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<p>At 8:00 ET, the Lakers (-271) will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans (+222). The Lakers are favored by 6.5 points and have a record of 8-4, while the Pelicans are 4-9 and 14th in the Western Conference.</p>

<p>This Western Conference matchup will be played at the Smoothie King Center and can be seen on SN-LA. The over/under line for the game is 221.5.</p><h3>LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS NEW ORLEANS PELICANS BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -6.5</p><p>This game will be played at Smoothie King Center at 8:00 ET on Saturday, November 16th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 126-72 in favor of the Lakers.</li><li>Our projections have Anthony Davis finishing with Anthony Davis points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.</li><li>From the field, we have the Lakers finishing with a field goal percentage of 47.5% and knocking down 13 threes.</li></ul><h3>Will the Lakers Find a Way to Win in New Orleans?</h3><p>The Lakers improved to 8-4 on the season after a 120-115 road win over the Spurs on Friday. Los Angeles, favored by 2.5 points, covered the spread, while the game’s total of 235 points exceeded the pre-game O/U line of 228.</p> <p>San Antonio opened the game with a 13-0 run, but the Lakers responded by outscoring the Spurs 37-30 in the 2nd quarter. Heading into the 4th quarter with a 93-86 lead, the Lakers held on despite being outscored 29-27 in the final period.</p><p>Anthony Davis led the Lakers to a win over the Spurs, scoring 40 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, with 16 of his points coming in the opening quarter. Austin Reaves added 19 points, hitting 5 threes at a 55.6% rate, while LeBron James contributed 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists.</p> <p>The Lakers connected on 14 threes, shooting 45.2% from deep and 50% overall. Reaves hit 5 threes, and Davis made 2 from beyond the arc.</p><p>Defensively, the Lakers gave up 115 points to the Spurs on Friday, allowing 30 points in both the 1st and 2nd quarters. They tightened up in the 3rd, holding San Antonio to 26 points, and allowed 29 in the 4th.</p> <p>The Spurs shot 48% from the field, including 37% from beyond the arc, where they hit 17 threes. The Lakers sent the Spurs to the line 16 times, where they made 12 free throws. Los Angeles recorded 10 steals and 3 blocks in the game.</p><h3>Will the Pelicans Win at Home?</h3><p>The Pelicans improved to 4-9 on the season with a 101-94 win over the Nuggets on Friday, November 15th. Playing at home, New Orleans entered the game as +2 point underdogs and covered the spread with the win. The total points for the game were 195, falling well short of the 217.5 O/U line.</p> <p>A key moment came when the Pelicans went on a 12-0 run, turning an 18-13 deficit into a 25-18 lead. They maintained their advantage by winning the 3rd quarter 19-18 and held off the Nuggets in the 4th, edging them 23-22 to close out the game.</p><p>Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans to a win over the Nuggets, scoring 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, while hitting 3 threes at 33.3%. Brandon Boston Jr. added 19 points, making 3 threes at 42.9%, and Trey Murphy III chipped in 17 points and 8 rebounds.</p> <p>New Orleans shot 42.5% from the field and 31.4% from three, connecting on 11 threes. Ingram scored 13 points in the 1st quarter, with Boston adding 9 in the 2nd.</p><p>The Pelicans' defense held the Nuggets to just 94 points, including a strong 3rd quarter where they allowed only 18 points. They gave up 32 points in the 2nd quarter but bounced back in the 4th, limiting Denver to 22 points to secure the win.</p> <p>New Orleans held the Nuggets to 42% shooting from the field and just 27% from three-point range, with Denver making only 10 threes. The Pelicans also sent the Nuggets to the line 11 times, where they made 10 free throws. New Orleans grabbed 39 defensive rebounds, allowing just 5 offensive boards, and added 4 steals and 5 blocks.</p>

Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans Betting Pick & Prediction 11/16/24

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It was another sweat, but the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets got there, so we’re off to a 2-0 start for this week on spotlight games in college basketball. More and more conference tournaments are starting with each passing day and I encourage you to head to ATS.io, where I’m talking about those on the podcast and also in article form.

As far as what’s happening here at BTB, tonight’s focus is on the game between Creighton and Villanova. It is a big game, but one that has a lot of intrigue and also some unfortunate storylines behind it. Villanova is -4.5 with a total of 147 from the fine folks at <a href="http://bangthebook.com/sportsbooks/bovada"><strong>Bovada Sportsbook</strong></a>. Let’s dig into this one.
<h3><strong><u>Creighton Bluejays</u></strong></h3>
Creighton has been in the news for all the wrong reasons the last few days. Head coach Greg McDermott used what he called a “terribly inappropriate analogy” in hopes of getting his team to band together. You can find out exactly what he said if you want, but needless to say it ruffled some feathers and rubbed a lot of players the wrong way.

This is the biggest game of the night and a big one for both teams with the Big East Conference Tournament looming. It is also a big game for Creighton. McDermott’s ill-advised comments came after a game in which the Bluejays lost to Xavier 77-69, but it was only their second loss since January 20. McDermott must have seen something in his team’s play that concerned him, so he attempted to head it off at the pass.

Well, now we have to wonder how his team comes together with two regular season games left to play. McDermott has been in Omaha since 2011 and this seemed to be an isolated incident, so maybe there won’t be any carryover effect for the players. He’ll certainly choose his words more wisely the next time and perhaps the players have moved on.

If the Bluejays play anything like the first meeting against Villanova, winning could cure all. Creighton won the first game 86-70 and was 32-of-54 from the floor with 1.34 pointes per possession. That was the best offensive performance of the season for Creighton. Villanova had 1.091 PPP of its own, but that wasn’t nearly enough to topple Creighton and the efficient offense in that one.

That game was played to just 64 possessions and had 156 points back on February 13. The closing total for that game was 144, so we have seen an adjustment for sure.
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<h3><strong><u>Villanova Wildcats</u></strong></h3>
Villanova is also coming off of a loss, though one that garnered fewer headlines because Jay Wright didn’t put his foot in his mouth. The Wildcats went 2-of-27 from three-point land in the 12-point loss to Butler on Sunday. That was easily the worst shooting effort of the season for Villanova, who was 5-of-22 on February 20 against UConn, but still came away with a 68-60 win. Butler had something of an out-of-body experience going 10-of-24 from deep in that one.

When Villanova has been bad, they’ve been really bad. The Wildcats only have three Big East losses, but they’ve been by 11, 16, and 12 and they’ve scored 59 and 61 points in two of those losses. Bad games from Villanova have been rare over the years, but they’ve certainly had some.

A focused Villanova team seems really scary here, though the Wildcats did not bounce back super well from their two previous Big East losses. The UConn game immediately followed the Creighton loss and the Wildcats only beat Georgetown by 10 after losing to St. John’s. Georgetown had 1.163 PPP in that game, which remains a season-high in Big East play.

We should get Villanova’s best effort here, but we should also get Creighton’s, assuming there is no residual hangover from the fallout of last weekend and the run it has gotten on social media the last couple of days. It is definitely an interesting spot for both teams in the second-to-last regular season game.
<h3><strong><u>Pick &amp; Analysis</u></strong></h3>
This game should be tighter, which could bring fouling into the equation. The first game had 156 points and only 26 free throw attempts. If this one falls around the number, the whistles will be out late in the game as the trailing team looks to extend the game. As a result, despite the low number of possessions and likely regression offensively, specifically from Creighton, the total is tough to play.

I’m looking at Villanova -4.5 here. Creighton is shooting 61.1% at the free throw line on the road over 10 games. They go from 37.7% from 3 at home to 35.2% from 3 on the road and from 61.2% on two-point shots to 53.7% on the road. Creighton is predominantly a jump-shooting team and we’ve seen some closer margins against teams less talented than Villanova on the road.

I’ll ride with the Wildcats here. This number opened 4 and we’ve seen it get bet up and I agree with that assessment.
<h4><strong>Pick: Villanova -4.5</strong></h4>
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Creighton at Villanova College Basketball Free Pick, Prediction, and Preview 3/3/21

<p>ESPN2 will be covering this week 12 matchup between the Eastern Michigan Eagles and Ohio Bobcats, set to kick off at 7:00 ET from Peden Stadium in Athens. The Bobcats are the -9-point favorites at home, with the over/under line currently set at 49.5 points. The Eagles come in with a 5-4 record, while the Bobcats are 6-3 on the season.</p><h3>EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES VS OHIO BOBCATS BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Eastern Michigan Eagles +9</p><p>This game will be played at Peden Stadium at 7:00 ET on Wednesday, November 13th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES:</h3><ul><li>We have the Eastern Michigan Eagles winning this one by a score of 31 to 26</li><li>Not only do we have the Eastern Michigan Eagles winning straight-up, we have them covering the spread at +9</li><li>Look for this game to go over the line of 49.5 points</li></ul><h3>Will The Eastern Michigan Eagles Pull Off An Upset As Road Underdogs</h3><p>Eastern Michigan enters Week 12 against Ohio with a 5-4 record, but they have a 0% chance of winning the Mid-American, according to projections. However, they have an 82.4% chance of becoming bowl-eligible. The Eagles are 2-2 on the road and 1-2 at home this season.</p> <p></p><p>They’ve been favored in three games, going 2-1 as the favorite, and their average scoring margin is +2.9 points per game. Eastern Michigan has a 5-2 record against the spread, covering the spread in three of their four road games.</p> <p></p><p>Their over/under record stands at 4-3, with an average of 55.6 points per game. The Eagles’ average over/under line is 50.2 points, and this week’s line is set at 49.5 points.</p><p>Eastern Michigan’s offense ranks 44th in points per game, averaging 29.2, but they are 110th in our offensive power rankings heading into week 12. Quarterback Cole Snyder has thrown for 2,087 yards with a passer rating of 87. He has 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, completing 60.1% of his passes. The Eagles are 27th in passing attempts per game.</p> <p>They are 16th in rushing attempts, averaging 149 yards per game on the ground. Delbert Mimms III leads the rushing attack with 558 yards and 7 touchdowns, averaging 4 yards per carry. Oran Singleton has 557 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on 57 catches.</p><p>Eastern Michigan's defense has allowed 26.3 points per game this season, including 29 points in their recent 29-28 loss to Toledo. They gave up 418 total yards, with 167 rushing yards on 32 attempts and 251 passing yards, while forcing one interception.</p> <p>Opponents have averaged 168 rushing yards per game against Eastern Michigan, ranking 117th nationally. The secondary has allowed 220.9 passing yards per game, with quarterbacks completing 61.9% of their passes and posting a 104.8 passer rating.</p><h3>Are The Ohio Bobcats Going To Defend Home Field Advantage?</h3><p>Ohio enters Week 12 against Eastern Michigan with a 6-3 record, ranking 95th in our power rankings. They are undefeated at home (3-0) and have a 2-3 record on the road. The Bobcats have a 100% chance of being bowl-eligible and a 17.8% chance of winning the Mid-American title.</p> <p></p><p>Ohio is 5-3 against the spread this season, with a perfect 3-0 record at home. They’ve covered as favorites in three of four games and have an average scoring margin of +6.1 points per game.</p> <p></p><p>The over/under line for this week is 49.5 points. Ohio’s games have averaged 47.4 points, with their over/under record at 5-3. Their average line has been 47.6 points, and they’ve exceeded it by an average of 2.4 points per game.</p><p>Ohio’s offense has been driven by their rushing game, averaging 209.2 yards per game, ranking 24th nationally. They are 32nd in rushing attempts, with 38.1 per game. Anthony Tyus III leads the team with 694 rushing yards, six touchdowns, and an average of 5 yards per carry. Overall, Ohio is scoring 26.8 points per game, and we have them ranked 87th in our offensive power rankings heading into week 12.</p> <p>Parker Navarro, Ohio’s quarterback, has thrown for 1,359 yards, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 84. Ohio ranks 112th in passing yards per game. Coleman Owen leads the receiving corps with 733 yards and five touchdowns on 48 catches.</p><p>Ohio's defense has been a strong point this season, ranking 22nd nationally by allowing just 110.1 rushing yards per game. They also rank 25th in points allowed, giving up 20.7 points per game. Opposing quarterbacks have posted a passer rating of 83.2 and are completing 61.5% of their passes, averaging 202.4 passing yards per game against Ohio’s defense.</p><p></p><p>In their latest game, a 41-0 win over Kent State, Ohio’s defense gave up just 114 total yards, including 52 rushing yards on 34 attempts. They also allowed only 62 passing yards and forced one interception, while limiting Kent State to just seven first downs.</p>

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs Ohio Bobcats Betting Pick & Prediction 11/13/24

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