GOLDSHEETKEY RELEASE - ★★★Boston 88 - DALLAS 84—Dallas already owns a win over Boston,grinding out a 90-85 success at TD Garden back on Jan. 11. And must keep aneye on the injury wire, as Celtics were trying to cope without Kevin Garnett (hip)in the last week, bowing meekly to the Pistons last Wednesday minus K-G in thelineup. But before playing taps for Boston, keep in mind that the visiting team hascovered last three meetings between these two, and Celtics had covered fourstraight in the underdog role prior to last Thursday’s game at Chicago. Mavswere riding a 5-game SU win streak into last Friday’s game at Philly, but note thatRick “Jim Carrey” Carlisle was dealing with a depleted backcourt, as a recentspate of injuries to Jason Terry (who might have returned by tipoff after quadinjury), Delonte West (definitely out with finger injury), and Rodrigue Beaubois(also definitely out with personal issues) had temporarily thinned Mavs’perimeter options. 11-Dal +5 90-85 (183); 10-DAL -3' 89-87 (188), Dal +6' 101-97 (188) CABLE TV—TNT
2012 NFL PreSeason Record: 1-0, +1 Unit
This town won't appreciate Tony Romo until he's gone and the Cowboys are back playing with the Quincy Carters and Chad Hutchinsons of this world. Remember those days?
You don't appreciate a quality quarterback until you don't have one. Few teams have the good fortune of making the transition from a Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck as the Colts are prepared to do. When Romo is done, it may be 5-10-15 years before the Cowboys find another quarterback of his ability.
GOLDSHEET NCAA
Connecticut 71 - VILLANOVA 67—Both teams have been struggling in
recent weeks. But UConn’s easy 80-54 victory over defensively-challenged
DePaul might be just what the doctor ordered for the Huskies, who had lost their
groove on offense due to myriad reasons (G Ryan Boatright’s eligibility issues,
coach Jim Calhoun’s back problems, C Andre Drummond’s inconsistent development).
Calhoun remains sidelined. But Boatright is adding his speed to the
UConn backcourt, and Drummond went for 15 & 9 Wednesday vs. DePaul. Even
though the Huskies have a difficult date Saturday vs. an athletic Marquette
group, UConn’s problems are far fewer than those of Villanova (hosts Notre
Dame Saturday). (at Wells Fargo Ctr.) 10-CONN -2' 61-59 CABLE TV—ESPN
TEXAS 76 - Baylor 73—There are those who believe Baylor is the most
talented overall team in the Big XII, if not the nation! However, the Bears have
lost twice each to conference thoroughbreds Kansas and Missouri, mostly due
to questionable shot selection, sloppy defense, and lots of height without lots of
muscle. Now that Rick Barnes’ rebuilding Longhorns have nearly 30 games
under their belts, Baylor might not escape Austin with a sweep of the season
series. UT took a 17-9 record and four straight victories into Saturday’s game
vs. Oklahoma State. That string includes a dominating 48-24 second-half vs.
Kansas State and a 41-25 second-half at Oklahoma. Both are signs the
Longhorn youngsters are learning fast. With veteran J’Covan Brown (19.4 ppg,
85% FTs) around in the clutch for Texas, the visiting Bears will need a big game
from dynamic 5-10 juco Pierre Jackson if they are to prevail. 11-BAY -7' 76-71;
10-TEX -11' 69-60, Tex -3' 60-54 CABLE TV—ESPN
ST. JOHN’S 85 - DePaul 81—DePaul has had little luck slowing down St.
John’s in recent meetings, and the Red Storm erupted for 87 points in their Feb.
1 win over DePaul at Allstate Arena even without much help from 6-8 frosh star
Moe Harkless, who endured one of his worst shooting nights when hitting only
2 of 15 from the floor. The Blue Demons hit better than 51% FGs themselves
in the first meeting. But since their defense hasn’t gotten any better since, we’re
compelled to look “over” (Red Storm that way in 7 of last 8) as the best choice
in this Big East clash. 11-Stj +3 87-81; 10-STJ -14 76-51 CABLE TV—ESPNU
Cappers Access
(CBB) Villanova +2
(CBB) Texas -2
(NBA) Lakers -4
Hockey Crusher
Ottawa Senators + New York Islanders UNDER 5.5
Basketball Crusher
Connecticut -1.5 over Villanova
Soccer Crusher
Real Betis + Real Zaragoza UNDER 2.5
This match is happening in Spain
Sportbook Investing
Play of the Day:
SweetJones55
Clipppers -2
DCI NBA
Season
Straight Up: 292-154 (.655)
ATS: 241-224 (.518)
ATS Vary Units: 656-593 (.525)
Over/Under: 225-236 (.488)
Over/Under Vary Units: 489-552 (.470)
CHICAGO 92, Atlanta 82
NEW YORK 103, New Jersey 91
OKLAHOMA CITY 102, New Orleans 87
Orlando 89, MILWAUKEE 88
DALLAS 92, Boston 81
HOUSTON 99, Memphis 94
DENVER 108, Minnesota 99
PHOENIX 106, Washington 94
San Antonio 101, UTAH 95
L.A. Clippers 102, GOLDEN STATE 101
L.A. LAKERS 92, Portland 88
DCI CBB
Straight Up: 3272-1026 (.761)
ATS: 1380-1504 (.479)
ATS Vary Units: 4028-4646 (.464)
Over/Under: 1426-1455 (.495)
Over/Under Vary Units: 1696-1711 (.498)
Atlantic Sun Conference
BELMONT 82, USC Upstate 65
JACKSONVILLE 77, Kennesaw State 60
LIPSCOMB 72, East Tennessee State 71
Mercer 70, NORTH FLORIDA 65
Big 12 Conference
TEXAS 71, Baylor 67
Big East Conference
Connecticut vs. VILLANOVA: TOO CLOSE TO CALL
ST. JOHN'S 81, DePaul 73
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Fairfield 67, MARIST 60
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Florida A&M 73, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 69
HAMPTON 64, Delaware State 63
HOWARD 70, Umes 63
SAVANNAH STATE 66, Bethune-Cookman 55
Southwestern Athletic Conference
ALABAMA A&M 64, Alcorn State 63
ALABAMA STATE 60, Southern 54
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 68, Texas Southern 58
Prairie View A&M vs. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF: TOO CLOSE TO CALL
Non-Conference
NORFOLK STATE 88, Longwood 73
SEATTLE 81, UC Davis 72