Art Aronson

This is an 8* on EDMONTON

Edmonton is coming off two straight home losses. The last one was to Minnesota as they gave up five goals. The other was to Boston, the team with the most points in the league. Now in third place in their division, the Oilers are set to embark on a three-game road trip of the West Coast starting in LA tonight. The Kings have the least amount of points in the Conference. They lost 2-1 to Colorado last night, a game that went to a shootout, so they’re at a disadvantage here. This isn’t a team that can overcome any additional disadvantages. Edmonton is 13-5 when off a loss by two or more goals. Play on EDMONTON

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

A Detroit team that’s averaging less than 100 points over its past five games facing a Portland team playing without its leading scorer should result in an easy Under this evening. Damian Lillard was absolutely on fire for the Blazers before a groin injury put him on the shelf. Without him, the Blazers lost to New Orleans Friday night, though lack of offense really wasn’t the problem. But lack of offense has been a problem for the Pistons who are without their best player (Blake Griffin) as well. Again, it wasn’t really the offense that was the primary issue as Detroit lost 126-106 to Milwaukee Thursday night. But we should see both teams struggle to score in this one. The Under is 14-3 for the Pistons the last 17 times they allowed 125 or more points the previous game. So look for improved defense on their part. The Trail Blazers are 7-3 Under following a double digit loss at home. Play UNDER Detroit-Portland

AAA

This is a 10* on WASHINGTON ST

Stanford stopped the bleeding with a 72-64 upset of Washington on Thursday. But that singular win doesn’t change the fact that the Cardinal had previously lost seven of eight, which obviously put a severe damper on their NCAA Tournament hopes. Tonight they are at Washington State, a matchup the Cardinal likely feels pretty good about. But this one is trickier than it looks. Yes, Wazzu has lost three in a row overall and was just beaten here in Pullman by Cal Thursday. The Cougs were 6.5-point favorites in that loss too. But they remain 11-4 at the Paloose. They’ve got some big time revenge for a 26 point defeat suffered in Palo Alto earlier in the year. Stanford shot 61% in that game, Washington State was under 40%. It’ll be a lot different this time as we conclude by pointing out that Wazzu is a perfect 3-0 against the spread this year as a home underdog of three points or less. Play on WASHINGTON STATE

AAA

This is an 8* on WISCONSIN

Whenever it’s time to analyze one of these Big 10 matchups, we start by pointing out the incredible depth in the conference. There could be as many as 11 teams making the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin and Rutgers are among them. Right now though the Badgers are simply hotter. They’ve won three in a row, taking advantage of a somewhat “relaxed” schedule for this time of year. Today marks just the fourth game for the Badgers in the past 14 days. They beat Purdue Tuesday, continuing a string of impressive showings here in Madison that has seen them defeat the likes of Maryland, Michigan State and Ohio State. Rutgers just suffered its first home loss of the season, at the hands of Michigan, and we look for that to have an effect on them today. The Scarlet Knights have lost four of six overall. They have just ONE road win all season.  Play on WISCONSIN

AAA

This is a 10* on the OVER

Temple is off a wild 93-89 win over UConn. Double overtime was needed to get the victory, which was the second time the Owls prevailed in OT in their last four games. Today they’ll head to East Carolina to face a team not making much noise in the American this year. The Pirates 4-10 conference record has them a loss away from being tied for last place with Tulane, a team that they’ve beaten twice. However, ECU has at least been competitive of late. In the last week, they’ve lost by only three to Cincinnati and by four to Memphis. So Temple should consider itself forewarned. What we expect here is a high-scoring affair. While recent Temple scores have been boosted by overtime, they can still pile up the points today. When they hosted East Carolina on Feb 1, they scored 76 points. The Pirates shot very poorly in that game and should improve on their percentages now that they get to play at home. They’ve scored at least 67 in three of the last four contests. Play OVER Temple-East Carolina

AAA