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Tonight’s game in Washington features the hometown Wizards against the Charlotte Bobcats. The line has held steady at 5.5 points on the Wizards. These are two teams that have talent but are unpredictable due to the youth of their lineups.

Both of these teams are coming off of three days rest which is why this line is as steep as it is. While some may see this as advantageous for the home team, I believe the value is on the underdog Bobcats.

Washington has looked lethargic as a group especially offensively. They’ve had severe droughts in scoring against the Kings, Bulls, and Knicks. Chemistry just seems out of sync.

They won’t roll over at home but I’d expect a low scoring first half that favors the defensive minded Bobcats. The Wizards have the better talent but are playing similar to the Pacers on the offensive end currently.

Grab the Bobcats tonight for high value of 5.5 points.

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Squaring off tonight are the 40-1 Kentucky Wildcats vs the 100-1 UConn Huskies. Two proud fan bases that surely put a little money on their teams when seedings were announced. Both teams had their lumps throughout the regular season but were top 15 teams at certain times this season. It just goes to show a team can get hot at the right time, or have the right matchups.

Kentucky is the favorite here but has not been as dominant as the UConn Huskies have been in the tournament. Besides UConn’s first tournament game against St. Joseph’s, they’ve held their ground against Villanova, Michigan State, Iowa State, and Florida. While Kentucky has used their athleticism and let heroics by Aaron Harrison to stay alive.

In a two day window to prepare for the tournament I’d expect Kentucky to stick to their tournament game plan. Utilize their talent and try to wear teams down with it. Against UConn they’ll have a clear advantage inside, but that hasn’t made a difference thus far against the Huskies.

As for the total I like it to go over 135. Kentucky’s defense has not been stellar in the tournament, and they will give up open looks. On the Huskies defensive side of things the talent edge they’ve had on the perimeter with their backcourt will be dwindled here. Kentucky’s guards and forwards should continue to shine with their shooting and leaping ability.

Turnovers and free throws are always a bench mark when taking a total. Kentucky will turn the ball over. Facing a UConn team that has had tough guard play should give the Huskies an advantage in points off turnovers. From the free throw line I’d expect each team to get 20 to 25 free throws each.

Play the over

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March Madness is about to conclude in a mere matter of days. Next up on the sports networks radar will be to profile the NBA playoffs. From mid-April until the Finals conclusion in June, series upon series will be played out. A potential first round matchup in the Eastern Conference is the Bulls vs Wizards. Currently the Bulls are a .5 game back of the Raptors for the third seed, while the Wizards hold the sixth.

A lot can change in the handful of games left in the regular season. But in tonight’s regular season game between the Bulls and Wizards I’d expect a playoff type atmosphere. The Wizards are coming off a hard fought win last night at Madison Square Garden, while the Bulls had were able to win against the short handed Bucks by twelve points.

The line opened on this game as even, and has shot up to the home town Wizards -2.

The money play is on the Wizards at home in my estimation. They’ve been an underrated defensive team and should be able to outplay the Bulls on the offensive end with their guard play. If this was a game a month or two ago it wouldn’t be a play, due to the inconsistent effort on behalf of the Wizards.

This time of year though with their first trip to the playoffs in many years forthcoming, that should not be an area to worry about. Play the Wizards tonight.

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The San Antonio Spurs captured their 19th straight win last night, with a dazzling performance over the Golden State Warriors. It’s a continuous yearly theme for the Spurs that does not skip a beat. Last season the anticipated matchup of the Spurs and Thunder hit a snag when Russ Westbrook’s knee injury occurred. Tonight’s game should have a feel of a Western Conference finals matchup. Lets take a look at it from a point spread standpoint.

Oddmaker’s opened the line in favor of the Thunder at -4. A generous amount of points considering how hot the Spurs have been. Top tier teams in the western conference have been tough to beat at home, and the Thunder are definitely one of the elite. An important element to consider with the Spurs is how poor they were a season ago in back to back games. A main reason that occurred was because of Coach Poppovich’s strategy in reducing or resting his players.

I would not be surprised to see Poppovich pull that type of manuever tonight as he could careless about an early April victory. His eyes and his team’s are on what will be done playoff time. On the Thunder’s side of things they want to get the upper hand at home and do so in front of a nationally televised game.

Play the Thunder tonight at minus four.

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Tonight the Trail Blazers travel to Los Angeles that figures to be a high scoring affair on network television. The line opened expectantly at 221.5 but has dipped down to 219. Any total that is set in this range is an eyebrow raiser. More times than not you’ll be able to cash on grabbing the under in situations this high.

This is a scenario where I’d say let the good times roll. The good times with both of these teams has been cashing on overs. Los Angeles is coming off a dominating win against the Phoenix Suns, in which they limited the quick strike Suns offense. Give Mike D’Antoni credit for keeping this team above the media’s expectations throughout injuries and an unsure lineup.

The key tonight is the obvious. Neither team plays sound defense and both thrive on the offensive end of the court. Balance is there for the Lakers from their starting five and an occasional player or two off the bench. That use to not be the case with the Portland Trailblazers but lately they’ve been getting contributions from their bench. Besides Mo Williams players like Thomas Robinson and Will Barton have stepped up considerably.

Expect lots of three balls and plenty of put back dunks. Play the over

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Today’s free play comes via a total in the Clippers vs Rockets. First thought from just about anyone would be to play the over. Last night in the NBA featured a plethora of jaw dropping scores. That likely will linger in minds to what should be expected from the Rockets and Clippers.

It’s extremely rare to see the type of scores we saw last night. Houston will also be without a proven scorer in Patrick Beverly for a length of time. With the way the Clippers second unit and overall defense has played, I’d expect the Clippers to play a bit more aggressively defensively.

Inside, the Clippers and Rockets match up very well against each other. Omer Asik and Dwight Howard against the Clippers bigs of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Scoring is going to happen in this game but not to the extreme of sailing over 217 points. In close games as this one should be, the fourth quarter will be maximized possession to possession. High totals such as this one need high scoring quarters for the entire game.