Between NBA and NCAA basketball today we have an extra-large card of plays to pick from, which means oddsmakers are sure to have made a few mistakes that can be exploited.

Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors

Indiana Pacers: -3.5
Over/Under: 193.5

Indiana opened up this season in dominating fashion with a 12 point home win over Detroit in which they held the Pistons to just 79 points on 36% shooting. The Pacers big men were the key to that win; David West had 11 points with 12 rebounds, Tyler Hansbrough 15 points with 13 rebounds and Roy Hibbert 16 points with 14 rebounds.

Toronto surprised many with going on the road opening night and picking up an eight point win as a 3.5 point underdog over the Cavaliers. Toronto’s victory over Cleveland was an all-around effort by the team win which they had seven players score in double figures in which guard Jose Calderon and guard DeMar DeRozan both led the team with 15 points each.

Both of these teams played very weak teams on opening night for each of them. If Indiana can go on the road and pick up a win that will help this team mentally showing they can win on the road. If Toronto can pick up the win tonight it will give them the confidence that they can beat teams that have numerous all-stars.

Indiana is 3-1 SU, 3-1 ATS against Toronto their last four matchups but they have not won in Toronto since February of 2008. Look for that to come to an end tonight, the Pacers should dominate the boards and the defensive side of the ball against this Raptors squad and should come out of Toronto with a win and an ATS cover.

Pick:

Indiana -3.5

Missouri State Bears at #19 Creighton Bluejays

Creighton: -10
Over/Under: 143

Missouri State (7-5 SU, 3-5 ATS) enters tonight’s contest looking to put an end to their two game losing streak against no better than 19th ranked Creighton Bluejays whom they have won the last five meetings between these two teams.

Missouri State needs to get the defense back on track if they plan on winning tonight’s contest considering they allowed 73.5 points per game the last two games which is 12.5 points higher than their season average of 61 points per game. Missouri State’s offense has been led by reigning conference player of the year Kyle Weems and his 14.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game.

The 19th ranked Bluejays (10-1 SU, 6-1 ATS) enters tonight’s conference showdown with the Bears on a three game winning streak in which they have a win margin of 20.7 points per game.

Creighton has dominated their opponents with the high powered offense that they have played this season. The Bluejays are averaging 86.1 points per game which gets even better at home where they are averaging 92.7 points per game. Junior forward Doug McDermott who should be in plenty of conversations for player of the year honors is having an amazing season thus far. McDermott is averaging 25.4 points per game while averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.

You cannot ignore the recent success that Missouri State has had against this Creighton squad, which in case you have to know the mindset of the Creighton players going into this game knowing that they need to beat this Missouri State team to put an end to that losing streak. This is a different Creighton team this season that seems focused and is not going to let this Bears team stand in their way. Look for Creighton to take out five losing games of frustration tonight on this Bears team.

Pick:

Creighton -10

Buffalo Bulls at Temple Owls

Temple: -10
Over/Under: 143

Buffalo (6-3 SU, 2-6-1 ATS) comes into tonight’s contest with Temple coming off a 15 point road loss at BYU as a 13 point underdog their last time on the court.

Buffalo’s offense has taken off the last three games in which they are averaging 80 points per game which is 5.4 points better than their season average. Buffalo this season is led on the offensive side of the ball by forward Javon McCrea (16.7 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and guard Zach Filzen (15.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG).

Buffalo’s defense has really struggled as of late. Over the last three games the Bulls are allowing 79.7 points per game which is 12.6 points higher than their season average of 67.1 points per game.

Temple enters tonight’s contest winning four of their last five matchups in which they have done with their fast paced offense that they are playing this season.

Temple’s offense has been the key to this team’s success early on this season. The Owls are averaging 74.4 points per game which gets even better when they are at home where they average 82 points per game. The offense for Temple this season is led by guard Ramone Moore (17.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and guard Khalif Wyatt (14.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG).

Temple needs to play better defense though is this team will be successful this season. The Owls are allowing 69.4 points per game in which opponents are shooting 43.6% from the field against them.

Both of these teams play very fast paced games that know how to score points with their respected offenses. They both average over 70 plus possessions per game which is why we have seen them go a combined 14-5 O/U on totals this season. This should not be anything different tonight on offense when they face off.

Pick:

Over 143

Seton Hall Pirates at #1 Syracuse Orangemen

Syracuse: -15.5
Over/Under: 137

Seton Hall (11-1 SU, 6-2 ATS) enters tonight’s Big East showdown on an eight game winning streak that included wins over Dayton, Auburn and Wake Forest.

The Pirates have done an outstanding job on the offensive side of the ball this season in which they are averaging 74.5 points per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Leading the Pirates offense this season is forward Herb Pope (21.4 PPG, 11.6 RPG) and guard Jordan Theodore (14.8 PPG, 7.2 APG).

The defense has been what has kept this Pirates team going strong thus far. Seton Hall is allowing just 62.8 points per game in which just two of their last eight opponents have scored more than 63 points against them.

Number one ranked Syracuse (12-0 SU, 8-4 ATS) puts their unblemished record on the line tonight against a strong Seton Hall team.

Syracuse is getting it done on both ends of the floor this season which is why they have climbed up to the number one ranking.

Syracuse this season is averaging 80.7 points per game in which they are shooting 48.8% from the field. Leading the offense for the Orange this season is forward Kris Joseph (14.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG) and guard Dion Waiters (12.3 PPG).

Syracuse’s defense has been even better than what the offense has done thus far which is hard to believe. The Orangemen have allowed just 59 points per game with teams shooting just 38.2% from the field against them. Those numbers get even better when at home where they allow just 57.4 points per game with 35.5% shooting against them.

These two teams know each other very well considering they play each other at least twice a season. This line is inflated a bit due to that number one ranking that comes along with Syracuse. Whenever you are the number one team though you will get every team best effort night in and night out, which is what we should see from Seton Hall tonight. This is just too many points to be giving in a conference rivalry matchup.

Pick:

Seton Hall +15.5

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