Jack’s Free Picks for December 30th

Written December 30, 2008 by Jack Jones

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Coming off a tough day yesterday when you see that Rutgers missed an extra point, a 30 yard field goal, and couldn’t punch it in from the 2 on 1st and goal to only miss covering by a half point. In NBA action we drop our play on Phoenix by a single point despite Steve Nash leaving early due to injury, but we win handily on our other selection, the Utah Jazz. Tonight we have a pair of bowl winners, one NBA, one hockey, and one college basketball for our premium clients. Here are three more plays that just missed the board:

Clemson -2.5
You should find the Clemson Tigers playing with quite a bit of confidence tonight as they are 12-0 on the year and are coming off a 91-72 win against Miami-Florida. This Tigers team should also be well rested after having a nine day break over the holiday. Clemson hasn’t really played a very tough schedule to this point, but anytime you go on the road and win by 20 points in ACC play that should legitimize your squad. South Carolina is 9-1 but they haven’t played anyone either, with their only loss coming against College of Charleston. Both of these teams know how to score, but I think Clemson is a little deeper and should be able to pull out the win over their in-state rivals.

Butler -5.5
The Bulldogs are a pretty young team but are off to a great start, winning 10 of their first 11 games on the year to earn themselves the No. 25 ranking. The last time this team took the floor was December 23rd when they went out and beat then No. 14 Xavier by nine points. Butler’s only loss on the year came against the Ohio State Buckeyes and this team is a solid 5-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this year. UAB is coming off a 20 point loss against Louisville, dropping the Blazers to 8-4 overall and 3-2 on the road. This Butler team isn’t as good as Louisville, but with a tough defense and a capable offense you should see the Bulldogs roll past the Blazers tonight.

Maryland -20.5
I really like Maryland to win by more than the number tonight, but it’s always tough for me to lay this many points. The Terps have won five straight games and beat Bryant by 21 points last Saturday. This team is a perfect 7-0 at the Comcast Center and will be taking on a Phoenix team that is 0-3 on the road and just 4-4 overall. The Terp defense should be tougher than anything Elon has faced yet this year and behind the home crowd Maryland should rout their opponents. Expect Greivis Vasquez to put up some more big numbers as he is averaging 17.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and five assists per game, plus adding 19 steals already. Nobody on Elon has an answer for a guy of Vasquez’s caliber.