THE SPORTS ADVISORS
San Antonio (11-8, 10-9 ATS) at Dallas (11-8, 9-10 ATS)
Two bitter Southwest Division rivals clash for the second time this season, this time at American Airlines Center where Dirk Nowitzki and the red-hot Mavericks play host Tim Duncan and the Spurs.
Since limping out to a 2-7 SU and ATS start, Dallas has won nine of its last 10 (7-3 ATS), including the last four in a row (2-2 ATS). On Saturday, the Mavs held off the Hawks 100-98 as a 6½-point home chalk, scoring at least 100 points for the sixth straight game and the ninth time in the last 11 contests.
During its 9-1 hot streak, Dallas has won five straight games at home, but is just 2-3 ATS. In fact, the Mavericks are 2-7 ATS on their home court, compared with 7-3 ATS on the road.
Like their opponent tonight, the Spurs are playing solid basketball, winning two in a row, six out of eight and nine of their last 12, with the SU winner covering the spread in each of those 12 games. In fact, the SU winner is 19-1 ATS in San Antonio games this year. Gregg Popovich’s team has been idle since Saturday, when it crushed Golden State 123-88 as a 12-point home favorite.
Dallas hammered the Spurs 98-81 as a 4½-point road chalk back on Nov. 4, improving to 6-2 ATS in the last eight against San Antonio. The underdog is 21-7 ATS in the last 28 meetings, including 9-1 ATS in the last 10, with eight of those nine being outright upsets. Also, the visitor has cashed in 13 of the last 17 head-to-head battles.
In addition to its 9-3 ATS run overall, San Antonio is on ATS tears of 4-1 on the road, 5-1 against the Western Conference and 5-2 against Southwest Division rivals, but the Spurs have failed to cover in four of their last five on Tuesdays. Meanwhile, the Mavs are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games on Tuesday, but 42-19-1 ATS in their last 62 divisional games and 5-1 in their last six versus the West.
The under is 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these rivals. Also, for the Spurs, the under is on runs of 21-7 overall, 9-4 on the road, 16-7 against the Western Conference, 7-2 against the Southwest Division, 14-2 after an ATS triumph, 9-1 coming off a double-digit victory and 6-0 on Tuesdays. For Dallas, the under is on streaks of 13-6-1 on Tuesdays, 5-2 versus winning teams and 6-1 in divisional battles.
ATS ADVANTAGE: SAN ANTONIO and UNDER
Atlanta (12-7, 10-8-1 ATS) at Houston (13-8, 10-11 ATS)
The Hawks continue a four-game road trip that includes three games in the state of Texas when they visit the Toyota Center for the only time this season in a non-conference clash with the Rockets.
Atlanta began its Texas trifecta at Dallas on Saturday, coming up short 100-98 to end a three-game winning streak. However, the Hawks covered as a 6½-point road underdog, moving to 4-1 ATS in their last five, including 3-0 ATS on the road. Prior to this ATS surge, Atlanta and failed to cover in its previous seven contests.
The Rockets return home after last night’s quick trip to Memphis, where they lost 109-97 as 6½-point road favorite. Houston is 8-4 in its last 12 games (7-5 ATS), including 4-2 at home (3-3 ATS). Rick Adelman’s club has scored at least 100 points in each of its last seven wins while being held under triple digits in all eight of its defeats.
Houston swept the season series from Atlanta last year, wining 108-89 as a 9½-point home chalk and 83-75 as a 4½-point road choice. That latter victory ended an eight-game SU winning streak and a seven-game ATS run by the home team in this rivalry, with the Hawks going 0-4 ATS in their last four trips to Houston. The SU winner is 8-0 ATS in the last eight head-to-head battles, and the favorite is 6-1 ATS in the past seven.
Atlanta has failed to cash in six of its last seven games on Tuesday, but otherwise it is on positive pointspread runs of 4-1-1 versus the Western Conference and 4-0 against the Southwest Division. As for the Rockets, they’re on ATS runs of 23-8-1 against the Southeast Division, 39-18-1 versus the Eastern Conference, 5-1 against winning teams and 4-1 when playing on back-to-back nights.
The under is on runs of 12-4 for the Rockets at home, 5-1 for the Rockets on Tuesday and 10-4 in this rivalry. However, Houston has topped the total in four straight games overall and four of its last five against the East, and the over is 6-2-1 in Atlanta’s last nine games on Tuesday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: HOUSTON
Orlando (16-5, 11-9-1 ATS) at Portland (15-7, 11-11 ATS)
The streaking Trailblazers return home after a successful five-game road swing as they welcome the Magic to the Rose Garden.
Portland capped a 4-1 East Coast road trip with Sunday’s 98-97 victory at Toronto, but it failed to cash as a 2½-point road favorite, its fourth straight non-cover. The Trailblazers have won 14 of their last 18 games (10-8 ATS), holding the opposition under 100 points in 16 of those contests, including the last eight in a row.
Orlando kicked off a five-game Western Conference road trip in Los Angeles on Monday night, knocking off the Clippers 95-88 as a 4½-point road chalk. The Magic overcame a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit by outscoring Los Angeles 29-13 in this final quarter, and center Dwight Howard (23 points, 22 rebounds) posted his second straight 20-20 game. Since starting the season with consecutive losses, the Magic are 15-3 SU, and they’re 5-2 ATS in their last seven. Stan Van Gundy’s squad has held six of its last seven foes to 96 points or fewer.
The Blazers are unbeaten through seven games at the Rose Garden, going 5-2 ATS, and they’ve outscored their visitors by an average of 15 ppg (102-87). Meanwhile, Orlando is 6-2 on the highway (4-3-1 ATS) despite averaging 96.8 ppg and allowing 94 ppg.
Portland traveled to the Magic Kingdom on Nov. 10 and dealt Orlando a 106-99 loss as a seven-point road underdog, ending a four-game SU and three-game ATS slide to the Magic. Orlando is 3-1 SU and 2-1-1 ATS in its last four trips to the Rose Garden.
The Blazers’ current 0-4 ATS slide has come against Eastern Conference teams, but they’re 9-2 ATS in their last 11 home games going back to last season and 10-3 ATS in their last 13 versus winning teams. Orlando is 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 on Tuesdays.
The under for Portland is on stretches of 8-1 overall, 5-0 at home, 5-2 on Tuesdays, 6-1 against the Eastern Conference and 35-17 when playing on one day of rest. The under is also 5-1 in Orlando’s last six on the road and 9-3-1 in its last 13 against the Northwest Division. Lastly, the under is on a 9-4-1 roll in this rivalry, including 5-1 in Portland.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PORTLAND and UNDER
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(23) Davidson (6-1, 3-2 ATS) vs. West Virginia (6-1, 2-3 ATS) (at New York)
Davidson’s Stephen Curry, who leads the nation in scoring, goes up against one of the top defenses in the nation when he leads the 23rd-ranked Wildcats against West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Curry rebounded from his first-ever scoreless game by matching his career high with 44 points in Saturday’s 72-67 victory over North Carolina State. Curry, who is averaging 31.3 points per game, scored the game’s final 10 points to lead Davidson to its fourth straight win, but the Wildcats failed to cover as a 9½-point favorite, and they’ve now alternated spread-covers in their last four lined contests.
West Virginia is coming off Saturday’s 53-43 victory over Cleveland State, failing to cash as a 14-point home chalk, the third straight non-cover for the Mountaineers. Bob Huggins’ squad is allowing just 55.1 ppg, which ranks 13th in the nation, but tonight they face the Curry-led Wildcats, who are putting up 83.3 ppg against Division I foes.
West Virginia leads the all-time series against Davidson 18-15, but the schools last met in the opening round of the 1994 NIT.
Despite failing to cover Saturday against N.C. State, Davidson is still on ATS runs of 47-21-1 overall, 10-2 in non-conference play, 44-18 away from home, 47-14-2 after a non-cover and 6-1 on Tuesdays. The only negative is the Wildcats’ 1-5 ATS slump versus the Big East. The Mountaineers are on pointspread streaks of 23-9 in non-conference play and 6-0 versus the Southern Conference, but they’re 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 on Tuesday and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 after a SU victory.
The over is on steaks of 11-4 for West Virginia overall and 5-1 for Davidson on the road, but the under is 11-3-1 in the Mountaineers last 15 games on Tuesday, 11-5 in Davidson’s last 16 on Tuesday, 23-11 in Davidson’s last 34 after a SU victory and 8-2 in Davidson’s last 10 after a non-cover.
ATS ADVANTAGE: DAVIDSON
(6) Texas (6-1, 3-3 ATS) vs. (15) Villanova (8-0, 3-2 ATS) (at New York)
Villanova faces easily its stiffest challenge to date when it meets sixth-ranked Texas in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats have feasted on low-level competition so far, winning all eight of their games by 13 points or more. Most recently, Villanova obliterated Division II Houston Baptist 93-57 in a non-lined game Tuesday. Against their seven Division I opponents, the Wildcats are putting up 77.7 points per game (46.4 percent shooting) while allowing 56.7 ppg (36.9 percent shooting).
The Longhorns ran their winning streak to three in a row with Thursday’s 68-64 victory over then-No. 8 UCLA, but they fell short as a six-point home favorite. A.J. Abrams tied his career high with 31 points, including five three-pointers, the last of which broke a 62-62 tie with less than three minutes to play. Texas, which will be facing its third Top 15 team of the season tonight, has scored at least 68 points in every game while holding five of seven opponents to 57 points or less.
These schools played a home-and-home non-conference series in January of 2006 and 2007, with the host winning both contests and Villanova going 2-0 ATS, including a 76-69 win as a six-point home favorite two years ago.
Texas is 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games on Tuesday and 10-5-1 in its last 16 at neutral sites (2-1 this year), but the ‘Horns are 0-6 ATS in their last six versus the Big East. Meanwhile, Villanova is on pointspread streaks of 6-1 against the Big 12 and 4-0 on Tuesday, but it is 1-3 ATS in its last four at neutral venues.
The Wildcats sport nothing but “under” streaks, including 20-7-1 overall, 4-0 against the Big 12, 4-0 in non-league action and 4-1 on Tuesdays. Conversely, the Longhorns are on “over” stretches of 8-3 against the Big East, 7-2 after a SU win and 5-1 away from home.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE