Jason Green is back with Cappers Picks again to give out his free sports plays. As always he's hoping the Braves and Redskins can win a championship since their last one in the 90’s was long ago. He’s starting to know the pain of Cubs fans.
Texas is the favorite in this game, but lost 3 of their last 4 games of the season and their 2 leading rushers are banged up. On the other side of the coin Cal got over their slump in the middle part of the season and ended up winning 3 of their last 4 games.
Gonzaga (6-2) got over their 2-game losing streak with a win over their last game and they will be facing an Arizona (7-3) team that has won 3 of their last 4 games.
Louisville (9-0) is one of the few undefeated teams left in the nation and while they are not a high scoring team they have a great defense and rank 18th in the nation in rebounds per game.
With their win last week the Texans (10-3) wrapped up their first ever AFC South title, but all is not well with Houston since defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who has helped turn the Texans’ defense into a great one, is on a temporary medical leave of absence.
The Titans (7-6) are coming off a tough loss last week, which really hurt their playoff hopes, but there is a good chance they will get back in the W column facing the winless Colts (13-0).
If the season ended today the Falcons (8-5) would be tn the playoffs snagging one of the Wild Card berths, but they still have a shot to win the NFC South even though they trail the Saints, who they face in their next game, by 2 games in the division.
Time/Date: 9 PM EST Tuesday, December 13, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Minnesota -16.5
Over/Under: 128
Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview
Minnesota (10-1) has won 4 straight game since losing their only game of the season and while they are not a high scoring team they are a great shooting team ranking 21st in the nation in field goal percentage. On the other side of the coin Central Michigan (4-5) is one of the worst shooting teams in the nation ranking 290th in the nation in field goal percentage and they have lost 2 straight. NCAAB lines have Minnesota as big 16.5-point home favorites with a total of 128.
In their last games Minnesota beat St. Peter’s 69-47 and Central Michigan lost to Tennessee State 65-57.
The Golden Gophers are led by F Trevor Mbakwe, who leads the team in scoring (14 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg). He is the only player for Minnesota that is averaging in double figures and if CMU can shut him down they may have a chance.
The Minnesota G tandem of Julian Welch (9.9 ppg) and Austin Hollins (8.9 ppg) are both solid 3-point shooters and the Chippewas have to play good perimeter D in this game and force some turnovers.
G Trey Zeigler (17.8 ppg) is the big gun for the Chippewas and he must have a big game tonight and if he struggles this game may get ugly. He and G Austin McBroom are the 2 leading scorers and must play well since CMU does not have a great frontcourt.
While the Chippewas are a poor shooting team that does not light up the scoreboard they rank 39th in the nation in rebounds per game while Minnesota only ranks 195th. While Mbakwe is the only Minnesota player that is averaging over 5 rebounds per game this season Zeigler is the leading rebounder for the Chippewas and he is only 6’5″.
The Chippewas must hit the boards this game and create some 2nd chance opportunities off misses and if the Golden Gophers can dominate the glass they will easily win this game.
Betting Trends
This season Minnesota is 4-3-1 ATS and has an O/U record of 3-4-1 and Central Michigan is 4-2-1 ATS and has an O/U record of 3-4.
Central Michigan is 3-9-2 ATS in their last 14 games as a road underdog and has an Under record of 21-6 in their last 27 road games.
Minnesota is 6-14-1 ATS in their last 21 home games and has an Under record of 3-0-1 in their last 4 games.
Jason’s Pick: While Minnesota will win this game I think Central Michigan will cover the spread, as this will be a low scoring game.
Time/Date: 9 PM EST Tuesday, December 13, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): MSU -14
Over/Under: 138
Florida Atlantic Owls vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs Preview
After being upset by Akron in their 2nd game of the season Mississippi State (9-1) has reeled off 8 straight wins including beating the ranked teams of Texas A&M and Arizona. Florida Atlantic (4-5) snapped their 2-game losing streak with a win in their last game, but they have lost every game this season against teams from big conferences. NCAAB lines have MSU as big 14-point home favorites in this game with a total of 138.
In their last games MSU crushed Troy 106-68 and Florida Atlantic beat Warner South 98-70.
The Bulldogs have been on fire shooting the rock lately, as they have shot nearly 50% from the field in their last 5 games including shooting over 56% in their last game.
Last season Florida Atlantic beat MSU 61-59 in their house and to do that again they will have to rely on their defense, as they only rank 152nd in the nation in scoring and 227th in field goal percentage.
FAU will have to try to contain MSU’s leading scorer Dee Bost (18.1), who is shooting 37.5% from beyond the 3-point line and buried a career high 7 3-pointers in the blowout win over Troy, and Arnett Moultrie (17.1 ppg), who leads the SEC in rebounding (11.3 rpg).
Bost and Jalen Steele combine to hit for 12 3-pointers in the win over Troy and FAU must keep these guys from getting open looks from deep.
Owls’ G Greg Gantt (13.9 ppg) and F Pablo Bertone (10.7 ppg) must play well for FAU to pull off another upset against MSU. It is key that Bertone (5.9 rpg) and Kore White (9.1 ppg 5.1 rpg) play good D on Moultrie and not allow him to dominate in the paint. White has struggled in the last few games scoring in single digits in his last 4 games.
FAU is only 1-4 on the road this season and that lone win was against college basketball powerhouse Hofstra.
Betting Trends
This season MSU is 6-4 ATS and has an O/U record of 5-5 and FAU is 4-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 2-5.
FAU is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog and has an Under record of 5-1 in their last 6 road games.
MSU is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games, 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 home games facing a team with a losing road record, and has an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Jason’s Pick: MSU is a better team than they were last season and they will come out and crush FAU in this game. Take MSU to cover the 14-point spread.
The Bucs (4-8) have lost 6 straight and in that span their defense has really struggled giving up an average of almost 31 ppg.
This AFC match up should have been a sweet one with a Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady battle, but with Manning out the winless Colts are HUGE underdogs heading to New England.
The Texans (8-3) has won 5 straight, which is their longest winning streak in team history, but getting to 6 straight will not be easy, as they face a 7-4 Falcons’ team and they will be starting their 3rd string QB.
This game features Baylor hopeful QB Robert Griffin facing Texas, who has the best defense in the Big 12.
This game is for all the marbles, as the winner will win the Big 12 and get a BCS bowl game while the loser may not.
Iowa State (6-5) has lost 3 in a row to Kansas State (9-2) and they had their 2 game winning streak snapped with a loss last week.
The Falcons (6-4) are coming off a win and there is a good chance they will get another win this Sunday since the Vikings (2-8) may be without Adrian Peterson. The Minnesota RB has a high ankle sprain and is a big question mark for this game.
The Panthers (2-8) are coming off a tough loss where they gave up a big lead and ended up giving up 49 points.
