Mike Bets #442

Happy Thursday. Yesterday was a slightly negative day. The NBA record was 6-5, which we’ll take any day. The CBB record was 3-5. We’re still sliding in college ball. The bounce back starts tonight. But first, let’s take a quick look at last night’s action…

NBA

We’ll keep this relatively brief for today and wait for the trade dust to settle.

• The Cavs outscored the Pistons 69-31 across the first and fourth quarters in a blowout win. Neither Donovan Mitchell nor Darius Garland played for Cleveland, who now sits just one game back of the Sixers and the 3 seed. The Pistons remain half a game ahead of the Clippers, half a game back of the Spurs, and a game back of the Hornets in that tight race to end up in the bottom three.

• Kristaps Porzingis dropped 36, and the Wizards took care of business against the Hornets. This ends a three-game losing streak for Washington. They stay tied with the Raptors for the 10 seed.

• Bam dropped 38, and the Heat held off the Pacers. Indiana falls down to the East 12 seed, a game back of Washington and Toronto. Miami pulls a half game ahead of the Knicks for the 6 seed. One thing to watch the next few weeks – are the Nets catchable? They’re only two and a half games up on the Heat (and three up on the Knicks). Is there a world where the Nets end up the 7 seed and in the play-in?

• Pascal Siakam dropped 37 to help the Raptors knock off the Spurs. Toronto keeps pace with the Wizards with the win. The Spurs maintain their half-game edge on the Hornets for the bottom three spot.

• The Celtics held off the Sixers despite getting a limited performance from Jaylen Brown. The win extends their lead over Philadelphia to four games, and it pushes the Bucks to a game and a half back. A loss would have given Milwaukee a chance to move into a tie for the 1 seed tonight.

• Jalen Green scored 41, but the Kings managed to pull one out of a hat at the last second in Houston. Sacramento has two games on either side of them in the 3 seed after the win. The Rockets will keep the worst record in the league.

• The Timberwolves blew out the Jazz in a game featuring two teams a little depleted from yesterday’s trade. Utah’s grip on the 10 seed is finally gone; they slip a half game back of Portland. Minnesota is tied with New Orleans for the 7 seed.

• Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson combined for 69, but the Blazers had just enough to win one in Portland. Dame put up a 33-point triple-double in the win. Portland will hold the 10 seed for at least a day. Golden State is alone in the 9 seed.

• The Mavs beat the Clippers to create a three-way tie for the 4 seed with LA and Phoenix. Kyrie dropped 24 in his Dallas debut.

CBB

• Michigan is 14-10 after three consecutive Big 10 wins. They have some work to do, but the tourney hopes are alive heading down the stretch. Indiana comes to town this weekend.

• Alabama beat Florida by 28 to move to 11-0 in SEC play.

• Tennessee fell to 8-3 in SEC play after losing at Vandy. This was a good win for Jerry Stackhouse and Co., but it’s not really clear if any progress has been made. They went 19-17 (7-11) last year and are 12-12 (5-6) this year. It’s year four of the Stackhouse era. You’d like to see a little more than consistently .500. This is a program that made the tourney in 2016 and 2017. They made it five times in six years from 2007 to 2012. It’s not Vandy football.

• Iowa State dropped one on the road at West Virginia. This was a really good win for the Mountaineers. They’re still an ugly 4-7 in conference play, but the door is open. Whether they can keep it that way with five ranked teams on the schedule in their final seven games is another question. 6-12 wouldn’t cut it. For ISU, this is two losses to the bottom three Big 12 teams in the last two weeks. That’s tough for a team fighting for the conference crown.

• Baylor beat Oklahoma. Oklahoma simply isn’t good enough to win Big 12 games with any consistency.

• Providence beat Georgetown, and they’re just a game back of Xavier at the top of the Big East.

• Seton Hall had a huge chance to pick up a quality win when Creighton visited last night, but they weren’t able to take advantage. Creighton has done a really nice job in Big East play. They’re tied with Providence a game back of Xavier. Seton Hall is 15-10 (8-6). They have some work to do down the stretch.

• Utah State almost came back to pick up a huge win over San Diego State, but they fell a little short. They could have really used this one. They’re firmly on the bubble. A 5-1 finish is feasible, and it might very well be enough.

• Memphis is 18-6 (8-3) after rolling South Florida. They still have two chances against Houston. If they lose both and win their other four games, would 22-8 (12-5) get the job done? It might be close.

• Syracuse is 15-10 (8-6) after beating Florida State. They have just one Quad 2 win and zero Quad 1 wins. That simply won’t be enough.

• Virgina Tech lost at home to Boston College. They’re done.

• Charleston is 23-3 after crushing UNC Wilmington. They need to win out until the conference tournament. The question is whether they can afford a loss once they get there.

• Oklahoma State held off Texas Tech. They’re in a good spot right now.

• Wisconsin beat Penn State to keep their season alive. Both these teams have some work to do.

• Mississippi State beat LSU to move to 4-7 in SEC play. They’re not dead yet.

TODAY’S PLAYS

NBA record: 138-121-4 ATS, 24-40 ML, 61-48-1 O/U, 1-7 parlay, 0-1 props, -10.74 units

• Nuggets -6

• Bulls ML (+100)

• Bulls Nets O227

• Bucks -7.5

• Bucks Lakers U238.5

CBB record: 132-127-4 ATS, 23-46 ML, 4-3 O/U, 8-12 parlay, -22.4 units

• Purdue -8

• North Texas -2.5

• FAU -14

• Northwestern ML (+180)

• Arizona State ML (+130)

• USC ML (+168)

• ML PARLAY: FAU, Oral Roberts, Gonzaga, St Mary’s (-110) – FIVE UNIT PLAY