and Steve Francis running the show. Youthful PG Kyle Lowry runs the offense with the help of PF Luis Scola and PG Goran Dragic. Vets help the Houston offense with fellow SG’s Courtney Lee and Kevin Martin contributing when they might. Ex- Celtics great Kevin McHale leads the Houston Rockets at head coach.
Only a few years ago, this contest would’ve been all over tv with players like Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, and Bobby Jackson pacing the Kings. The Houston Rockets had Yao Ming, Steve Francis, Robert Horry, as well as Tracy McGrady behind them. The times have certainly changed things for both teams as the era of free agency and salary caps have rendered long-term dynasties nearly obsolete.
This should be an excellent contest between these two once-mighty teams with the game itself too close to call.
Saturday evening on January 14th, the Knicks come into Oklahoma City to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in this big game between these 2 teams. It’s a tale of 2 teams as the Oklahoma City Thunder come into play with a constant team of young guns against the Knicks who it seems from year to year always comes into play with a lot of changes going on. The Knicks are liked by 4 points and this might hold unless Durant has one of his standard killer competitions.
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The Knicks have had a soap opera in the previous fifteen years or thereabouts in the nba. From nearly winning it all with Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston to Allan Houston’s well-known 100 Million-Dollar contract and his subsequent knee injury and that only covers the tail end of the 1990′s. The Isiah Thomas era of the Knicks will go down in nba history as among the most devastating campaigns in recent recollection. With these downfalls in past seasons, the Knicks appeared to make some noise in the offseason and so they did when they locked up Amare Stoudemire from the Suns. The Knicks are paced by celebrity SF Carmelo Anthony and the aforementioned Amare Stoudemire at power forward. C Tyson Chandler produces presence and also veteran leadership at center while young guns G Iman Shumpert and PG Toney Douglas complete the squad.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder have had great promise during the last few seasons with celeb SF Kevin Durant breaking out and owning rival squads with his play. Oklahoma City is comprised of a youthful squad behind Durant with G James Harden, PG Russell Westbrook, and PF Serge Ibaka carrying the slack. PG Nick Collison is the sole mainstay from the old Seattle Supersonics team, which switched to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Oklahoma City Thunder are presently on top of in the rankings in this youthful season with great promise to finish out the season at the top.
The United Center in Chicago will be on edge as the Wizards come into town to face the Chicago Bulls. In previous years, this contest would’ve been the most challenging ticket to get as the second comeback by Nike Jordan turned the Wizards into media darlings throughout the league. Jordan now is long retired nonetheless and the Wizards have turned into an awesome young team with vast quantities of prospective waiting to be tapped. The sports book has the Bulls preferred by 8 points which seems correct and seems like a quality wager with Chicago being rooted on at home.
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The Wizards come into this year with an all new logo and a fresh uniform to portray a change of approach and maybe a change of fortune. The Wizards are a long way from the times of Gilbert Arenas landing game-winning shots every other week. Youthful breakout stars SG Nick Young and PG John Wall who steady the Wizards backcourt with standout play lead Washington. The Wizards are rounded out by their frontcourt consisting of PF Andray Blatche, C JaVale McGee, and veteran SF Rashard Lewis. Watch for the Wizards to put up a quality bout against the Bulls in this one.
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The Chicago Bulls have longed for a return to the salad days of the 1990′s. They’ve had fantastic young stars come through the organization such as Tyson Chandler, Ben Gordon, Jamal Crawford, and Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls this year are headed by celebrity PG and 2010-11 Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose who has helped the Bulls conspicuously since being drafted in 2008. Vets SF Luol Deng and PF Carlos Boozer provide some power on the inside game. C Joakim Noah is still the most talented center that the Bulls have had in a long time. Veteran SG Rip Hamilton covers the 2 berth very well for Chicago in its’ mission to pursue farther into the playoffs.
The Staples Center is going to come alive on January 11th when the Heat competes with the Clippers. The Heat comes in with one of the better records in the NBA boosted by an amazing roster of stars. The Heat lead the league as a squad in points landed and assists. The sportsbook has the Heat preferred by 8 points and with the backcourt they own, it seems to be a sure bet. Let’s take a closer look at the Heat this season and what they provide.
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With star SF LeBron James leading the way, Miami brings non-stop scoring. SG Dwyane Wade also brings effective scoring at the 2 slot with PF Chris Bosh’s stable play at the 3. PF Udonis Haslem and PG Mario Chalmers bring up the rear with a stable flow of assists and rebounds to bolster the Heat attack. After practically winning it all a year ago, the Heat look to go deep in the playoffs this season.
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Under the ownership of Donald Sterling, the Los Angeles Clippers have a long history of mediocrity. But with large stars such as Blake Griffin altering the landscape for Los Angeles’ “other team”, things have adjusted in the last couple of seasons. The Clips seem to be content for a playoff berth this year in the always-challenging Pacific Division. Los Angeles is led by superstar PF Blake Griffin who has continued to be a menace to the basket and the boards. Free Agent developments SG Chauncey Billups and superstar PF Chris Paul presents veteran leadership that had been sorely lacking with the departures of Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. The Los Angeles Clippers are also helped by the outstanding play of SF Caron Butler and C DeAndre Jordan. Watch for this to be an amazing game between the established stars of Miami against the young guns of the Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center will be electrified for this game.
These two teams have been doing comparatively well this season. This shouldn’t be an unanticipated to anybody as these two colleges are well noted for their share of victories in basketball for a lot of years. When Western Virginia visits Connecticut both these teams will be at it out on the court on January 9.
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The Western Virginia Mountaineers is arriving off an extraordinary 21 point win against Rutgers Knights, in which the senior Darryl Bryant took the Knights to school by dropping 29 points on them, along with Kevin Jones who had a good game with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Connecticut on the flip side lost their previous game against the Seton Hall Pirates by 12 points. Jeremy Lamb was still extraordinary nevertheless with 19 points.
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West Virginia is only a better squad than Connecticut offensively when you compare these 2 teams. Defensively, Connecticut is the better squad, but you have Kevin Jones who averages a double-double for the season and Darryl Bryant who’s only a monster offensively, which assists West Virginia get the advantage over Connecticut. Kevin Jones is among the better rebounders in the league this year and he will leap over people to get that rebound. The Huskies do not have anybody that can box this kid out. It should be an appealing game to watch even though I would not say that this match up in the clash of the titans or anything of that sort.
Considering the Huskies do not have anybody on the squad that can guard both Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant, if I were gambling on this game, I would bet for the Western Virginia Mountaineers winning against the Huskies. Both of them can make you pay if you leave them undefended. One of those will surely have a huge game on Monday January 9.
The Jan 9 – Oklahoma at Oklahoma State game still has its own kind of anticipation, even though this particular match might not have the same intensity that its football version does. With the conference basketball year just under way, both the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys will make an effort to set the tone for the rest of their year with this game. In Oklahoma’s case, they’ll be looking to continue what has been a great start as they ended the non-conference slate with a 10-2 record.
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Oklahoma State, on the other hand has fought mightily against their out of conference schedule, putting up a meager 7-6 record to date. It does not mean their victory is a foregone conclusion just considering the Oklahoma Sooners seem to be quite somewhat much better than the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the moment. When you examine this game through a gambler’s eye, forecasting who will win and by what amount becomes even harder. Neither Oklahoma nor Oklahoma State has precisely set the world on fire when it comes to playing vs the spread. In fact, when you check out the 2 team’s records vs the spread, the one factor that is clear is that neither team will play along with those laying money on the game would wish.
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Offensively, the Oklahoma Sooners have depended greatly on junior guard Steven Pledger. Pledger is shooting a massive 48.4 percent from three-point land and has averaged 18.8 ppg to date this year. It is not astonishing that in Oklahoma’s 2 non-conference losses, Pledger had trouble, shooting 33 percent, and averaging just 11 points in those games.
For the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the offensive attack has counted on quite a few players, with Keiton Page being the principal go-to guy. In the non-conference slate, Page has average 13.6 ppg. Oklahoma State’s number 2 scorer, Le’Bryan Nash is scoring an average of 11.7 points per match. Both players will have to step up in order to have a chance at the Oklahoma Sooners.
On Jan 8th, postseason ncaa football comes to Mobile, AL when the Red Wolves take on the Northern Illinois Huskies at the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Both squads come into play with rookie head coaches with the Huskies led by first-year head coach Dave Doeren. Temporary head coach David Gunn who’s been the running backs coach all year helms the Red Wolves. Arkansas State has chose Gus Malzahn who will take the reins after the year ends. The take from the sports book is Arkansas State (-1 ½) with an over-under established at 63 points.
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The Northern Illinois Huskies come into play with a 10-3 record and a 7-1 record in the MAC. The Huskies average 38.3 points per game on offense and 31.1 points on defense. They also average 247.6 Rushing Yards per game, which is 9th in the country. They’ve simply had one game against a ranked adversary this year, losing to #7 Wisconsin 49-7 on September 17th. Leading the Huskies offense is dual-threat senior Quarterback Chandler Harnish who has 2,942 Passing Yards and 1,382 Rushing Yards. Harnish also has 26 passing Tds and 11 rushing Tds with a passer rating of 155.7. Senior RB Jasmin Hopkins enters into play with 932 Rushing Yards and 15 Tds.
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The Red Wolves arrive in Mobile with a 10-2 record with an 8-0 record in the Sun Belt. They’ve had one game against a ranked adversary this year, losing to #13 Virginia Tech 26-7 on September 17th. With 33.5 points per game on offense and 19.3 points per game on defense, the Red Wolves have a great balance. The Red Wolves also have a two-pronged thread behind center with junior Quarterback Ryan Aplin rushing for 605 yards and 9 rushing Tds. Aplin also has 3,235 Passing Yards, 18 Passing Tds, and a passer rating of 138.5. Senior RB Derek Lawson is stable behind the snap with 459 Rushing Yards and 3 Tds. Senior Wide receiver Dwayne Frampton has had a great season with 90 receptions and 1,125 receiving yards with 6 touchdowns. Fellow Wide receiver junior Josh Jarboe is a practical second option for Aplin with 52 receptions as well as 707 receiving yards.
It’s not only the Division I-A schools getting face time on ESPN, on January 7th the NCAA Division I-AA Championship game is played at Pizza Hut Park in Fricso, TX. In a struggle of the two greatest small colleges in the country, the North Dakota State Bison battle against the Bearkats. Both the Sam Houston Bearkats and the North Dakota State Bison have steamrolled their opposition all season long and both are additionally arriving into play with comparable styles on offense. Expect a lot of running and a lot of 1st downs by each squad as the defenses are going to get a work out. The sportsbook is having a difficult time with this one as the line currently stands at North Dakota State (-1) with the over-under scheduled at 46.
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The North Dakota State Bison have set the pace all season arriving into play with a 13-1 record and also a 7-1 record in the MVC. They put a shellacking on St. Francis on September 9th with a 56-3 beatdown, which saw a 95-yard touchdown run by Sam Ojuri. The North Dakota State Bison average 32.4 points per game on offense and 13.6 points per game on defense. NDSU is steadied behind center by sophomore Qb Brock Jensen who enters into play with a 146.35 passer efficiency rating with 2,404 passing yards. The North Dakota State Bison are stacked on the run with sophomore Sam Ojuri who has received 1,078 rushing yards. Fellow Running back senior DJ McNorton is additionally nearing the century mark in rushing yards with 981. Senior Wide receiver Warren Holloway has had a great year with 75 receptions and 988 yards.
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Sam Houston State comes in the game with an unbeaten record at 14-0 and 7-0 in the Southland Conference. The Sam Houston Bearkats average 39.1 points per game on offense and 14.8 points per game on defense. This offensive juggernaut put on a fireworks display on October 29th in a complete destruction of Lamar University winning 66-0. The Sam Houston Bearkats put up 382 rushing yards with 559 yards of total offense in that contest. Sophomore Qb Brian Bell has had a regular year with 1,954 passing yards as well as an efficiency rating of 165.6. Sophomore Running back Tim Flanders has had a remarkable season with 1,560 rushing yards and 22 Tds. Sophomore Wide receiver Richard Sincere is lethal down field and in the backfield with 965 rushing yards and 449 receiving yards.
Birmingham, AL plays sponsor to the Compass Bowl on January seventh with the Pitt Panthers taking on the Mustangs. The Pitt Panthers come in just after the one-year Todd Graham experiment at head coach. Graham quit his post on December 14th to take the head coaching position at Arizona State. Defensive Coordinator Keith Patterson will wear the headset for the Pitt Panthers in this clash of titans. SMU comes into competition with the specter of the “Death Penalty” passed on in the 1980′s still being referred to today. Former Nfl and Hawaii coach June Jones is now in his 4th year on the sidelines of Southern Methodist University. The wagering line has this established at Pittsburgh (-3) with the over-under of 47 points.
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Pittsburgh comes into competition with a 6-6 record and a 4-3 record in the Big East. They’ve had one competition vs a rated opponent winning vs #16 South Florida 44-17 on September 29th. Pittsburgh’s offense puts up 25.8 ppg with their defense giving up 22.4 ppg. Junior Qb Tino Sunseri comes into the game with 2,433 passing yards plus a passer rating of 124.8. Junior RB Ray Graham has counted 958 rushing yards and 9 Tds so far this season. Sophomore Wide receiver Devin Street is Sunseri’s fave target catching 48 receptions with 2 Tds. Junior Wide receiver Mike Shanahan is an amazing second target with 35 receptions and 4 Tds.
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SMU comes in the game with a 7-5 record plus a 5-3 record in Conference USA. They’ve gone 1-2 vs rated opponents this year, winning over #20 TCU and losing to #8 Texas A&M and #11 Houston. The Mustangs offense averages 25.7 ppg whilst giving up 24.5 ppg on defense. June Jones has traditional had pass-heavy squads in the past, relying on the run-and-shoot offense to put up major figures in offense. This Mustangs squad this season has a 1,000 yard rusher, unusual in the Jones’ system. Senior Qb J.J. McDermott with 3,182 passing yards and 16 touchdowns lifts up the passing game. Junior RB Zach Line has had an amazing season with 1,224 rushing yards and 17 Tds. Junior Wide receiver Darius Johnson with 72 catches and 998 receiving yards and senior Wide receiver Cole Beasley with 79 catches and 954 receiving yards steady the Mustangs receivers.
