Usually it is a disadvantage for the road team to play on Thursday night. Lamar Jackson makes this game an exception. Jackson is itching to play after missing the last three games.

The Ravens are in the argument for having the best offense when Jackson is under center. Miami's defense is no match. The Dolphins give up 26.9 points a game, which ranks 27th, and embarrassingly only have one takeaway.

The last time these teams met was on Dec. 31, 2023 at Baltimore. The Ravens won, 56-19. Jackson threw five touchdown passes in only 21 attempts. The Dolphins' defense was actually better back then than it is now.

The Ravens have gotten healthy on defense, too. Having Jackson back is going to give them a huge spark.

Look for a Baltimore blowout. 

The Heat have changed their identity going from slow pace to very fast. It has resulted in impressive consecutive victories, a blowout of the Grizzlies and an 8-point win against the Knicks at home this past Tuesday.

Now the Hornets visit Miami. Charlotte is off to a nice 2-1 start. Note, though, those victories have occurred against the Wizards and Nets. Charlotte is not as good as Miami. The spot is bad for the Hornets, too, playing in their third road game in four days and not having rising star Brandon Miller. He has been ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Miami is second in the league in bench scoring. The Heat have the depth to take advantage of Charlotte's fatigue and missing Miller. They are worth backing in this spot.

No team needed a bye more than the 1-5 Ravens. The Ravens have a tremendous sense of urgency here knowing they can't afford a slip-up to a mediocre team like the Bears.

The Bears don't have the Ravens' motivation. They are fat and happy with four straight victories. Those wins came against the Saints, Raiders, Commanders and Cowboys. None of those four teams have a winning record. Chicago edged Washington and Las Vegas by one point each.  

Baltimore has terrible defensive numbers. Injuries have played a large part in that. though. Now the Ravens have some of their best defensive players back healthy including linebacker Roquan Smith.

Even without Jackson, the Ravens have multiple weapons and they get back two of their key blockers, left tackle Ronnie Stanley and fullback Patrick Ricard.

Flush with confidence and Jaxson Dart mania after upsetting the Eagles, the Giants headed to Denver last week.  There the cocky Giants built a 19-0 lead through three quarters before collapsing in a 33-32 loss, becoming the first NFL team in more than two decades to blow a lead of 18 points or more in the final six minutes and lose.

I don't think the Giants have recovered. Their brashness is gone.

Now the Giants have to travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, who are in rapid revenge for a 34-17 loss suffered to the Giants two weeks ago. Ace defensive coordinator Vic Fangio now has a first-hand look at Dart and the Eagles will have two of their key trench players, defensive lineman Jalen Carter and guard Landon Dickerson, back. Both were out in the earlier meeting against the Giants.

The Eagles have beaten the Giants 12 consecutive times at home.

No AJ Brown for the Eagles, but that is off-set with the Giants down two of their starting defensive backfield starters as safety Jevon Holland and cornerback Paulson Adebo are out.

Jalen Hurts has the two best weapons on his side - Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith. Philadelphia's kicking game also is far more reliable than the Giants.

The stage is set for Virginia Tech today. The Hokies are home, drawing an opponent traveling cross country and  will be playing to a national TV audience on ESPN.

Just one problem, Virginia Tech isn't any good.

Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones is inconsistent and the defense ranks 110th in EPA per play and 106th in defensive success rate. Virginia Tech has forced only five turnovers. That's important because California relies on freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and a midrange passing game, which is quite effective when Sagapolutele doesn't turn the ball over.

The Golden Bears are 5-2 with impressive victories against Boston College and Minnesota. They have not been this good since 2009.

The Chargers have two huge edges against the Vikings that should prove the difference. Minnesota is at a severe disadvantage traveling on a short week. Los Angeles also has the far superior quarterback in Justin Herbert against Carson Wentz.

The last time Herbert went against the Vikings and their blitz crazy defensive coordinator Brian Flores was two seasons ago at Minneapolis. Herbert completed 40 of 47 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns as the Chargers won, 28-24.

Not only does Herbert have the receiving weapons with Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and emerging tight end Oronde Gadsden II, but he has underrated athleticism and mobility running for 180 yards on 30 carries. The Vikings just allowed Jalen Hurts to have his best game of the season in a 28-22 home loss this past Sunday.

Wentz is a turnover-prone journeyman with a penchant for making boneheaded plays. The Chargers defense did not play well against high-powered Indianapolis last week, but they will get back pass rusher Khalil Mack. Minnesota has a banged-up offensive line so Mack could be effective. Los Angeles also is expected to have back offensive left tackle Joe Alt.

The Vikings have lost the turnover battle in each of their last three games, all with Wentz under center. Wentz has thrown four interceptions during this span to go with three touchdown passes.

I don't see the Vikings overcoming the quarterback difference and tough scheduling spot.

Bill Belichick can make life rough on an opposing freshman quarterback just like he did against rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. I get that college football and NFL are apples and oranges. But Belichick's Tar Heels are stepping way down in class after their last game against Clemson, which was a 38-10 defeat.

North Carolina has forced six turnovers and ranks fourth nationally in red zone defense. California is a huge step down from Clemson. The Golden Bears' freshman QB, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, has thrown seven interceptions and doesn't have a ground attack to fall back on as the Golden Bears rank 126th in rushing.

Cal is regressing after a 3-0 start. The Golden Bears lost to Duke at home, 45-21, in their last game and also were blanked, 34-0, by San Diego State three games ago.

This is a chance for Belichick to get back some of his lost reputation and he's had two weeks to prepare for a turnover-prone freshman quarterback and a less than imposing foe.

This isn't just an ordinary Monday night game for the Bears. This is their revenge game of the season.

The Commanders ruined the Bears' season last year when Jayden Daniels connected on a 52-yard, final-play Hail Mary touchdown pass to give Washington an improbable 18-15 victory. The Bears were 4-2 before that game. They then went on to lose nine in a row following that disastrous loss.

Chicago is much better coached this season. The Bears'  offensive line has improved. Caleb Williams also has looked better.

The Bears have their confidence up after consecutive victories against the Cowboys and Raiders. Chicago is rested, too, having been idle last week. The time off has allowed CB Kyler Gordon and TE Colston Loveland to get healthy. The Commanders give up the eighth-most yards per game.

Washington's strength is Daniels and a solid ground attack that will try to exploit the Bears' weak run defense. However, Daniels could be without his two best wide receiving weapons as Terry McLaurin is sidelined for a third game in a row because of a quadriceps injury and Deebo Samuel is questionable because of a bruised heel.

Nevada is a dangerous 1-4 team. The Wolf Pack have an underrated defense and finally found their best quarterback, freshman Carter Jones. Given a chance in the second half, Jones nearly led Nevada to a road upset of Fresno State last week throwing two touchdowns.

The Wolf Pack have been hurt by a nation-worst 10 interceptions. San Diego State has good defensive statistics,  but only has four takeaways in five games. The Aztecs lack an explosive offense and have won just three of their last 13 road games the past three seasons.

Nevada is stout against the run with a solid defensive line that has 31 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 13 sacks. San Diego State ranks 90th in total yards and 106th in passing yards. The Aztecs are averaging fewer than 10 points a game in two road games this season.

The oddsmaker is overrating San Diego State here and not accounting for Nevada's upgraded quarterback play.

Not only did Toronto get eliminated from the playoffs with its loss to Hamilton last week, but the Argonauts lost their starting quarterback, Nick Arbuckle, for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Arbuckle had thrown for 4,370 yards and 26 touchdowns.

I don't like Toronto's chances of staying within single digits of Saskatchewan. The Roughriders own the best record in the CFL at 11-4. Toronto is 5-11.

After losing to Montreal and Edmonton by a combined five points, Saskatchewan got right last week beating Ottawa on the road, 20-13, as 6-point favorites. The Roughriders' defense looked good.  

Saskatchewan defeated the Argonauts, 39-32, on the road back in June. The Roughriders should take care of business at home now that they are back on track while Toronto is out of the playoff hunt and forced to use backup quarterback Jarret Doege.

Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo are a couple of fun to watch rookies. Truth be told, though, neither is very good. Dart is inexperienced and inaccurate. Skattebo is a straight ahead runner without any moves. Malik Nabers was the Giants' only star skill position player and he's out.

Both the Giants' offensive line and skill position players are well below average. It's not a surprise the Giants rank last in the NFL with a 31.6-percent red-zone TD conversion rate.

So don't overthink this game just because the Eagles blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead against the Broncos last week. Philadelphia had won 10 in a row prior to that game. The Eagles are 20-2 in their last 22 games.

They have dominated the Giants, defeating them seven of the past eight times. The lone New York victory during this span occurred when Philly rested some starters in Week 18 of 2023.

There is a huge class difference here. I consider the Eagles to be the best team in the NFC and the Giants to be among the bottom-three in the NFC with the Panthers and Saints, who they lost to last week. 

Home court is strong enough in playoff basketball without any help from the officiating. But in the WNBA playoff home court really means something given how bad the league officiating is.

Minnesota was homered in the title game last year against the Liberty in New York and the Lynx were homered in Game 3 on the road against Phoenix this year.

Las Vegas knows that feeling. The Aces were homered in Game 4 at Indiana this past Sunday losing, 90-83. The Fever shot 34 free throws. The Aces only took 11 free throws.

But now the Aces get the Fever at home. Las Vegas is 17-5 at home. The Aces buried Indiana, 90-68, at home in Game 2 of this series.

A'ja Wilson is the best player in the league. No way does Indiana center Aliyah Boston get the better of Wilson.

The Aces are a much better free throw shooting team than Indiana. The Aces also are healthy, something the Fever are not. The Fever have shown a lot of spunk and guts to go this far in the playoffs despite missing multiple rotation players, including star guard Caitlin Clark.

But I see the Fever running out of gas here. Las Vegas has too strong of a track record at home and are the superior team. It's just a bonus if the Aces get added help by the officiating, which has been blatantly slanted toward home teams in the playoffs.

The Bengals are extremely fortunate to be 2-1 instead of 0-3. But in their first game without Joe Burrow this season they were buried, 48-10, by the Vikings on the road last week.

Burrow was propping up a bad defense, terrible offensive line and a not very good lead running back.

Now with Burrow out, I don't see the Bengals competitive on the road against good teams such as the Broncos.

The Bengals are kidding themselves if they think Jake Browning, a dink-and-dunker, can keep them in games. The Broncos have held opponents to an average of 14.5 points at home during the Sean Payton era.

Denver holds a major coaching edge, has a strong advantage in both trenches and owns home motivation for a rare prime time game.

Cincinnati has yet to face a mobile quarterback. Now the Bengals get Bo Nix, who is in a get-right spot against this bad of a defense.

No Napheesa Collier, no chance for Minnesota. And I doubt Collier plays after suffering shoulder and leg injuries in the Lynx's Game  3 loss to the Mercury.

The Lynx and their coach, Cheryl Reeve, are on tilt following Friday's road loss to Phoenix. Reeve went crazy at the end of the game due to the horrendous officiating.

Minnesota really lost this series when it blew a 20-point lead at home in Game 2. The Lynx haven't recovered.

Phoenix's confidence level is sky high, the Mercury are home and their three stars are playing well.

Classic letdown spot for Memphis after the Tigers came back from an 18-point deficit to upset Arkansas on national TV at home last week. It was the first time the Tigers had hosted a power conference opponent since 2021 and is one of their best victories in school history.

Now the Tigers have a chance to open 5-0 for the first time since 2019. Memphis very well could achieve that mark, but I don't see the Tigers having an easy time of it here.

Florida Atlantic is hungry for a big win in the new Zach Kittley era. The Owls have an excellent quarterback - Caden Veltkamp - have had two weeks to prepare after being idle last week and are at home.

Veltkamp is the reigning CUSA Offensive Player of the Year at Western Kentucky. He transferred to Florida Atlantic to play for Kittley, an air raid disciple with offensive coordinator stops at WKU and Texas Tech. Veltkamp is leading the country in completions per game.

Florida Atlantic's passing game, two weeks of preparation and catching the Tigers off one of the school's greatest victories, makes Memphis vulnerable.

Florida Atlantic has the worst turnover margin in the country at minus-8 through three games. Turnovers can be hard to predict, though, and the Owls have had two weeks to work on this. Florida Atlantic's defense should look much better without its offense turning the ball over so often.

Calgary has been outscored, 83-42, in losing its last two games. That's a concern. Another concern is the Stampeders' quarterback injuries. Starter Vernon Adams Jr. was unable to finish last week’s game and backup P.J. Walker reportedly is done for the season. Adams was limited in practice on Tuesday.

I like the Alouettes to win by more than this point spread margin even if Adams plays as he likely would be less than 100 percent.

While the Stampeders are floundering, the Alouettes are coming on having won two in a row with one of these victories coming against Saskatchewan. The Roughriders have the best record in the CFL.

Montreal has the superior defense and its quarterback, McLeod Bethel-Thompson, has been steady. The Alouettes also have a bye next week so they will be holding nothing back.

The WNBA is wide open this season. Minnesota had the best regular season record and deserves to be favored.

But the Lynx aren't that dominant where they should be in this high of a point spread range.

Phoenix eliminated the defending champion Liberty. The three best players in the WNBA are A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas, who is the Oscar Robertson of the league averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists.

The Mercury took out the Liberty this past Friday night. They then had to play Game One at Minnesota this past Sunday. Despite the scheduling and disadvantage, Phoenix had a 7-point halftime lead and the game was tied at the end of the third quarter.

Phoenix ran out of gas and lost, 82-69.

That shouldn't be the case in Tuesday's Game 2. I also don't expect the Mercury to miss 20 of 23 of their 3-pointers like they did in Game 1.

Note, too, that the Lynx are missing DiJonai Carrington, one of the best defenders in the league and a key rotational part for Minnesota.

Phoenix has its big three healthy - Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Cooper. That makes the Mercury extremely dangerous.

Less than two years ago these teams met in Baltimore and the Ravens crushed the Lions, 38-6.

Since then the Lions have gotten worse and the Ravens have gotten better to the point where Baltimore has the best offense in the NFL.

So, why should anything be different this time around?

It shouldn't. The pattern remains the same. The Ravens' well-balanced, high-powered attack is going to produce plenty of points led by Lamar Jackson, who seems to play his best on Monday Night Football accounting for 25 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Jackson has a 24-2 career record versus NFC teams, too.

Jared Goff plays much worse in outdoor road settings such as this one.

The Ravens are still carrying a chip on their shoulder after blowing a nationally televised Week 1 game to the Bills. They won't be taking their foot off the pedal here.

The winless Dolphins have serious problems. The schedule maker did Miami no favor as this is the worst possible spot and matchup for the Dolphins. Miami has to travel on a short week to face the Bills, who could be the best team in football right now.

The unbeaten Bills rank first in total offense. They are scoring 35.5 points per game. Miami has given up 33 points to each of its two opponents, the Patriots and Colts. Buffalo has a better offense than either of those two teams.

No longer can the Dolphins offense carry their weak defense. Injuries have wiped out the right side of Miami's offensive line. Given little protection, immobile Tua Tagovailoa has looked terrible. A quick fix is not going to occur in such a short time. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel looks and sounds like a beaten man. I actually feel sorry for the guy.

The only thing McDaniel is going to win is to be the first head coach fired in the NFL this season. That's a prop worth playing as I anticipate the Dolphins to be blown out here and for Miami management to fire McDaniel following the game.

Buffalo has beaten Miami in 13 of the last 14 games, including the past five. Those Dolphins teams were better than this current one.

The Dolphins can't count on turnovers either. The Bills have gone 24 straight games without losing the turnover battle. That's the longest streak in 75 years. 

The Valkyries have proven resilient all season becoming the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs. They get tremendous fan support at Chase Center, where their 18,064 arena is sold out.

This should be a tight defensive game with every point mattering. Golden State is eliminated with a loss.

This is what Minnesota superstar Napheesa Collier said about today's matchup: “No one on this team thinks that this is going to be an easy game, by any means. We know it’s going to be a fight. They all work really, really hard. That’s been a staple of their team this entire season, and their home crowd is really great. It’s going to be a really tough game, and we have to make sure that we come with our A-game, especially on defense.”  

The Valkyries should get a better break from the officials than they did in Game 1 at Minnesota being home now and after their coach, Natalie Nakase, complained about the officiating.

Note, too, that Golden state had the second-best point spread mark in the league during the regular season covering 64 percent of their games.

Twins youngster Simeon Woods Richardson has given up at least one homer in five of his last six starts. He also has a very high barrel rate. These are enormous red flags as Richardson faces the Yankees today.

New York has seven players with at least 20 homers this season. So it is no surprise that the Yankees lead the majors with 254 home runs. Richardson can expect no help from a gutted Twins bullpen that has become one of the worst in baseball.

The Yankees, unlike the Twins, have motivation trying to chase down Toronto for first place in the AL East. The Yankees are 13-3 in their past 16 road games and have All-Star Carlos Rodon pitching.

Rodon is having a big season and he is hot down the stretch, not allowing any more than two runs in any of his past seven starts. During this  span, he is 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA.

Once upon a time Joe Flacco was a franchise quarterback for the Ravens leading them to a Super Bowl victory. Now Flaco is 40 and well past his prime, He has no mobility, a bad offensive line and a non-existent ground game to take the pressure off. Cleveland also could have the worst kicker in the NFL.

Just as bad for the Browns is they catch the Ravens at a very inopportune time following Baltimore's meltdown against the Bills this past Sunday night.

I see this as an absolute kill spot for the Ravens so I am not adverse to laying a big number here. 

There was a lot of preseason Heisman Trophy hype surrounding South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers. He is an intriguing NFL draft prospect because of his dual threat running and throwing abilities.

But so far in the early going, South Carolina's offensive line hasn't looked that good and neither has Sellers.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia doesn't get the publicity Sellers does. All Pavia does is help Vanderbilt cover point spreads. The Commodores are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games. This includes a 10-2 ATS (83%) mark when receiving points.

The Commodores were surprisingly good last season and they appear better this season with a stronger offensive line, more depth and plenty of confidence. They may have the best tight end in the country in Eli Stowers.

Even though it's only the third game of the season, these teams have a common opponent - Virginia Tech. Vanderbilt defeated Virginia Tech by 24 points. South Carolina only defeated the Hokies by 13 points. Virginia Tech outgained South Carolina and controlled the ball for nearly 10 more minutes then the Gamecocks. 

Thanks to Deion Sanders, Colorado draws a lot of media attention. The Buffalos certainly were entertaining and interesting last season with Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders.

But those two stars are gone. I don't find the Buffalos to be very good this season. They surrendered 320 rushing yards in a loss to Georgia Tech opening week and then only outgained Delaware by two yards in a victory last week.

Houston has the better defense, can take advantage of Colorado's vulnerable run defense and is home. The Cougars' offensive strength is their ground attack. Colorado is weak against the run.

Then there is Colorado's quarterback situation. It appears third-stringer Ryan Staub it's going to get the start behind center for the Buffaloes.

I'm not a huge fan of Houston quarterback Conner Weigman, but I would take him over any of them Colorado quarterbacks and he has a strong run game to rely upon.

After going 28-5 in their first 33 games and clinching the No. 1 playoff seed, the Lynx are just 5-5 in their last 10 games. They do not have any incentive and they do not have any motivation here.

Minnesota rested superstar Napheesa Collier in its last game not wanting to take a chance on her reinjuring her ankle. There is no reason for the Lynx to play Collier here.

Golden State, however, has incentive. A victory enables the Valkyries to finish in sixth place and meet either the Aces or Dream instead of the Lynx in the first round of the playoffs.

The Valkyries have the second-best point spread record in the WNBA at 27-15-1 (64 percent).

Given their talent, the Storm may be the most underachieving team in the WNBA this season. Seattle needs to win this game in order to clinch the final playoff spot.

Because of that we have an inflated point spread.

The Valkyries are an expansion team, but they haven't played like one. They are in the playoffs and have a chance to be the sixth-seed. Golden State has played hard all season. I don't see that changing here.

Golden State had won five in a row before losing to the league's best team, Minnesota, in its last game this past Saturday. The Valkyries outscored the Lynx in three of the four quarters.

 Seattle has stars in 10-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike along with Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams and Ezi Magbegor. Yet the Valkyries have the better record.

Golden State's 25-15-1 (63%) point spread mark is the second-best ATS record in the WNBA. The Storm have the second-worst point spread record in the league at 17-26 (40%) ATS.

LA is a huge favorite here. But by the time this game tips off, the Sparks may have little incentive to play. That's because their slim playoff hopes could end if Indiana beats Washington as expected. That game tips off three hours before the Spark game. So LA's players will know the result. Indiana was favored by six points on the overnight line. Washington has lost eight in a row.
 
The Sparks are on fumes done in by a brutal, late-season schedule. This is their fifth game in eight days. The Sparks just lost to the Dream this past Wednesday and Friday failing to step up in either game. Talent hasn't equaled results for the Sparks.

Dallas has been on West Coast time the past few days. They last played on Thursday against Golden State, easily covering against the playoff-bound Valkyries.

The Sparks didn't get into LA from their 5-hour flight home from Atlanta until Saturday. This is a Sunday afternoon game against a well-rested opponent that will be playing loose with no pressure.

The line is so high because Dallas has the worst record in the WNBA. But the Wings also will have the best player on the court in Paige Bueckers. She has been tremendous in the last two games against the Sparks averaging 36.5 points. The Sparks won those two games by just one point each with the last occurring on August 20th. It took a buzzer beater for the Sparks to nip the Wings, 81-80, as eight- point home favorites.

Look for another close game here. 

Certainly I give credit to Jaden Daniels. He's an electrifying player. I'm not nearly as sold on the Commanders as a team, though. I thought they were the luckiest team in the NFL last season. I see regression hitting Washington hard this season starting with this game.

Don't laugh. The Giants were right there with the Commanders in their two games last season, losing by three and five points.

I like New York's defense better than Washington's, especially the Giants' pass rush. The Giants have some of the best pass rushers in the NFL.

Daniels is a star. He doesn't have great weapons, however. Russell Wilson is on the downside of his career. Still, he's the best quarterback Brian Daboll has had during his four-year tenure as coach of the Giants.

Connecticut has lost each of its last 17 road games in September. I don't see the Huskies ending that streak against Syracuse.

The Orange are stepping down in class after a 45-26 loss to Tennessee opening week. Syracuse turned a corner last season under new coach Fran Brown. The Orange won 10 games and beat Washington State by 17 points in a bowl game.

Despite the loss to Tennessee, which was a step-up game, Syracuse showed  good things. It gives the Orange value in this game since they should be favored by double digits. Their defense has talent and quarterback Steve Angeli looked  good at times despite being under a heavy pass rush. He should have more time to throw against Connecticut.

The Huskies were 28.5-point favorites against Central Connecticut last week and won, 59-13. Jim Mora Jr. has done a nice job, too, coaching Connecticut. He has built that program up in his four years there. But Syracuse has a recruiting and talent edge and Connecticut is in more of a rebuild mode this season.

The results from last week have made this line lower than what it should be. I'll take advantage and get behind Syracuse.

The Battle of Alberta goes Monday, Labor Day, with Edmonton at Calgary. The record shows Calgary 7-3 and the Elks at 4-6.

Don't be deceived. The Elks can pull the outright upset. Edmonton has won three in a row, playing its finest ball of the season. That streak could be four in a row if one of their players didn't drop a touchdown pass against favored Hamilton in a four-point loss.

Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo and running back Justin Rankin are playing at high levels. They can keep Edmonton in this game.

It's hard to believe Calgary would suffer a letdown here, but the Stampeders are off a huge home victory against Saskatchewan in their last game dealing the Roughriders just their second loss of the season.

It has been quite a while, but finally in Year 3 of the Matt Rhule era, there is legitimate excitement about Nebraska. The Cornhuskers played in a bowl game last year for the first time in seven seasons. They have set their sights even higher this year.

Dylan Raiola showed much promise as a freshman last year. He's going to be much improved this season under new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, a noted quarterback coach guru.

I rate the Cornhuskers as much higher than a touchdown better than Cincinnati, a lower-tier Big 12 team. The Bearcats were 4-8 last season. They couldn't reach the 25-point barrier in each of their last seven games.

Brendan Sorsby and much of Cincinnati's offense is back. They don't excite me. I see Nebraska's defensive front controlling the line of scrimmage.

This game is going to be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It is not Lincoln, Nebraska. But there will be more Nebraska fans there.

When the Dodgers win, it is usually by more than one run. That has been the case in seven of the last eight instances. I expect the road Dodgers to beat the Angels by multiple runs today with Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing Jose Soriano.

Yamamoto is 10-7 with a 2.51 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 22 starts this season. He is an ace and he is in good form allowing only one earned run during his last two starts spanning 12 2/3 innings. The Angels have never faced Yamamoto. The Angels rank 28th in batting average.

The Dodgers lead the majors in runs and OPS. They are No. 2 in homers. Soriano is 7-9 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 24 starts this season. His last start was a disaster as he gave up seven earned runs in four innings to the Rays. Soriano's ERA in his last four starts is 4.91.

The Angels have the fifth-highest bullpen ERA.

The defending WNBA champion Liberty have been pointing to this game for more than a week after they were upset as 8-point road favorites by the Wings on national TV eight days ago.

The motivation and setting is ripe for the Liberty to get their revenge in double-digit fashion.

The rebuilding Wings just traded away DiJonai Carrington, one of their few good defensive players. Even with Carrington, Dallas was a bottom-three defensive team.

The Wings rank second to last in 3-point defense. That bodes well for long range shooting star Sabrina Ionescu, who has been hot.

New York remains without superstar Brianna Stewart, but did shore up its frontcourt, signing veteran Emma Meesseman to go with star center Jonquel Jones.

Dallas has played its last four games at home. The Wings are 1-4 straight up and against the spread in their last five road games.

Every point should matter here as this figures to be a very low-scoring game as the total indicates.

Chicago has lost six in a row. However, this is a step down in class for the Sky as five of those losses were against above average teams - Minnesota twice, Indiana, Seattle and Atlanta. Those were all above average teams with Minnesota being probably the best team in the WNBA right now.

Kayla Thornton is the Valkyries' best player. She is out for the season, though. Golden State also may be without Monica Billings and Cecilia Zandalasini. Neither played last night. This marks the Valkyries' fourth road game in six days and second in two nights. They are fat and happy with consecutive upset victories against Washington and Atlanta.

With a short rotation, a heavy fatigue rating and playing on the road against what should be a motivated Sky team, this is an extremely bad spot for the Valkyries. So I will take the points with the Sky.

Don't be fooled by the records of these two teams. Calgary is 5-2. Ottawa is 1-6. The Redblacks' one victory came against Calgary back in Week Three, 20-12, as 3-point road underdogs.

The stage is set perfect for the Redblacks to upset the Stampeders again this time at home.

Ottawa is off of a bye and in must-win mode. The Redblacks have talent. Daniel Adeboboye averages 7.2 yards per carry and is the league's sixth-leading rusher. Eugene Lewis is tied for the fifth-most receptions in the league. Ottawa has been hurt by turnovers and penalties. Look for the Redblacks to have cleaned that up during their past bye week.

The biggest factor for Ottawa, though, is Calgary isn't likely to have its starting quarterback, Vernon Adams Jr. Not only has Adams been enjoying a good season but there's a huge drop from him to backup P.J. Walker. Calgary was edged by Montreal, 23-21, as a 6 1/2-point home favorite last week after Walker replaced the injured Adams.

This is Walker's first season with the Stampeders. Walker has failed to distinguish himself as a journeyman in the NFL. He is just not an accurate passer.

Atlanta is 15-11, a much more sound team than 8-19 Dallas. The Dream rank in the top-five both offensively and defensively. The Wings are inconsistent on offense and a bottom-three defensive team.

Given the quality of the two teams and the scheduling dynamics, I find this point spread to be too low. So I am backing Atlanta.

The Dream nearly came back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit last night before losing at home to Golden State. Atlanta was an 8 1/2-point favorite against the Valkyries.

The prideful Dream does not want to lose consecutive games to these opponents, who are well below their caliber.

The Wings did not play last night. However, they nevertheless carry a heavy fatigue ranking. This is Dallas's fourth game in six days and third game in four days. It's also a letdown spot for the Wings.

Dallas upset the defending champion Liberty two days ago at home. That was a great victory for the Wings, their best of the season. It has to be noted, though, that New York did not have superstar Breanna Stewart in that game.

It has been a difficult and disappointing season for the Aces. But I will take double digits with them as they are a desperate and prideful team following an 80-70 road loss to the Fever on Thursday.

The one good news for the Aces in that defeat was superstar A'ja Wilson played fewer than 30 minutes. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammond intentionally kept her minutes down in anticipation of this huge matchup. I regard Wilson as the top player in the WNBA.

The Lynx have the stronger bench. But Las Vegas actually has more star power with Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.

The Aces have put together a little three-game win streak. The victories have been against the Valkyries at home in narrow fashion, versus the 7-17 Wings and an impressive home victory against the Dream two days ago. 

But make no mistake about it. The Aces are down from last season and way down from their championship form of two seasons ago. 

The Fever hosted Las Vegas three weeks ago. They buried the Aces, 81-54, despite not having Caitlin Clark. Clark remains out. That is not necessarily a huge negative though for Indiana. Bothered by injuries, Clark's shooting has been way off this season. 

Indiana is talented without Clark. They have a pair of All Star-caliber players, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, and a deeper bench than Las Vegas. 

While the Aces are a bit fat and happy, Indiana will be highly motivated after three consecutive road games, including back-to-back disappointing away losses to the Liberty.

I want the Storm at home in double revenge going for me against the expansion Valkyries. The Valkyries have already exceeded their season over/under win total with a 10-11 record.

However, the Valkyries are 1-4 in their last five games. They are at least one level lower than the 13-9 Storm.

It is a source of frustration for the Storm to have lost twice to Golden State last month. Seattle has a huge talent edge with three All Stars - Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams. The Valkyries' bottom-three offense can't match that firepower.

Golden State has been a major surprise, but the Valkyries are struggling now as this is the final game before the All-Star break for the teams.

The efficient Storm rate third in both field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Seattle was upset by Washington at home in its last game. The Storm certainly don't want to go into the All-Star break having suffered consecutive home upset losses.

After opening the season with three consecutive defeats, Edmonton upset Ottawa last week. Elks QB Tre Ford had his best game of the year with a perfect passer rating of 158.3

I see the improved Elks building momentum at home in revenge mode against BC. The Lions beat the Elks, 31-14, at home opening week. Justin Rankin has emerged as a dangerous threat both running and receiving for Edmonton. Rankin rushed for 105 yards against Ottawa and caught four passes for 69 yards.

Rankin's rushing skills help take the pressure off Ford, who hasn't thrown an interception his last two games.

QB Nathan Rourke returned for the Lions last week following an oblique injury. He looked good in spurts. The Lions, though, are heavily turnover-prone with a minus 9 takeaways/giveaways ratio.

Retooled Indiana was supposed to be good enough to challenge for the WNBA title this season. Through 13 games, it hasn't gone that way for the 6-7 Fever.

Caitlin Clark is back from injury, but has missed 16 of 17 3-point shots during the past two games. The Fever lost each of those games falling to the expansion Valkyries and the Aces, who are below .500 themselves. Things are not looking up for the Fever as they play their third road game in a row taking on hot Seattle.

The Storm are playing their best ball winning six of their last seven games. Seattle has defeated much better teams than the Fever during this span, including the Lynx and defending champion Liberty although New York was missing two of its three best players in that game, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.

This point spread is too low considering the circumstances. Seattle has won three in a row. The Storm's confidence is up and they are home. Nneka Ogwumike may be the hottest player in the WNBA averaging 25.7 points in her last three games. Skylar Diggins is an elite guard and Gabby Williams is the most underrated player in the league. Opponents get sky high for the Fever because of the presence of Clark and the media attention she brings.

The timing is bad right now for Indiana. Stephanie White was supposed to be a huge coaching upgrade on Christie Sides. White hasn't cleaned that low bar yet. White already has missed a couple of games due to personal reasons. Not a good look with this being her first year coaching the Fever.

Morale is not good for the Fever. Critics are saying White isn't running the right offense for Clark. The Fever was supposed to have upgraded their bench. But core veteran DeWanna Bonner is out for personal reasons and the reserves have been underwhelming during the current road trip.  

Clark and White are proven winners. They likely will get their ship back on the right course. But for now, they can't be backed.

Can the Pacers become only the third team in the last 47 years to win a Game 7 NBA Championship Series on the road?

No.

The marketplace is in love with the Pacers for this Game 7. The oddsmaker opened Oklahoma City minus 9. Many bettors remember what they last saw and that was the Pacers wiping out the Thunder, 108-91, in Game 6.

That game was in Indiana. This one is in Oklahoma City where the Thunder have a home net rating of plus 20.7 in the playoffs. Oklahoma City also is 6-0 following a loss in the postseason. Indiana has not beaten Oklahoma City twice in a row during the series. The Pacers have lost by 11 and 16 points in their last two away games versus the Thunder.

Oklahoma City is the best defensive team in the NBA. No team creates more turnovers than the Thunder. Indiana's most dynamic player, Tyrese Haliburton, is not 100 percent. If the Pacers fall behind, which I expect, they will get desperate with this being Game 7. That could lead to even a larger winning margin for the Thunder.

I'm backing the Pacers knowing they might not have Tyrese Haliburton, or a severely banged-up Haliburton if he does play.

There is one certainty for this Game 6 matchup. The Pacers are home, in must-win mode and will be playing their guts out. Here's another fact, the Thunder are 1-8 ATS on the road during the playoffs. They just are not trustworthy away from Oklahoma City.

Indiana happens to be 3-0 ATS in Game 6's and 3-0 ATS when facing elimination under elite coach Rick Carlisle.  

The Pacers have had the stronger bench and all five of their starters averaged double-digits this season. They have the depth with T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard to compensate for Haliburton's situation. McConnell is playing at a high level averaging 11.2 points, 4.2 assists and two steals a game during 18 minutes of playing time.

Not only is Connecticut 2-9 and arguably the worst team in the WNBA. But the Sun have to play on consecutive days, something extremely rare in the WNBA. 

The Sun have to do this, too, traveling and off a physical, dirty game on the road against Indiana last night. There were multiple technical fouls called in the game and two Connecticut players were ejected, Jacy Sheldon and Lindsay Allen. A third Connecticut player, Marina Mabrey, should have been ejected for shoving Caitlin Clark to the floor.

Tina Charles played a game-high 30 minutes. The 36-year-old Charles is Connecticut's best front-court player. You have to think she could be rested for this matchup.

All in all, it's simply one of the worst spots of the season for one of the worst teams.

Phoenix loaded up during the off-season getting Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally to join holdover star Kahleah Cooper, who is back healthy. Thomas and Sabally are among the best dozen players in the league. Thomas should be especially motivated returning to Connecticut having played 11 years for the Sun. 

The Mercury are 8-4, finding their stride with a 5-2 ATS record in their last seven games. They last played on Sunday.

At 5-5, the expansion Valkyries are way ahead of their projected season win total of 8 1/2. Natalie Nakase would get my vote for Coach of the Year if the season ended today.

Unfortunately for Golden State it doesn't.

Things are about to get a lot worse for the Valkyries. That's because EuroBasket 2025 starts Wednesday. Golden State will be missing four of its top seven players because of it. The Valkyries will be missing two of their three best players - Temi Fagbenle, who is competing in EuroBasket, and injured Tiffany Hayes - not to mention losing much of their depth.

The timing for this game couldn't be better for Dallas. The Wings are in dire condition at a league-worst 1-11 after blowing an 11-point lead against the Aces with 3:34 left during their last game, this past Friday.

Dallas is the biggest underachievers in the league. First-year coach Chris Koclanes is coming under heavy fire. This is a true circle-the-wagons game for the Wings.

Dallas has the talent. Paige Bueckers is living up to the high expectations of being the No. 1 overall draft pick and future superstar. She's averaging 17.4 points, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Arike Ogunbowale was the MVP of last year's All-Star game. DiJonai Carrington gives the Wings the three best players on the court.

It's not a surprise Phoenix is a road favorite against Las Vegas. The Aces are way down from their championship team of two seasons ago and are without reigning league MVP, A'Ja Wilson. She remains sidelined being in concussion protocol. Wilson's importance can't be stressed enough. She leads the Aces in points (20.9), rebounds (9.6 rebounds) and assists (4.0). She also prevents opponents from driving the lane with her defense and shot-blocking.

The Aces had not been playing well even with Wilson. Their only victory against an above .500 team was against the 6-5 Storm.

Phoenix has the second-best record in the Western Conference at 7-4. The Mercury rank fourth defensively giving up 78.3 points a game. By contrast, the Aces rank ninth defensively permitting 84 points a game and now they don't have Wilson.

The 1-11 Wings, the worst team in the league, put up 84 points against the Aces despite scoring only two points during the final four minutes. The Aces exerted tremendous energy in coming from way behind to beat the Wings at home two days ago. They still could be tired from that game since it was their first full game minus Wilson. Rested Phoenix has been idle since Wednesday.

Not only do the Sparks possess a huge talent edge against the Valkyries, but this also is a good situational spot for Los Angeles. 
Golden State could still be on Cloud 9 after stunning the Aces, 95-68, at home this past Saturday. That was the first-year Valkyries' biggest win in their short existence. 

It also puts the Valkyries in a letdown spot against the revenge-minded Sparks. Los Angeles lost to Golden State, 82-73, as 10 1/2-point home favorites on May 23. 

There isn't one player on expansion Golden State that I would rank above LA's top five players - Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Azura Stevens, Rickea Jackson and Odyssey Sims. Those players have made LA the No. 1 scoring team in the WNBA at 93.3 points a game. That's 16.3 points per game more than what the Valkyries average.

Unlike what this inflated point spread may indicate, this Game 1 moment isn't too big for the Pacers. It wouldn't even shock me if the Pacers stole this road game. 

The Pacers have four strong things going for them: They are the most accurate 3-point shooting percentage team in the postseason hitting at a 40.1 percent clip. They take care of the ball ranking third in turnover rate, which is where they finished during the regular season, and they are extremely well coached by Rick Carlisle. That results in the fourth factor, a tremendous point spread mark.

Indiana has covered 11 of its 16 playoff games for 69 percent! This includes a 6-1 ATS record during their past seven road games. When it comes to Game 1's, the Pacers are 3-0 with victories against the Bucks and straight-up road wins against the Cavaliers and Knicks as underdogs. 

The situation also is good for the underdog. Indiana last played on Friday. So the Pacers have had a good rest and the dangerous Carlisle has had ample time to draw up a solid game plan. The Pacers were 7-1 SU and ATS when they played this season with at least three days of rest. 

On the other hand, Oklahoma City has been idle for eight days. That's too long. It adds an extra element of randomness into the equation. Randomness is good for a large underdog. 

By the way, the Thunder had nine days off before they played the Nuggets after opening their postseason with a sweep of the Grizzlies. The Thunder were 10 1/2-point home favorites and lost that Game 1 to the Nuggets straight-up.

Since losing superstar Caitlin Clark to a quad strain, Indiana has gone 0-2. The Fever lost to Washington, 83-77, as a four-point road favorite last Wednesday and then was humbled by Connecticut - the worst team in the WNBA - with an 85-83 loss as a double-digit home favorite last Friday.

The Fever had veteran guards Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson when they lost to the Mystics last week. Now those two aren't expected to play because of injuries joining Clark on the sidelines. It leaves the Fever so thin at guard that they had to apply to the league to get an emergency hardship in order to sign guard Aari McDonald.

So not are the Fever going to be missing Clark and her across the board production and leadership - 19 points a game, 9.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 31.4 percent shooting from 3-point range - but they are down to their fourth-string point guard.

Washington is not a patsy. The Mystics tied for the best point spread record in the league last year at 25-14-1 (64 percent) and has a winning point spread record this season. They have the best guard on the court by far with Clark out in Brittney Sykes and a pair of rookie-of-the-year candidates, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

The Mystics are physical and they like to run. The Fever are going to have problems staying with them minus Clark.

The Fever are a frustrated bunch. Caitlin Clark is out with an injury and the Fever just suffered an upset road loss to the Mystics this past Wednesday. 
I look for the Fever at home to take their frustrations out on the perfect patsy, Connecticut. 

This isn't the successful Sun team of the two previous seasons that reached the conference semifinals each of those years under Stephanie White. The Sun are in total rebuild with a first-year coach and all new starters. They are the worst team in the WNBA at 0-5, 1-4 ATS. 

White is now Indiana's head coach. Worse for the Sun is they are banged-up especially in the backcourt where their second-leading scorer and assists leader, Marina Mabrey, is questionable and Lindsay Allen is out. Frontcourt player, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, is questionable, too. She's Connecticut's third-leading scorer and second-best rebounder. 

The Fever desperately want to prove they are far more than just Caitlin Clark. This is their golden opportunity to show that.

The Knicks stole a couple of games from the Celtics then caught a break when Jayson Tatum got hurt. The Knicks weren't better than the Celtics and they aren't better than Indiana. Sure New York has been somewhat magical. But I don't see them coming back from 3-1 down in this Eastern Conference series. A team hasn't done that in the East since 1981.

Since I regard the Pacers as the superior team, I'm backing them as an underdog in this Game 5.

The game is at Madison Square Garden. But getting this many points with the Pacers is well worth them being the away team and fading the zig/zag theory. Indiana has won and covered each of its last six road playoff games.

The deeper the series goes the more Indiana has the advantage. I say this because the Pacers have the better depth and coach. Not helping matters for the Knicks is that Karl-Anthony Towns also could be limited due to a knee injury.

Even though Jalen Brunson has emerged a superstar during the postseason, the Pacers' starters have been superior to New York's. The Pacers are quicker and more explosive. They've forced the Knicks to commit an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers per game in the series. Tyrese Haliburton has negated Brunson's dominance by his speed and all-around skill set.

Yes, Oklahoma City is the superior team and playing at home. But the tax to back the Thunder is way too high, especially given Minnesota is facing elimination. The Timberwolves have covered the past two games losing by only two points and winning by 42 points.

Since Feb. 13, the Timberwolves only have been an underdog of eight or more points three times. All were against the Thunder. Minnesota covered all three of those games, winning two straight-up.

The Timberwolves are 5-2 ATS, 4-3 SU when facing an elimination game under Chris Finch. 

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, Minnesota's two best players, made 21 of 32 shots for a combined 54 points in Game 3. The pair, however, were only 6-of-20 from the floor for 21 points in Game 4. They probably won't be as hot as they were in Game 3, but certainly should be better than their Game 4 performance. Even with those two shooting so poorly, the Timberwolves only lost by two points. That bodes well for the Timberwolves staying within the number here.

Now that the Timberwolves got their bad game out of the way, I'm expecting a much better performance from them in Game 2 of this Western Conference Finals. 

One of the keys is the open looks were there for the Timberwolves. They just couldn't connect, especially key reserves Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo. Those two were a miserable 4-for-25 combined from the field. 

Minnesota also didn't do a good job of setting up Anthony Edwards. He attempted only 13 field goals, his second-fewest shots in 38 career playoff games. Julius Randle was his steady reliable self, though. Randle scored 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor. He's averaging 24.3 points in 11 playoff games this season hitting 52.3 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from 3-point range. So the Thunder just can't key on Edwards. 

Oklahoma City can't but feel relaxed and perhaps overconfident after winning Game 1 by 26 points. The Timberwolves have to feel humbled and highly motivated to redeem their honor. 

The Thunder is 1-4 ATS the past five times following a win. Minnesota has won eight of its 11 playoff games. The Timberwolves are 2-0 SU and ATS following each of their previous postseason losses. They covered six of eight playoff games as a road underdog last season. Minnesota also went 11-6 for 65 percent as a road 'dog during the regular season.

The last time the Timberwolves lost two in a row by more than seven points, was way back on Dec. 21 and Dec. 23. That's a span of 65 games!

Judging by the series price and Game 1 point spread it seems preordained that the Thunder are going to roll past the Timberwolves in this Western Conference Finals series.

Oklahoma City deserves to be favored. Just not by such inflated prices. The Thunder are especially vulnerable in Tuesday's Game 1 having just eliminated the Nuggets in Game 7 this past Sunday.

Minnesota, meanwhile, took care of business last Wednesday. The Timberwolves have had six days of rest and preparation for this series opener.

But it's not just the situation why I believe the Timberwolves will cover - if not beat the Thunder straight-up on Tuesday. People that should know better are sleeping on the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards is blossoming into a superstar. He's averaging 26.5 points in the playoffs. Jaden McDaniels is becoming one of the best two-way players and Julius Randle is playing the finest basketball of his life, which is a high bar. The Timberwolves are 30-6 in Randle's last 36 games.

Oklahoma City hasn't been in the position it is now, expected to win not only this series but its first championship. Minnesota has never won an NBA championship either. But the pressure is on the Thunder, not the Timberwolves.

While the Thunder had to labor seven games to take care of the Nuggets, the Timberwolves took out the Lakers in five games and then won four straight against the Warriors after losing the series opener.

The Storm are a good team. Not elite, but above average with plenty of star power and experience.

I'm not so sure about Phoenix. The Mercury have a big three of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Cooper, but lack depth and backcourt experience.

It's a good time to play Phoenix right now. That's because Cooper is out with a knee injury. The Mercury are thin in the backcourt and the team is going through an adjustment period as Thomas and Sabally are new to Phoenix. It's a new look for the Mercury as Diana Taurasi retired after 20 seasons with the team and Brittney Griner left Phoenix in free agency after 11 years.

Judging by an 0-2 preseason, including a loss to the expansion Valkyries, the Mercury have yet to develop any chemistry.

So I don't see the Mercury ready yet to beat a borderline top-five team.

There's a reason why the Thunder are a road favorite against the Nuggets. They are the superior team. I look for the Thunder to close out Denver in Thursday's Game 6 Western Conference semifinal.

What gives me the confidence to say that is the Thunder are better defensively, have a much stronger bench, have less fatigue and their confidence and savvy has grown as the series has progressed. Oklahoma City has won the last two games in the series by poise and execution.

"We're a better team today than we were at the beginning of the series," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault was quoted as saying. "We're definitely evolving and growing and learning."

The Thunder were the best team in the NBA entering the series - and are even better now.

Denver is wearing down as the series progresses. Interim Nuggets coach David Adelman had three players logging at least 42 minutes during Tuesday's Game 5. Aaron Gordon played 37 minutes. Michael Porter Jr.'s shooting is off because of an injured left shoulder.

By contrast, the Thunder had only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play more than 38 minutes on Tuesday.

The Nuggets primarily have used just seven players. The fatigue factor weighs heavy on them. Oklahoma City is the fresher team. That's another key reason why I favor the Thunder to close out the series here.

Returning home after a season-long 10-game road trip, the Dodgers were ambushed by the A's, 11-1, on Tuesday night.

Situational handicapping isn't nearly so strong in baseball as in other sports, but I have to believe the Dodgers will be serious about this game after having their pride stung. LA is 15-4 at home.

LA has its best pitcher going, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He might be the best pitcher in the entire National League. Yamamoto has a 1.80 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. Yet Yamamoto also had his pride pricked during his last start. It came against the Diamondbacks in a loss last Thursday when he gave up five runs in five innings, easily his worst outing of the season.

Rookie Gunnar Hoglund is set to make his third big league start for the A's. He is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA. Hoglund has pitched well, but is stepping way up having accomplished those numbers versus the Marlins and Mariners. The Dodgers are first in the majors in batting average, second in homers and OPS and fourth in runs. Hoglund is not considered to be an elite prospect.

The A's bullpen has not been good, especially during the last 10 days where their ERA is 8.24. The Dodgers' bullpen, by contrast, has a 3.57 ERA during this time frame.

The absence of superstar Jayson Tatum and the continued poor coaching of Joe Mazzulla very well could mean the playoff outster of the Celtics to the Knicks. But I don't see that happening in Wednesday's Game 5 in Boston.

The Celtics are going to be super motivated with tremendous resolve to win this game having suffered three collapses in this series to the Knicks, a team they are superior to. The obvious question is just how much better are the Celtics to the Knicks without Tatum?

Given the circumstances - step-up situation, being home and with the season on the line - I envision Boston playing with fire and brimstone that results in a blowout victory.

The Celtics won 71 percent of the time with Tatum. They are 8-2 (80 percent) without him. So the Celtics actually have a higher winning percentage when they were missing Tatum. All of those victories without Tatum were by at least six points, too.

The Celtics restored some sanity to the NBA playoffs with their road blowout victory against the Knicks on Saturday. Now I'm expecting the same from the Thunder against the Nuggets in the Western Conference.

Denver leads this series, 2-1. But Oklahoma City is the superior team. The Thunder have led 82 percent of the time during this series. Not only are the Thunder a top-notch scoring team with better athletes and a deeper bench than Denver, but they are far better defensively than the Nuggets.

Oklahoma City has held Nikola Jokic to 14-of-41 shooting (34 percent) from the floor and forced him to commit 14 turnovers during the past two games. 

Credit to the Nuggets for managing a series lead despite being more banged-up than Oklahoma City and having an interim coach. But a return to normalcy is set to take place Sunday in Denver. 

The Thunder are an ascending team. They were the best during the regular season - and nothing has changed my mind that they still aren't the best. A Thunder blowout would not surprise me. It happened two games ago when Oklahoma City whipped Denver by a whopping 43 points.

Denver suffered a 34-point blowout loss to the Clippers in their opening series round, which went a grueling seven games. The Nuggets suffered two blowout losses - by 26 and 45 points - to the Timberwolves in the playoffs last season. The Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets in that series last year. The Thunder are better than that Timberwolves team.

What are the chances of the Celtics blowing two 20-point leads at home?

What are the chances of the Celtics missing 75 of 100 3-point shots in those games?

What are the chances of Jayson Tatum missing 30 of 42 shots in those games?

I can't begin to calculate the odds of all that happening. I just know no NBA team had lost consecutive home playoff games after being up by 20 points in each game. Until now.

The Knicks are riding a lot of house money as they come home to what's going to be a raucous and crazy Madison Square Garden. But, know this, defending world champion Boston is and remains the superior team.

The Celtics certainly aren't going to lack incentive and focus. They shot 36.8 percent from 3-point range during the season, 10th-best in the league. Tatum made 45.2 percent of his shots during the season, not the 29 percent he's shooting during this series.

Boston had a better road record than a home mark going 33-8. The Celtics have a deeper bench, are healthy and have more star power.

I don't believe it's a leap of faith for Boston to show a strong positive regression in this Game 3.

Stung by the Nuggets stealing Game 1, the Thunder buried Denver, 149-106, in Game 2 of their series this past Wednesday. 
I'm going against the zig-zag theory here and backing the Thunder to soundly defeat Denver again. 

It's not a fluke that Oklahoma City was 18 games better than Denver during the regular season. The Thunder are deeper and superior defensively. Oklahoma City also is faster. The Thunder averaged 120.5 points a game. Denver, which relies on its offense, averaged two more points per game than Oklahoma City, but gave up 11 points more per game than the Thunder. 

Denver is heavily reliant on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The Thunder has the antidote for Murray in defensive whiz Lu Dort. Oklahoma City figured out the right strategy to bottle up Jokic in its 43-point Game 2 victory - swarming him while playing pressure defense the entire time without a letup. The Thunder have the youth and depth to do this. Oh, yes, the Thunder have their own legitimate league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

The Thunder have covered 22 of the last 30 times they've been favored. That's 73 percent. The Thunder are a level higher than Denver and they are proven point spread winners. A change of venue isn't going to change that except to lower the point spread making the bar easier for the Thunder to cover another game.

Certainly Golden State deserves a lot of credit for its upset of the Timberwolves in Game 1 of this series two days ago. But the Timberwolves sure came out rusty after a five-day layoff following their first-round series win against the Lakers. 

Now the Warriors are looking at a highly-motivated Timberwolves squad that doesn't want to be trailing 2-0 heading to Golden State if they were to lose this game. The Warriors also are temporarily looking at life without Stephen Curry. He's out with a hamstring injury. 

Minnesota shot 17 percent from 3-point range against the Warriors on Tuesday hitting on just 5-of-29 from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage during the regular season at 37.7 percent.

Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler showed Sunday that you can never fully count the Warriors out. But the Warriors aren't the better team against the Timberwolves and they are at a severe situational disadvantage.

Minnesota has arguably emerged as a top-five team during the past 5 1/2 months. Anthony Edwards gives the Timberwolves their own superstar.

Golden State had to dig deep - physically and mentally - to upset the Rockets on the road in Sunday's Game 7. The Warriors also got an unlikely 33 points from Buddy Hield, who made a staggering 9 of 11 3-point shots and missed only three of 15 field goal attempts.

People were ripping the Lakers for losing their first-round series to the Timberwolves. That outcome wasn't surprising, though. Minnesota is the superior team.

Now the Timberwolves are in a great spot having been idle since eliminating LA last Wednesday.

Situation matters when it comes to the NBA. And this one sets up great for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder last played nine days ago after sweeping the Grizzlies. Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't even play up to his lofty standards during the series yet Oklahoma City still won the series, 4-0.

Denver has gotten exactly one day of rest after getting past the Clippers in a grueling seven-game series that ended Saturday night.

The Thunder have the best record in the NBA at 72-14 counting the playoffs. They had the best point spread record during the regular season, too, at 55-23-4 for a phenomenal 71 percent. Oklahoma City is home and has a huge situational edge.

That spells a double-digit victory in my book.

The Warriors would very much like to close the Rockets out at home today leading 3-2 in this best-of-seven series rather than go to a seventh and deciding game, which would be in Houston on Sunday. 

But what the Warriors would like and can do are two different things. 

Yes, Golden State has far more playoff experience than Houston. The Warriors also have two proven superstars, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. The Rockets can't match the reliability of those two.

Houston, though, has edges the Warriors lack. The Rockets have more overall talent, are younger and the superior rebounding and defensive team. Houston has had a fourth quarter lead in each of its playoff losses to Golden State.

Golden State is ahead in the series because of its veteran savvy. The Rockets, however, have chipped away at that as this series has gone deeper. The Rockets have their confidence up after building a 29-point third quarter lead this past Wednesday in coasting to a 131-116 Game 5 victory. 
The Rockets picked up the pace and applied relentless defensive pressure. Those tactics worked. 

"It feels like we're getting more consistent recognition of what they're doing throughout the series as it goes on," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said following his team's Game 5 victory. "Trying to wear them down and taking away certain actions, and we did that. Try to make them make plays and not run their plays. If they have to beat us one-one, we feel that's to our advantage."

Houston has its confidence and blueprint. The Rockets aren't intimidated anymore being in the playoffs with the Warriors. They are a rising power. Maybe it's not their time quite yet, but I'll take this many points to find that out.

The Rockets' young talent is obvious. But playoff inexperience, Golden State's veteran savvy and missed free throws have resulted in the Rockets being down 3-1 in their first-round playoff series against Golden State.

Now the Warriors look to close out the series with a road victory today. I don't see them doing it. Not at Houston.

The Rockets' one win in this series came at home in blowout fashion, 109-94, in Game 2. Houston is 30-12 at home. 

The Warriors have proven superstars with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. But Golden State also has far more age. This is their third game in five days and Houston is desperate. The oddsmaker made the Rockets the favorite and I fully agree. 

This is what Curry had to say about this game, "You understand closeout games are extremely difficult because of desperation from the other side. Try to do it on the road is even more challenging." 
The Rockets have the talent to match Golden State with Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. Houston has had fourth-quarter leads in its losses. The Rockets are the superior rebounding team. Their confidence and poise will be much better at home.

The record shows the Stars had a better regular season record than the Avalanche and Dallas leads this series, 2-1.

But I don't believe the Stars are superior to Colorado. Dallas has only led Colorado for fewer than two minutes during the series, yet is up two games to one because of a pair of overtime victories the past two games. The last coming three day ago, 2-1, in Colorado.

What was notable about that game was the return of Gabriel Landeskog. He played for the first time in nearly three years and looked comfortable playing on the Av's third line. The Avalanche plan on moving Landeskog to the second line tonight and use him on their power play.

The Avalanche ranked higher than the Stars in expected goals percentage and now they have Landeskog, an offensive force and spark, to go with superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Jake Oettinger has not been playing well for Dallas, giving up at least four goals in four of his past six starts. During this span, he has an .879 save percentage and 3.64 goals against average.

I see this as a kill spot for Colorado at home where the Avalanche take out their bad luck and frustrations on the Stars.

I had the Warriors to beat the Rockets in Game 1 - and felt lucky to win even though the final score was Golden State, 95-85. 

The Rockets grabbed 16 more offensive rebounds than the Warriors and had numerous missed open 3-point shots. 

The Rockets' youth showed in that first playoff game. Still, the Rockets could have cut the Warriors' lead to two points with less than five minutes left if Stephen Curry didn't hit a long 3-point desperation heave that took the pressure off by putting the Warriors ahead by seven points. 

Golden State shot 47.4 percent from the floor. The Rockets got off 11 more shots than the Warriors, but made only 39.1 percent of their field goal attempts. 

Expect an all-out effort by the Rockets knowing they can't go down 0-2 in the series at home. Their young, but highly-talented players, should be more comfortable and less rusty in Game 2. Houston also should make a much higher percentage of its offensive rebounds and open shots resulting from kick-outs. 

I see that happening.

The Rockets were four games better than the Warriors during the regular season. Houston is the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State is seventh-seeded.

Pay no attention to that, though.

It's misleading and doesn't mean anything now.

The Rockets have been idle for a week. They are rusty and lack Golden State's playoff experience having last made the postseason in 2020, the Covid year when the playoffs were held in the bubble in Orlando.

The Warriors played at a 61-win pace during their last 31 games going 23-8 transformed by a resurgent Jimmy Butler. They defeated the Grizzlies this past Tuesday in a play-in game to reach this point.

Houston coasted into the playoffs, losing its last three games by an average of 21 points. The Rockets are young lacking the proven stars the Warriors have with Stephen Curry, Butler and Draymond Green.

It's going to be difficult for the Rockets to reach full intensity having been idle since last Sunday and not caring during the last week of the regular season. The Warriors won't have that problem. They'll be ready.

The Wild halted a four-game losing streak and greatly aided their chances of holding on to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference by upsetting the Stars in overtime at home this past Sunday. 

Minnesota hasn't played since. The Wild don't want to give that important victory back by losing to the lowly Sharks, who have the worst record in the Western Conference and have lost six in a row. 

The Wild have defeated the Sharks six consecutive times. That includes a 2-0 record this season with each win coming by more than one goal. 
San Jose only has scored 10 goals in its last six games. If the Sharks can't find the net, they are in big trouble as they have the worst defense in the NHL allowing an average of 3.7 goals a game. 

The Wild are not a dynamic team. But they've had ample rest and should take care of business while the Sharks hit the road for the first time in eight days.

As much as I like and respect Florida, Houston's tenacity and elite defense has me going with the Cougars. 

Houston held the Blue Devils to 40 percent shooting from the floor and only one field goal during the final 10:30 of its dramatic Final Four, 70-67, comeback victory this past Saturday.  Duke averaged 82.7 points and 48.8 percent shooting during the season. Both top-18 marks. 

 Duke averaged 91.7 points during its previous four games before meeting Houston. To be honest, I thought Duke was going to win the NCAA Tournament. 

The Cougars are the best defensive team in the country. Their offense can look a little disjointed at times, but they ranked No. 2 in the country in 3-point percentage. The Cougars also are a strong rebounding team. They have the Big 12 defensive player of the year, Joseph Tugler. He's 6-foot-8 with a wingspan of a 7-foot-6 player. Tugler has 77 blocks, including four against Duke.

Kelvin Sampson is a Hall of Fame coach, a tremendous defensive tactician. 

Nothing against Florida, but I'm going with Houston since I give the Cougars checkmarks in defense, coaching and 3-point shooting. I can't see them not winning the title after their unbelievable semifinal victory against Duke.

NBA Bonus Play

Pistons minus 7 1/2 hosting Kings

Detroit has been special all season in qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The spot here sets up for the Pistons to crush the visiting Kings.

The Pistons are off a home loss to the Grizzlies from this past Saturday. They did get their superstar, Cade Cunningham, back for that game, though, after Cunningham had missed the previous six games with a calf strain. Detroit is 1-3 in its last four games. The Pistons won't lack motivation. The last time they had a 1-4 run was back in early December.

The Kings are off a huge road upset win against the Cavaliers last night. All five of Sacramento's starters logged at least 40 minutes in that victory. This is the finale of a six-game, 10-day road trip for the Kings and their fourth game in six days. That's a rough stretch, especially this late in the season.

I don't see anything left in the Kings' tank for this one.

Behold the largest Eastern Conference point spread of the season. Sure the Celtics probably could name their score here at home against the Wizards, but I don't see them being very motivated. Boston also doesn't have a good track record in this point spread range, failing to cover 13 of the last 18 times (28 percent) as double-digit favorites.  

The Celtics took their frustrations out on Phoenix after their nine-game win streak was halted by the Heat this past Wednesday. Boston buried the Suns, 123-103, in its following game this past Friday.

Boston knows it's locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference being eight games of the third-place Knicks, but trailing first-place Cleveland by five games with five regular season games left. The Celitcs travel to Madison Square Garden to meet the Knicks on Tuesday in their next game.

Only twice in their last 28 games, have the Wizards lost by more than 20 points. Washington has many young players. They'll want to show their best against the defending world champions.

Checkmark to Houston on defense. Duke, however, is the more complete team, has a size advantage and superstar Cooper Flagg. Those are reasons enough to justify laying these points with the Blue Devils.

Duke has a size advantage in the backcourt - pivotal because Houston relies on its perimeter shooting - and has 7-footer Khaman Maluach inside to dominate both ends in the paint.

The Blue Devils' size was a key in holding Alabama to 65 points in an 85-65 win during their last game. Alabama was the No. 1 scoring team in the nation averaging 91.1 points. Houston averages 17 points fewer per game than Alabama.

I don't see the Cougars being able to keep up with Duke in the scoring column. Not only do the Blue Devils have the magnificent Flagg, but also Tyrese Proctor and a strong bench. Unlike Houston, Duke is equally proficient scoring both inside and outside.

The Timberwolves' dramatic, 140-139, last-second two overtime road victory against the Nuggets this past Tuesday night was one of the best games of the NBA season.

Denver followed up that game with an upset home loss to the Spurs last night, although Nikola Jokic sat out.

While I don't expect the Nets to beat Minnesota straight-up, I do believe this is an excellent ambush spot for Brooklyn to throw a scare into the Timberwolves, who have to be feeling great about themselves pulling out a win against the Nuggets. Minnesota defeated Denver when Russell Westbrook missed a layup near the end of the game and Nickeil Alexander-Walker was fouled with one-tenth of a second left. Alexander-Walker's two free throws accounted for Minnesota's final victory margin.

That win put the Timberwolves into a tie for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West. You can't fault the Timberwolves if they suffer a letdown here facing the Nets, who are 26 games below .500.

Still, this is a second straight road game and a time change for the Timberwolves. The Nets are pesky. They actually have been quite good point spread-wise covering nine of their last 13 games. The Nets also are the more rested team having been idle since Monday.

This is one of those rare, if any, times I'm going against Oklahoma City being fully aware the Thunder are riding a nine-game win streak and have the best point spread mark in the NBA. 

Actually, it's not so much I'm going against the Thunder, but rather taking value on the Bulls, who are below-the-surface. 

Chicago is 9-3 in its last dozen games, 10-2 ATS. If it weren't for a one-point loss to the Mavericks, the Bulls would be on a five-game win streak. 

This is a good test for the Bulls to find out just how competitive they are. I'll back them, given how well they have been playing, at what I see is an inflated point spread.

Michigan State has reached the Sweet 16, but the Spartans haven't played their best. They are due for a big game. I see that coming here against a Mississippi team they match up well to.

Mississippi has pulled off upset victories against Iowa State and North Carolina to reach this point. The Rebels are extremely well-coached like the Spartans are. Mississippi is not a strong rebounding team, though, ranking 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC. Michigan State, by contrast, was the No. 2 rebounding team in the Big Ten and eighth in the nation in offensive rebounding.

The Rebels hit 49 percent of their 3-point shots against the Tar Heels and Cyclones going an amazing 19-for-39. That is uncharacteristic of Mississippi. The Rebels are not nearly that good of a 3-point shooting team. They ranked 173rd in 3-point accuracy during the regular season hitting 34.1 percent. Michigan State has the toughest 3-point defense in the country ranking No. 1.

The combination of Michigan State's 3-point defense and rebounding should be enough to derail the Rebels and allow the Spartans to cover this point spread margin. Michigan State is due for a better performance while the Rebels are overdue to cool off from beyond the arc, especially playing this opponent.

Alabama-Birmingham is an underdog worth backing. Not only do the Blazers play in the stronger American Athletic Conference compared to Cal-Irvine, which is in the weak Big West Conference, but Alabama-Birmingham has proved itself on the road.

The Blazers have scored road upset victories against Santa Clara as a 7-point 'dog and against St. Joe's getting six points. Cal Irvine wasn't impressive in beating but failing to cover against Jacksonville State at home, 66-61, in its last NIT game. 

UAB also has the best player on the court in 6-foot-9 Yaxel Lendeborg. He averages 17.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocked shots. He owns the school record for double-doubles. 

The Blazers play fast and are explosive. They are 16th in the nation in scoring at 82.6 points per game. Being on the road hasn't changed this as the Blazers rank 15th in the country in points per possession when playing away. 

Cal Irvine averages nearly seven points fewer per game than UAB, but features the superior defense. Some of that, though, comes from playing in the smallish Big West. UAB has been playing better defense late in winning and covering four of their five postseason games. 

UAB holds a rebounding edge. The Blazers rank in the top-20 in offensive rebounding. Going against UAB is going to prove a real contrast for Cal Irvine. 

The Blazers have enough going to pull the outright upset.

Washington is 15-55 after losing by 19 points to the Knicks on the road this past Saturday. 

Yet Washington opened as the favorite because Toronto is 24-47 and looked terrible in losing, 123-89, to the Spurs on Sunday. The Raptors were playing at home for the first time since returning from a four-game West Coast trip. 

"...We have to be much better, and I expect us to be much better tomorrow (Monday)," Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said following his team's no-show against the Spurs.

The Raptors are better than Washington and should be motivated. Only the Thunder and Cavaliers have a better point spread record than the Raptors, who are 42-28-1 for 60 percent.

Of the many great teams in the SEC this season, Mississippi is one of the least flashy. The Rebels don't get talked about much. Certainly not like Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. 

But this doesn't mean the Rebels aren't dangerous. They have the right mix and coaching to pull the upset against Iowa State. 

Mississippi is a semi-rarity these days for an NCAA Tournament team - a veteran starting lineup consisting of four seniors and a junior. They have leadership, poise and an elite coach in Chris Beard. 

I also believe Iowa State's coach, T.J. Otzelberger, is elite. The Cyclones, though, are the ones laying mid-range points and missing a key injured player in guard Keshon Gibert. He is Iowa State's second-leading scorer at 13.4 points a game and is the team leader in assists. 

The Cyclones were able to easily triumph against Lipscomb in their first-round NCAA Tournament game. Mississippi has better athletes than Lipscomb and can exploit Gilbert's absence with a more swarming defensive style. 

Mississippi's strength is forcing turnovers while ranking in the top-15 in committing the fewest turnovers. That's a winning combination against this opponent.

It's been an up-and-down season for Connecticut. But if the two-time defending champion Huskies are going to get eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, it's going to come from Florida not Oklahoma. 

The Huskies have won and covered their past 12 NCAA Tournament games. Look for that impressive streak to continue against the Sooners, who may be without center Sam Godwin. He's missed the last three games because of a knee injury.

Even with Godwin, the Sooners can't rebound with Connecticut. The Huskies hold a defensive and depth edge, too. 

Connecticut ranks 60th defensively and is the No. 2 defensive rebounding team. Oklahoma rates 269th defensively and is 324th in offensive rebounding. 

The Huskies are healthy, too, unlike the Sooners. 

Connecticut is the more well-rounded team with big edges on defense and on the boards. I'm not going against the Huskies against this opponent.

Cleveland is in danger of losing three in a row for just the second time all season. I don't see that happening here, though.

Following a 16-game win streak, the Cavaliers were upset at home by the Magic and then embarrassed by the Clippers, 132-119, on the road last night. LA made 54.8 percent of its field goal attempts against Cleveland.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson called out his team following that poor defensive performance citing lack of discipline.

So I'm banking on a strong, motivated effort from the Cavaliers.

The Kings have won 22 fewer games than Cleveland. The Cavaliers are an elite team. Sacramento is a borderline playoff team that had dropped four in a row before defeating the Grizzlies, 132-122, at home two days ago. That victory was costly as the Kings lost their best rebounder and defender, Domantas Sabonis, to an ankle injury.

Cleveland has the No. 2 scoring offense in the NBA. The Cavaliers rank first in 3-point accuracy. The Kings rank last in 3-point defense and now won't have Sabonis.

Motivation is a huge factor when handicapping first-round NIT games. Samford has it for this matchup. George Mason doesn't.

George Mason went 26-8, including 15-3 in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Yet the Patriots couldn't get a spot in the NCAA Tournament because they lost, 68-63, to VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament finals this past Sunday.

This was a highly-disappointing loss for the Patriots. I don't see them bouncing back on such a short turnaround. The Patriots aren't built to cover big margins either with their extreme slowdown style. They are 0-4 ATS the past four times when laying more than four points.

Samford, on the other hand, is excited to compete having never participated in the NIT before. The Bulldogs want to prove themselves after getting upset by Furman in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs aren't nearly as good defensively as George Mason. But they have other factors going for them. Samford ranks 12th in the nation in scoring, averaging 13 more points per game than George Mason. The Bulldogs are an excellent 3-point shooting team and are patient, ranking 29th in the country in assists per game. That's important when going against George Mason's vaunted defense and slow tempo.

So sure their season had ended, some of the Shockers left Wichita State for spring break following the team's quarterfinals loss in the American Athletic Conference Tournament this past Friday.

It was a surprise then for Wichita State when it found out it had made the 32-team NIT field. Now the Shockers have to travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State. 

This is Wichita State's first postseason appearance in four years. I don't believe the Shockers are ready for the challenge having already thought their season had ended.

Making it worse for the Shockers is Oklahoma State plays at an extremely fast tempo. The Cowboys aren't going to lack motivation having missed out on the postseason last season and being knocked out in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament. 

The Big 12 is superior to the AAC. Wichita State didn't encounter too many up-tempo teams in the ACC. Now the Shockers are on the road against a well-coached aggressive foe that loves to full-court press and plays at a top-15 pace. 

So I don't see the Shockers staying within this number.

Love the way Maryland is playing defense. But I'm not so in love with the depth of the Terrapins. However, the Terrapins only had two players log 35 minutes in yesterday's blowout victory against Illinois.

Maryland held the high-scoring Illini to 65 points. The Terrapins have now held their last five opponents to an average of 62.6 points a game.

The teams just met 10 days ago at Michigan and the Terrapins defeated the Wolverines, 71-65. I'm riding Maryland's excellent defensive form.