Jim Feist

Two western conference teams that have both struggled this year meet this evening as the Detroit Red Wings host the Calgary Flames. I'm looking at the under in this matchup. The main reason is the Red Wings. They have a 1-6-1 O/U record in their last eight games and 2-8-1 O/U record their last 11. The Wings have not scored more than one goal in any of their last four of five games. In fact, they have one goal or fewer in 7 of their last 11 games. Detroit is last in the NHL in goals per game with just a 2.0 average. That's a full 1/2 goal per game less than the next worst scoring team, the LA Kings. Calgary might have to score 5 goals in this one to get the over. I don't see that happening. I'll take the UNDER here tonight.

The Detroit Pistons continue to drop in the Eastern Conference, now 12th after their current 5-game losing streak. The Pistons are also 2-8 in their last 10 games. The Pistons are 1-3 ATS their last four and 4-9 ATS their last 13 games. It doesn't get much better on the road where they are 7-17-1 ATS in their last 25 away games as a dog. The Portland Trailblazers are sitting 9th right now in the West, 3 1/2 games back of 8th place Memphis. The Blazers have lost three straight and are 5-5 their last 10 games. However, they have covered five of their last six home games. The Blazers are also 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight meetings with the Pistons at Portland.

PAC-12 action here on Sunday evening has USC taking on Utah. The USC Trojans are 19-8 S/U and 17-10 ATS on the season. They have been a very good road team, covering 11 of their 14 away games. In addition, they are 8-6 S/U and 11-3 ATS in conference play. The Trojans have covered their last five games. Utah is 14-12 S/U and 13-13 ATS on the season. The Utes are 5-9 S/U and 6-8 ATS in PAC-12 play. The Utes have lost three straight games both S/U and ATS. These clubs met back on Jan 30th at Los Angeles with the Trojans winning 56-52 but failing to cover the 8 1/2 point favorite line. I like USC the way they have played on the road this year. Take USC.

Late game on the board has Stanford playing at Washington State in PAC-12 action. The Stanford Cardinal are 17-9 S/U and 16-10 ATS on the season. The Cardinal will play three of their last four on the road beginning with tonight's contest at Washington State. The Cardinal have slumped of late in PAC-12 action, going just 2-7 S/U and 3-6 ATS their last nine games. Washington State is 14-13 S/U and 11-16 ATS on the season. The Cougars are 5-9 S/U and 6-8 ATS in PAC-12 play. They have lost three straight games and six of their last eight games. They are also 1-3 ATS at home in their last four tries. Even though Stanford has struggled of late, this should be the spot for them to get back to winning, which they desperately need if they hope to make the NCAA tournament. Play Stanford.

A pair of nationally ranked teams meet here on Sunday as No 21 Butler plays at No 15 Creighton. The Butler Bulldogs are 19-8 S/U and 13-12 ATS on the season. They are also 7-7 S/U and 4-9-1 ATS in Big East play. I'm a bit surprised the Bulldogs still ranked as they really haven't played well in conference action. Now they have to face a Creighton team that is 21-6 S/U and 16-10 ATS on the season. Creighton is 10-4 S/U and 10-4 ATS in conference play. They have won and covered their last four games. Unlike Butler, Creighton has been playing very well in conference action. I fully expect this Creighton team to dominate this contest at home. Play Creighton.