[Music] [Music] hello and welcome to a Friday live right here on the early line on Sports grid and all across the sports grid Network that includes Sports grid.com slatch where you can find your favorite destination and consume everything all across the grid he is Donnie right side I am Ben Stevens this is March it is Friday March 1st the calendar turns from February now into March and as we know DRS March is a month of Madness March is a month of brackets March is a month of Cinderella runs and
March is a month of basketball as Bill raftery once said missing free throws can tear Family Support it's a celebratory environment on this Friday it is March live right here on the early line we are together for the next three hours up until 11:00 a.m. eastern time or he could have said onions and that's what we're waiting for here for March can't wait to get it going here and for some of us Ben like it's March 1st and you say okay next week Conference Championship start in some conferences he
re but you can't relax this weekend did you see the card that's set up for Saturday afternoon NCAA action we have so much to get to over the next three hours to get you ready to put those dancing shoes on maybe three hours Ben just isn't enough time today we might have to go four hours you never know you never know I mean I mean if Donnie Rai is asking for four we can give you four we'll put our fours up into that fourth and final hour five ranked versus ranked top 25 tilts over the next two day
s in college basketball by the time we reach Sunday we will be exactly 14 days and 2 weeks out from selection Sunday when the 2024 NCAA tournament field of 68 and that bracket is revealed but a lot to do before we get there the final two weekends of the regular season at the mid- major level Conference tournament week begins next week it is a glorious time now in March live right here all across the sports grid network and to make sure everybody is here and welcomed we bring in that Sports grid
radio audience Sirius XM channel 159 all of our radio terrestrial Affiliates now in the fold as well he is Donnie I am Ben March not just a month for college hoops but also in the association that intensity ratchets up in the NBA deep into the home stretch less than 25 games remaining for every team all 30 MBA clubs around the league in that playoff push and speaking of the postseason a rematch of the NBA finals from a season ago last night in the mile high city in Denver a low-scoring affair th
at looked like a playoff off game the Nuggets up big Miami rallied in the fourth the Nuggets hold off the heat late to Prevail 10397 to take the NBA Finals rematch exactly like they did last June to win an NBA championship yeah no Tyler hero last night but also depending on what time you got that wager in at closing line at the F sports book six and a half points final score of this game 103 to 97 so we had some unbelievable finishes here taking look at some of those games coming right down to t
he wire not only for the game itself but also for the spread there no shame of the Miami Heats game here you go into Denver in elevation and put on a pretty good show now granted you did need to make a little bit of a comeback in the fourth quarter to get inside that number but you did we're just waiting now for the Mi heat to be fully intact in that starting lineup to really see what they can do but they put up a pretty good fight but the one thing we know Ben 24 and5 now at home to Denver Nugg
ets they're tough to beat there very tough to beat at altitude the advantage in the Mile High City Donnie is spot on when we spoke yesterday here on the early line as we always say taking an early look at the NBA games for late on a Thursday evening line was four and a half or five in favor of the Nuggets if you bet at then Denver covered if not you got a push with that six-point margin total stays under 214 and a half Miami under in 11 of its last 13 games but playing really good basketball des
pite the loss last night they had won five straight entering the Golden State Warriors also rounding into that postseason form we expect up by the bay the dubs the RS have won 13 of their last 16 they have won four of five since the allstar break and they have covered in every one of those victories including on the road last night inside Madison Square Garden the dubs a four-point road favorite they win 11099 yeah we talk to take a look at this game yesterday that four and a half point spread w
hen we were handicapping the game early it's a stone cold Golden State Warriors line the New York Knicks right now lot like the Philadelphia 76ers just lying in weit hoping they can steal games until important players come back into the lineup yesterday but it also give a shout out once again to the fandu sports book spent a couple nights in a row giving out bangers on their odds boost here how about this they had nine plus three-point shots listed between divon chenzo and Steph Curry I'm like y
ou know what I'll take a flyer on that even though we're on backto backs yeah they shot 33 point shots between the two players here dropping 10 combined but thank God that it was Steph Curry knocking down eight of those three points shots and divon chenzo only needed two but my goodness you tell me before the game two guys are going to combine for 30 combined three-point shots I'll take it baby love that boost last night they cashed in a big boost however New York with a short-handed lineup has
now dropped eight of its last 11 total stays under 223 New York in the calendar year 2024 has now played 28 NBA games they have gone under in 22 Golden State under a ton as of late as well we'll get to everything you need to know around the NBA but before we get to college basketball what a night it was for Victor wanyama in the San Antonio Spurs a huge upset at home the Spurs win outright as an 11-point home Underdog against OKC the Thunder entered as the hottest team in the western conference
winners of 63 28 points 13 rebounds seven assists five blocks two steals at the stat line for the generational talent that was promised Victor wanyama and Donnie here in the home stretch the second half of the NBA season Victor wanyama has looked the port of that generational Talent yeah he certainly has and also when we handicapped this game yesterday Ben I think we were both in agreement Oklahoma City was going to win the basketball game but San Antonio was going to cover the number 13218 that
should have been Oklahoma City's victory march here and it wasn't now let's not panic about this game we'll talk about a little bit later as well look the Spurs are just trying to win Oklahoma City is really fighting for that number one seed you have to win basketball games like this even if it's on the road that's a game that OKC lets slip away it might haunt them in the standings coming down the stretch some college basketball news now Caitlyn Clark has declared for the WNBA draft in 2024 she
could have used an extra year of Eligibility next year to return to Iowa City she has made it very clear she has headed to the WNBA and when she does one of the greatest college basketball players ever will leave behind a legendary iconic and historic resume yes she certainly will so what better way to go to the NBA and be that number one overall pick then put a ring on your finger here Ben with a national championship we'll watch it the way out but I love this announce it now going into the dr
aft now you can enjoy the final games here without missing anything oh no I didn't catch that game no wrong on you if you know a superstar is playing with only a couple games left it's up to you Ben to watch those games down the stretch and we will the Indiana Fever on the CL Caitlyn Clark making her way to Indianapolis as we go around college basketball a couple of top 25 teams in action last night St Mary's continues its role through the WCC they win their 16th straight they're a perfect 15-0
in conference a big victory against Pepperdine in Malibu yesterday in Washington state rallies in the second half to come back and beat USC but Donnie was all over it the Trojans cover as a six and a half Point dog the Vikings another shake up in the running back room they're going to release Alexander Madison we go into the FBA up [Music] [Music] next team that has a great point guard a great big that can block shots a team that can play defense and seniors that can put the ball in the Hall tha
t's who you bet on you don't bet on freshman you don't bet on teams that don't play defense there you go I mean you got to run the guy over to call a foul in a tie game in that kind of spot that was a bad job by those refs farel Coast to Coast only on Sports grid the Lakers lose by double digit it's last night on the road in Phoenix against the Suns the Suns get their first Victory following the All-Star break winning by 10 in covering Anthony Davis played 42 minutes in that game LeBron James pl
ayed 37 minutes in a loss this is the same thing it's like repeating this over and over and over sure you want to win these basketball games yes but you sort of say to yourself all right at what cost do we have the early line only on Sports grid like the Minnesota wild were down by two goals today uh they were down by three goals actually today at one point and they came back in one like teams like you know the Edmonton Oiler and the coyote game went back at four the NHL really you could argue r
eally is the best sport for in-game betting where you can pull the trigger on both teams Sports rage late night only on Sports grid cut the G gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over theut also said your NFD selfies would only go up in value they didn't but your head is on Sports grade and knows the QB is in concussion protocol the backup has a 45 qbr against Z coverage the New York team has the most sacks in the league so yeah trust your name it's smarter to be on Sports Grou
p anyone that's been to a sporting event the atmosphere before a game I think game time decisions has that same exact atmosphere this is our Arena this is what we do there is going to be an energy to game time decision that you will feel night in and night out the excitement you get when you when you lock your bets and when you're figuring out what you want to do we can Zone in on the biggest games each night I want this to be the place that people come to before the game start so they feel as r
eady as possible to lock in their cards we are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about we're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done there is not going to be a better place I promise you than game time decisions to get that new information react to it and be able to then bet accordingly we will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage I'm Kevin Walsh tune in
to game time decisions from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Sports crit [Music] [Music] a six-game NBA slate on a Thursday we go all around the association looking back on last night's action setting the stage for the weekend firmly in that playoff push around the association and speaking of the postseason Deja Vu last night in Denver the NBA Finals rematch from a year ago the heat on one side the nuggets on the other that altitude Advantage is nothing to trifle with Denver now at home 24 and five
straight up this year depending on where you got the number either you covered last night or you pushed Denver now 14 13 and Two Against the Spread as a home favorite with a six-point Victory as a six-point home favorite 103 397 Denver takes the NBA Finals rematch like they took the NBA Finals over Miami by the way you take a look at this game overall right and again you're going to feel great about this game depending on which way you bet and which line you got but let's remove that from the e
quation I actually like the performances out of both teams how could you like that it's 10797 what the heck actually went on the scrappiness of the Miami Heat without their full starting lineup hanging around there with a chance to beat the Denver Nuggets now chance I use certainly slightly but staying inside the number and being competitive here you take a look at the Denver Nuggets if I would have told you this Ben before the game hey you know what I know what that box score is going to look l
ike Jamal marray he gonna give you six points in this game Nicole yoka gonna give you 18 like wow that's a Miami Heat performance that they're going to gut out a victory here but still the Denver Nuggets won without their Superstars even playing well quite frankly I didn't see this come down but only 14 minutes out of Jamal Murray I'm gonna assume he probably left with some sort of injury in this game and they were still able to pick up the victory so that's a pretty good performance out the Den
ver Nuggets and what was the actual injury here to Jamal Mary do we know exactly what it was ankle knee hamstring exited early with what they are calling a sprained ankle the severity of it a timetable really has not been set but that is why Jamal Murray left last night for Miami no Tyler hero DRS as you mentioned at the top of the show Jimmy Butler did return after serving his one game suspension earlier this week for being involved in the fight with the New Orleans Pelicans Last Friday Night a
nd he returned with a 21-point performance the first game of five for Denver following the All-Star break that ncoic has not recorded a triple double only seven assists last night and under every one of those prop categories but Michael Porter Jr leading the way in the game and for Denver 30 points a game high so the Nuggets 24 and five straight up at home but Miami rounding into better form as well they had won five in a row entering last night four of those five outright as an underdog they ha
d covered in eight straight all of their last five games as an underdog not a cover necessarily last night but they also did not not cover the spread with a six-point closing number in Miami losing by six total in a lowc scoring what felt like playoff intensity on the defensive side fell well under 214 and a half the heat again under an 11 of their last 13 games so now we look at the NBA Championship odds the Celtics the favorites the best team in the NBA you can't really argue that number plus
to20 the Nuggets though back by $2 plus 420 the Clippers 85 to1 price you don't even see the heat on that board just yet but again heat culture starts to pick up now here in the month of March yeah and we're still waiting to get there's a couple teams out here like the New York Knicks the Philadelphia 76ers the Miami Heat we want to get glimpses of them full gas and in good form heading down the stretch to make a more informed decision but based on what we're looking at now you still like remove
the Celtics from the equation right you start to take a look at the other teams that might be able to knock them off the the Nuggets once again NBA champions last year dominant on their home court not even playing great basketball as you saw last night but still winning basketball games it's almost that time to start paying attention to them by saying like why are they not getting enough respect so well what do you mean not enough respect you take a look at the standings they're second in line
but keep in mind again they won the championship last year maybe they end up with that number one overall seed it just feels like when we equate it to college basketball there's a couple teams that are really good that we don't really talk about because I don't know if we take them for granted or the other teams are more sexy to sort of bet gear right with a better price point or maybe one of those teams you thinks the next up incoming Squad but the Denver Nuggets one thing you could say about t
hem they are good and they are steady Ben and they have won all five game since the allstar break now 41 and 19 only a game and a half back of the Minnesota timber wolves Oklahoma City now a full game back of Minnesota after getting beat snapping their six-game win streak on the road in San Antonio the Spurs winning outright at home as an 11o underdog but this was also the case with Denver last year we looked at all the teams behind them that might make that run the Nuggets were the underdog in
their second round Series against the Phoenix Suns the Suns closed as a slight outright favorite in that series price maybe a similar theme for Denver this time around by by the way Miami fifth best price to win the Eastern Conference Crown at the moment a 14 to1 number and there are some actors perhaps in the Western Conference DRS that are behind the nuggets in the standings that have the playoff and Championship pedigree that are starting to play better basketball here in the home stretch of
course including the Golden State Warriors who have now won 13 of their last 16 games they have won four of five since the All-Star break and they have covered in all four of those wins and 13 of the 16 in all 13 victories as well the dubs Victorious last night inside Madison Square Garden 11099 Golden State the road favorite inside the world's most famous arena they cover as a four four and a half Point favorite and it was basically who's going to make more shots than the ever behind the arc 84
three-point shots attempted if we combine both of these teams together and certainly the Golden State war is a better pedigree here and we talked about it again yesterday coming into this game the Knicks are just trying to hold on here the Warriors are trying to find themselves finally healthy again draymond's back the Good Vibes are there and also what would we talk about last year you couldn't win on the road as the Golden State Warriors they were horrendous on the road but this year how abou
t this 15 and 12 so maybe some good signs if they do make it into the playoffs here and stay out of that play and Round Here the one thing we do know as you pointed out it is a championship pedigree can they get their healthy can you have games like Klay Thompson scored 16 points last night four of 10 from three-point range Off the Bench you need need that type of spark here Chris Paul also coming back to the lineup as well now checking last night 26 minutes 11 points here he's going to get roun
ding into form so you have veteran guys that have won a lot of basketball not even in the starting lineup for the Golden State Warriors so a little bit different approach that's a good win 110 to 99 cover the spread here that's what you're supposed to do beat teams that you're more talented stack up those wins find yourself in that playoff race as we head down the stretch step a game high 31 he hit eight triples last night eight of 18 from Beyond The Arc Jonathan kaminga second most points for G
olden State with 25 Jaylen Bronson doing all that he can for New York his points prop closed at 31 and a half he stays under with 27 and again Josh Hart has to be a Tom fiido basketball player crafted in a lab 47 minutes last night 14 points 18 rebounds and seven assists the New York Knicks have now dropped eight of their last 11 they've only covered once in that 11 game span and oh the total of 2 23 stayed under golden state has won 13 of 16 they have been under in 13 of 16 all five since retur
ning to action from the All-Star break New York here in 2024 under in 22 of 28 games the Suns get a win at home against the Houston Rockets winning by five 110 105 but they do not cover as an 8 and a half Point home favorite 35 points from Devin Booker 24 points for Kevin Durant last last night we expected Bradley be able to play he was not in the lineup for the Suns who now as a favorite this year 1825 and Two Against the Spread a victory for Phoenix which is important in terms of playoff stand
ings but yet again a non cover for the Suns at home exactly every win is important we certainly want to agree upon that but only beating the Houston Rockets by Five Points a little bit of a disappointment because the Rockets now 5 and 24 on the road and basically looking towards the pingpong ball as opposed to a playoff run and this is what's going to be tough about the Phoenix Suns but we know the talent is there before the season I thought they had the ability to win the Western Conference but
still even handicapping them it's so tough I haven't seen them full gas for enough times and we know how this works out you can't just show up in the playoffs not playing a lot of basketball together like hey let's go win an NBA championship it doesn't work it does not work you need that line up the groove you need the depth in the valley as well but a victory last night for Phoenix we change from the association into college basketball on the last night in February now in March next during the
[Music] [Music] early team that has a great point guard a great big that can block shots a team that can play defense and seniors that can put the ball in the hole that's who you bet on you don't bet on freshman you don't bet on teams that don't play defense there you go I mean you got to run the guy over to call a foul in a tie game in that kind of spot that was a bad job by those reps farel Coast to Coast only on Sports grid the Lakers lose by double digits last night on the road in Phoenix a
gainst the Suns the Suns get their first Victory following the All-Star break winning by 10 in covering Anthony Davis played 42 minutes in that game LeBron James played 37 minutes in a loss this is the same thing it's like repeating this over and over and over sure do you want to win these basketball games yes but you sort of say to yourself all right at what cost do we have the early line only on Sports grid like the Minnesota Wild were down by two goals today uh they were down by three goals a
ctually today at one point and they came back in one like teams like you know the Edmonton Oiler and the coyote game went back at four the NHL really you could argue really is the best sport for in-game betting where you could pull the trigger on both teams Sports rage late night only on Sports grid well and to cut through the your gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over your gut also said your NFD selfies would only go up in value they didn't but your head is on Sports grd a
nd knows the QB is in concussion protocol the backup has a 45 Q own coverage the New York D has the most sacks in the league so yeah trust your name it's smarter to be on Sports Group anyone that's been to a sporting event the atmosphere before a game I think game time decisions has that same exact atmosphere this is our Arena this is what we do there is going to be an energy to game time decision that you will feel night in and night out the excitement you get when you when you lock your bets a
nd when you're figuring out what you want to do we can Zone in on the biggest games each night I want this to be the place that people come to before the game start so they feel as ready as possible to lock in their cards we are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about we're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done there is not going to be a better place I promise you than game time decis
ions to get that new information react to it and be able to then bet accordingly we will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage I'm Kevin Walsh tune in to game time decisions from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Sports crit [Music] the final night of February was yesterday this is Friday March 1st this is March it is a month of Madness it is a month of chaos it is a month where college basketball is at its absolute best maybe you haven't been paying attention all year
long maybe you're like my co-host Donnie right side where you don't believe in Silly non-conference Season you start to really tune in and finetune your gears for a run to the big dance and that tournament known as March Madness we welcome you here to this Friday on the early line to recap the final night of February in college hoops to set up a Monumental Saturday slate I mean Monumental DRS we have five top 25 ranked versus ranked games throughout this weekend just two weeks out from selectio
n Sunday got to show the shirt again it is Bill raftery saying free throws can destroy a family because we know how important the charity stripe is here in the month of March I am fired up it should be a national holiday when the calendar F flips from February to the month of March by the way quick Point here when you were showing the shirt I actually thought that was Rick har on the shirt right there which would pretty impressive here getting ready for the month of March but yeah look at it let
's show it again show it again real quick like real quick do it look at this watch who oh yeah Rick Haro right there all right coming in from uh Florida about to have some pickle ball action right there love it there you go get in the Spear of the business at this point now so I appreciate it yeah I could make Raph speak because the microphone is wi in his face onions wow double order or I could go Rick horo and say I don't even know what I'm talking about economic billions of dollars of economi
c social impact see I could do whatever I wanted to do there will continue talking looking back on the final night of February in college basketball one of the top 25 teams in action DRS late night up on the PLU in Pack 12 country Washington State taking on USC the second consecutive week wazo has been ranked in the top 25 they hadn't been ranked in the AP poll start of last week since 2008 they closed as a seven and a half Point favorite against the Trojans last night Washington state was down
by as many as nine with under about 11 minutes left before the cougs started their rally they come all the way back to pick up a big three-point home win 7572 USC does get the cover getting 7even and a half points on the road yeah by the way you take a look at a handicap that I had yesterday why like USC I thought you getting some value in them seven points I thought was too much and quite frankly they could have won that basketball game but sometimes it works out exactly the way you would think
told you yesterday Ben that we're looking at USC Beyond The Arc they don't really care about shooting the three-point shot only shot 10 of them and only made two but the one thing that they do do is score inside the paint and also Washington state will let you score inside the paint USC got 25 buckets inside the three-point line yesterday to hang around in that basketball game now granted USC is not going to March badis unless they get that automatic bid by winning the Pack 12 which they're not
going to do but still late in the season you can find some of those mismatches that you think make some sense and also from your point of view Washington State really needed that basketball game for that seed line right they got the victory but also UFC a pretty good talent here up at the break here couldn't hold on and who cares you got the money line win I got the cover here it was a perfect stor and the handicap it wasn't one I was like yeah I won it but well I didn't see the game going that
way it was exactly the way Ben I thought that game would play out it worked out perfectly again some people here on the sports grid Network that might host the show starting at 600 p.m. eastern time did tell me and then got brazing mad when I said he had absolutely that's good that's very good I hope that is played tonight on Game Time decisions but somebody once told me that USC would be the number one story of this college basketball season because of bronny James he played 12 minutes off the
bench last night and had two points but there was an idea that southern cow would be so much more than what we have seen this year now five and 12 in Pack 12 Play not just because of bronny James a talented young freshman but Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis in that starting lineup as well they haven't been fully healthy all year long Andy enfield's Trojans maybe they make some noise in the Pack 12 tournament now that everybody is fully healthy for what we know about USC though they are just fou
r and six against the spread in their 10 games as an underdog in conference action one out right Victory though this past weekend against UCLA and then covering on the road yesterday against wazu who is now 13 wins 13 and five in Pack 12 play they have covered in 10 of 13 three non- covers booked as a favorite they are a half game behind Arizona in the standings but Washington State the season series sweep over the Wildcats this year throughout the regular season so those are names that we expec
t to see in March here's another and we obviously just often put Gonzaga into the NCAA tournament at least in one of the top four seed lines for that bracket when is when it is revealed over two weeks from Sunday on selection Sunday not necessarily the case for the zags this year but they are playing much better basketball make that seven straight wins for Gaga last night a semi away neutral sight game in San Francisco against us s f that's the University of San Francisco but not at the dawn's h
ome arena inside the chase Center where Golden State plays its home NBA games Gonzaga gets a big victory though to make it seven in a row 8668 the Bulldogs cover DRS as a four and a half Point favorite yeah we're expecting the Bulldogs to get into March Madness here even without an automatic bid running through that WCC Conference tournament here but let's also take a look at Gonzaga as a different angle from what we had in the past doesn't it always seem Ben when you're lining up Gonzaga you're
saying to yourself well a lot of pressure on them do they deserve the number one seed are they a two or they a three but also one of the favorites here to make a Deep Run we don't have that this year taking a look at Gonzaga still a very good ball club and I do expect them to be a March man this but maybe they attack it a little bit differently here because they don't have that pressure where everybody's just waiting to say oh well look Ben they play in the WCC yes they went you know 15- one in
conference play but they always come up a little bit short here I'm interested to see how they play on it with a chip on their shoulder because some people even thinking if they slip up early in the WCC tournament or the rest of the conference way that they might not even included in the field of 60 here which I do think is madness here but I'd like to chip on the shoulder angle for Gonzaga to see how they enter into the conference tournament this year and also to March Madness a quad one win f
or the zags last night in that neutral sight game they need to bolster the resume they cover as a 4 and a half Point favorite Gonzaga was 11 and5 DRS on J January 11th after a loss to Santa Clara early on in WCC play from that point make it 12- 13 now for Mark fuse crew they have won seven straight Graham EK a highly touted transfer from Wyoming big last night for the zags a game high 26 points there's a lot of returning Talent on this Gonzaga team that you'll recognize from last year's NCAA tou
rnament run and they added Ryan nart the transfer from G uh from kraton now playing for the zags who is a sensational point guard a lot of talent and don't just think because the Bulldogs won by nearly 20 points that USF is a walkover they were 11 and3 in WCC play entering last night so a huge game between Gonzaga and St Mary's tomorrow in Moraga that's in California where the gals play their home basketball last night St Mary's on the road down in Malibu California to take on Pepperdine 14 and
a half Point favorite and St Mary's covers that number winning by 26 8357 St Mary's now DRS 16 consecutive wins a perfect 15-0 in WCC play they quench the conference Championship last night in the regular season with a victory over the waves yeah and they're really good here and I'm interested to see them also in March mandis but let's get something out of the way as well usually when we're betting Ben let's just even equate the NFL whatever sport you want here hey look St Mary's clinched the re
gular season so that last game really doesn't mean anything absolute nonsense you don't think St Mary's could care less about saying we're 15 and0 and we've already beat them one time here not a big deal if we lose because that would be a season series split and also at the same time hey look we're still won this we're the number one SE in the WCC absolutely not they will be out for blood Saturday going up against Gonzaga here this s to drive that point home that says we're perfect in the regula
r season we beat you twice and you know what in the WCC tournament we hope to beat you a third time here at this point here I can't wait to watch that game play out but again from the handicapping perspective one team's wrapped it up the other one's still trying to get into the tournament nonsense tomorrow that's going to be a great basketball game that St Mary's will be going full gas to knock en zaga down again St Mary's 15th in the net a quad one opportunity if the zags can win on the road th
e line not out just yet but if you use the Kenneth pomoy numbers he projects a saint Mary 7270 Victory total in the low 40s 2 and A2 point spread perhaps in favor of the Gales at home game tips at 10 p.m. eastern time in Moraga please do not go to sleep early on a Saturday here's one of the best stories DRS in college basketball certainly in the Big 10 in the last two and a half weeks after Ohio State fired Chris Holman Jake deer longtime Ohio State member of that basketball program takes over a
s the interim head coach Ohio state has won three of the four games now under Jake deer covering last night at home as a two and a half Point favorite against Nebraska the Buckeyes win 7869 a strong close to the opening half and a second half again three and one under Jake dler as the interim head coach in Columbus and by the way winnable games on the way out too because you're right they beat Michigan State on the road which was a great victory in a late shot then they handled Nebraska quality
opponent at home Michigan at home should be a victory for them and also going to Ruckers which is always tough to play in New Jersey but not the same Ruckers team that we've seen over the past couple years in the Big 10 could this be one of those teams that gets hot at the end of the regular season making a coaching change picks up a couple W's here down the stretch and also in conference t play how about that Ohio State resurrected here Ben for March Ohio State a down year last year made a run
all the way in the Big 10 turny to the conference tournament championship game against p Nebraska needed a road win to clinch their NCAA tournament birth they'll still have another opportunity against Michigan we're back on the early line [Music] [Music] next team that has a great point guard a great big that can block shots a team that can play defense and seniors that can put the ball in the hole that's who you bet on you don't bet on freshman you don't bet on teams that don't play defense the
re you go I mean you got to run the guy over to call a foul in a tie game in that kind of spot that was a bad job by those ref farel Coast to Coast only on Sports grid the Lakers lose by double digits last night on the road in Phoenix against the Suns the Suns get their first Victory following the All-Star break winning by 10 in covering Anthony Davis played 42 minutes in that game LeBron James played 37 minutes in a loss this is the same thing it's like repeating this over and over and over sur
e do you want to win these basketball games yes but you sort of say to yourself all right at what cost do we have the early line only on Sports grid like the Minnesota Wild were down by two goals today uh they were down by three goals actually today at one point and they came back in one like teams like you know the Edmonton Oiler and the coyote game went back and fourth the NHL really you could argue really is the best sport for in-game betting where you could pull the trigger on both teams Spo
rts rage late night only on Sports grid well and to cut the middle theut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over theut also said your NFP selfies would only go up in value they didn't but your head is on Sports grade and knows the QB is in concussion protocol the backup has a 45 qbr against the Zone coverage the New York team has the most sacks in the league so yeah trust your me it's smarter to be on Sports Group anyone that's been to a sporting event the atmosphere before a gam
e I think game time decisions has that same exact atmosphere this is our Arena this is what we do there is going to be an energy to game time decision that you will feel night in and night out the excitement you get when you when you lock your bets and when you're figuring out what you want to do we can Zone in on the biggest games each night I want this to be the place that people come to before the game start so they feel as ready as possible to lock in their cards we are going to hit every si
ngle one of those markets that you need to know about we're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done there is not going to be a better place I promise you than game time decisions to get that new information react to it and be able to then bet accordingly we will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage I'm Kevin Walsh tune in to game time decisions from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Sports cri
t [Music] we are 16 days away from selection Sunday when the NCAA tournament bracket here in 2024 is unveiled this is the first day in March if you haven't bet the futurist Market in college basketball here are the odds you need to know as we approach the big dance Yukon who won it last year cut down the Nets in early April looking to go back to back as the first defending national champs since Florida did so in 2006 and 2007 Connecticut right now booked as the favorite plus 550 but outside of Y
ukon DRS it's really a story of The Big Three three teams with three digits in their prices before we fall off to the rest of the country Yukon plus 550 Houston the number one team in the country 7 to1 and Purdue just 50 cents back not only are those three teams all ranked in the top three of the AP Top 25 but the three best prices to win a National Championship now I'm going to use this word here as trust now it might be interesting because if we're heading into March mandace right the field co
mes out we watch section Sunday we know let's just say if it ended today top three seeds let's just say Connecticut Houston and Purdue and yes I do use Purdue at a plus 750 price as trust because they are a quality basketball team I'm not looking at them heading into the tournament which many will saying you know what they're past you know we just can't get over it I understand if you're handicapping that way but each and every year just like each and every game then a separate entity you want t
o put your best foot forward and say look I still have to trust the numbers if they make sense they're healthy and they have the best player in basketball they should do damage maybe they will maybe they won't but if we're looking at Connecticut plus 550 price at the fandu sports book Houston 7 to1 and then Purdue a plus 750 I look at them on a different level than anybody else because I think On Any Given night if they don't bring their aame they're still good enough to beat a quality opponent
so if we start right there I don't mind anybody taking those teams and we're not going to unit shame or we're not gonna you know odd shame oh of course Donnie you like Houston at a seven to1 price no yeah I actually do like Houston because I know the quality they are and the opponents that they beaten this year in the Big 12 and how they can stack up so just on that one line as I like to call it the top three teams even though Purdue is included in there I do trust Purdue and I think you're goin
g to get honest efforts out of all three of those teams moving forward here Ben listen the season for the boiler makers is going to be judged by the next few weeks into early April if it reaches that point for Purdue after being upset as a one seed last year by the 16 seed in Fairley Dickinson just the second time since 1985 a 16 has ever beaten A1 Purdue will be the punchline of a lot of jokes in March until they change the narrative I like Donny believe the boiler makers can flip that narrativ
e and the script this year Purdue trying to reach a final four for the first time in 43 years that is since 1980 Donnie I have talked about the kenpom numbers a few times throughout this week on the show 20 of 21 years since 2002 the eventual national champ Champion has ranked in the top 20 of Ken Palm's offensive efficiency numbers and then the top 25 of the defensive efficiency numbers by the time the NCAA tournament got underway you look at those top five teams Yukon Houston Purdue Arizona Te
nnessee all check out in that regard North Carolina slightly outside in offense but not far behind Marquette is good Iowa State not there offensively Duke inside those two key metrics as is Auburn that means that eight of the 10 we just displayed for you fit at least the kenpom trends to eventually be a national champion there is a lot of parody this year in college basketball there are the dominant teams I believe in those big three that you see with three digits in their prices but I think the
re are a ton of teams I'd probably put the number right now Donnie at about 10 to 12 I would consider legitimate National Championship contenders yes and it's great here too because you're going to have a lot of fun with this here's how I'm going to explain it we just talked about the top three level Connecticut Houston and Purdue has teams you can trust and yes again Purdue is included in that number everybody else in the tournament Ben I don't trust here which is fantastic for parody and chanc
es for you to make a run and hit on a big ticket you take a look at that second line right Arizona and Tennessee very good basketball teams I don't necessarily know if I trust them moving forward if they don't bring their a game they can win a basketball game this isn't a knock also on these institutions they're really good teams but I'm just talking about the cream of the crop and the rest of it so when I take a look then I say you know what where's that price point that makes some sense becaus
e if I honestly believe there's a three and everybody else we're going to start going down and I like to go with layers so for me I took a 20 to1 a 30 to1 and a 40 to1 here which I think are going to measure up in Conference tournament time that can knock just about anybody off the 20 to1 is Marquette now yes we're waiting on colic to see how serious that injury is I'm going to say it's not going to be serious that'll hamper him let's just say down the stretch in the conference tournament and al
so in the March Madness the 30 to one is Kentucky everybody seems to be backing the Kentucky Wildcats as well understandably but they can rise the occasion they have so much talent on that team if they put it together they can make a six-game run the 40 to1 team it's Baylor out of the Big 12 here it's one of those teams that you take a look at if they make their three-point shot they are Hell on Wheels out there with a great price in a tough conference we'll see how they do down the stretch so f
or me I'll probably end up taking one of those top three as a flyer but then again in those next levels where I say I don't trust anybody which is actually a good thing on the odds a 20 to1 30 to1 and 40 to1 makes some sense for me Ben I love that we get a DRS betting card from the Futures perspective as we round into the month of March my Futures card at this moment Purdue and Auburn to win a National Championship I got the boilers at a 9 to1 number about a month ago Auburn at 22 to1 and that's
where they remain Houston to reach the Final Four is a ticket I have as well and I will say this we love March why because the saying is March Madness and that is what the NCAA tournament is it is a tournament you could have a one seed that won 27 of its 30 games throughout the regular season if they have a bad night on a Sunday in the round to 32 That season comes to a close you need to be playing your best basketball for six separate games over a two and a half week stretch to win a National
Championship that is the NCAA tournament it is why we love the chaos that the big dance brings and so I will make this point as I have a few times we are 16 days out from selection Sunday coaches around college basketball will tell you we love our resume we love our record we love our pedigree we enjoy what we have done through out our conference we don't give a damn about the seed line we want to know who we face up against and what our path looks like in our specific region we could be a one t
wo three or four if we're playing that sneaky team from the mid- major level in a 314 matchup we hate it if we have to go through this two seed that hasn't been healthy all year but now is that's a terrible thing so I will say as it pertains to those future prices now on this first day in March I would wait unless you have a very strong conviction until you see what the NCAA tournament field looks like because Donnie these numbers are going to move and you might miss the best price but they're n
ot going to get slashed in half necessarily when the bracket is revealed and they could get longer depending on how difficult a path is in that portion of the bracket and also as I just told you the four teams that I'm thinking about playing I will not be making a wager on any one of those until we actually get tournament layout on selection Sunday why theoretically all four can end up in the same bracket you're like oh okay well maybe I'm going to get one to the final four but that's not really
the goal here the goal would be okay I got you know one in this conf or one in this side one in this side one East one West One South you get the picture at that point but those are the team I'm lining up and also you're right about this Ben those numbers aren't going to shift drastically let's just say Houston wins out in the Big 12 and the conference Championship they're not going down to a plus 200 as they enter into March Madness they might move a dollar One Direction or the other 50 cents
One Direction or the other the same thing here with the other teams like unless Kentucky just runs wild the final three games and rips through the SEC tournament they're probably going to be anywhere between 28 to1 to 32 to1 as they sit at 30 to1 right now to win this thing so it's not as if we're saying oh I'm so upset I didn't pull the trigger like no bad you do that back in December and early January if you think you got a steal on your hands at that point you waited out now because it's equa
lly important is yes your team being healthy and playing well down the stretch but also we're to talk about on selection Sunday on some of those shows be like man oh man did Marquette get a bad draw here or hey look at that Marquette got a great draw and you know what even if it does change my odds by$ two I'd rather take it like you know what I'll pay the extra $2 for the easier path than get the extra $2 in my pocket have to go through two top teams before I even get to the final four so a gre
at way to look at the tournament here I'm holding my cards same way as you are until we see where the brackets come out selection Sunday and listen we'll get into all the bracket Trends what means on the seed line the cream often Rises to the top despite the tournament known as the madness and we see those upsets of the round of 64 round of 32 or maybe a Cinderella run to a sweet 16 and Elite 8 except for last year it was the first year since the tournament field expanded to 64 in 1985 zero of t
he number one seeds the four teams on that one line even reached the Elite 8 it was also the first year since the tournament field expanded in 19 1985 we did not have a single one seed two seed or three seed reach the final four Connecticut the eventual national champs the highest seed remaining in that group of four they were on the four line the Big 12 is regarded as the best conference in college basketball a lot of conversation the last few weeks about the Big 12 goosing its net rankings bas
ed on weaker nonconference schedules how will that actually meet the road when the NCAA tournament starts we'll see the Big 12 though the best price of any conference to a national championship at plus 320 and there will be many contenders Houston Kanas Baylor Iowa State just to name a few the Big East is loaded and the three at top the Big East might be the best three to lead any conference in the country that would be Yukon Marquette and kraton the SEC they've got some Talent as well the Big 1
0 hasn't won a national championship as a conference since the year 2000 and the ACC might be perceived as having a down year but they perform in the month of March yes they do and also it's just going to see how Duke ends up down the stretch can Duke knock off North Carolina before heading into that ACC tournament but if we are lining up that graphic there you know I'm a big 12 guy plus 320 it's a very good price but if I'm just price hunting here with a legitimate chance B to maybe win a Natio
nal Championship I go no further than the SEC plus 410 six ranked teams does include that Kentucky team with so much upside alurn is so much fun to watch Alabama so much fun to watch you get the picture here some really really quality teams there at a good price that's a great betting Market because it's one like oh I don't know if I want to bet this way or that way with one team you're getting multiple like again you're GNA get six quality teams if you bet the SEC to watch them all play out her
e it's a fun Market to bet here at the FanDuel Sportsbook for sure I think that is the best price by far at plus 410 you could talk me into the ACC at plus 750 with both North Carolina and Duke very much being title contenders we love the NCAA tournament there is nothing better than the round of 64 Thursday and Friday Conference tournament week though is awesome that will be the high major level next week two weeks from now we still have more to go in the regular season the mid- major level conf
erence tournaments those really get going on Monday into Tuesday a couple of more kits available in the Horizon Oakland the favorite plus 200 in the Big South High Point even money favorite to win the conference tournament and and for a lot of these mid- major programs and leagues DRS you must win the conference tournament to earn the automatic birth to the NCAA tournament not really in line for those at large bids and a big shout out here quickly to our guy Dave Connelly behind the scenes here
at the spiz gers network the best mid major college basketball handicapper I know he sent me late last night his already preview portfolio if you will a huge document to get us set for the mid major level conference tournaments that begin next week if you hear us give out info more than likely Dave Connelly is the brain behind it more on the early line up [Music] [Music] next team that has a great point guard a great big that can block shots a team that can play defense and seniors that can put
the ball in the hole that's who you bet on you don't bet on freshman you don't bet on teams that don't play defense there you go I mean you got to run the guy over to call a foul in a tie game in that kind of spot that was a bad job by those reps farel Coast to Coast only on sports scri the Lakers lose by double digits last night on the road in Phoenix against the Suns the Suns get their first Victory following the All-Star break winning by 10 in covering Anthony Davis played 42 minutes in that
game LeBron James played 37 minutes in a loss this is the same thing it's like repeating this over and over and over sure you want to win these basketball games yes but you sort of say to yourself all right at what cost do we have the early line only on Sports grid like the Minnesota Wild were down by two goals today uh they were down by three goals actually today at one point and they came back in one like teams like you know the Edmonton Oiler and the coyote game went back in four the NHL real
ly you could argue really is the best sport for in-game betting where you could pull the trigger on both teams Sports rage late night only on Sports grid the gut says Miami is going to win and you should take the over your also said your NF selfies would only go up in value they didn't but your head is on Sports grade and NOS the QB is in concussion protocol the backup has a 45 qbr against its own coverage the New York team has the most sacks in the league so yeah trust your name it's smarter to
be on Sports Gren anyone that's been to a sporting event the atmosphere before a game I think game time decisions has that same exact atmosphere this is our Arena this is what we do there is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out the excitement you get when you when you lock your bets in when you're figuring out what you want to do we can Zone in on the biggest games each night I want this to be the place that people come to before the game start
so they feel as ready as possible to lock in their cards we are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about we're going to go through every single thing and I've got a great team behind me that's going to help me get the job done there is not going to be a better place I promise you than game time decisions to get that new information react to it and be able to then bet accordingly we will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage I'm Ke
vin Walsh tune in to game time decisions from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern on on Sports [Music] [Music] crit closing out this opening hour of a Friday it is March live right here on the early line on Sports grid he is Donnie I am Ben last night a a tricky game for the Los Angeles Lakers at home second leg of a backto back they beat their cross town rivals in the Clippers on Wednesday night on a Thursday booked as a double digigit favorite against the Washington Wizards game goes to an extra session
in O but LeBron James and Company Prevail LeBron scored 31 30 plus in two consecutive games Anthony Davis had a 40 Point double double 40 and 15 the Lakers win 134 131 W giving the ways their 13th consecutive loss Washington does cover as a 10-point dog all of that to say LeBron James 31 points last night it is now 21-year NBA career Dy right side LeBron James has scored 39,000 991 points the NBA's all-time scoring leader is now just nine points shy of being the first ever NBA player to reach t
he 40K Mark in NBA history yeah he's going to and all so he's not done yet man he's got a couple more years to go he's going to put some length between him and everybody else but as we're taking a look at that first to 40 and where would you pick it doesn't have to be the three-point shot and it's too perfect like how many points is he away nine points what's that fastest way to get there three straight three-point shots knock it down I gotta feel like you see free throw plus 500 like we you wan
t to get a viral moment doesn't feel like making a free throw to get that 4,000th point here I actually miss both of the free throws here on purpose to do something spectacular to have that highlight real run but it feels like the three-point shot is always a way to go clay Caitlin Clark how you going to break it a logo three probably the same for LeBron for sure LeBron James a huge fan of Caitlyn Clark I would expect that three-pointer to be the ticket as well the Lakers will host the Denver Nu
ggets tomorrow night at home in Los Angeles a ceremonious time to be sure and when you think about LeBron the time he passed Kareem Abdul Jabar to be the NBA's all-time scoring leader an alltime photo of Thomas Bryant in the post calling for the basketball as LeBron rose up to hit that jumper to make him the all-time scoring leader hour two starts with some NFL news in 55 [Music] seconds
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