NBA All-Star Game: Eastern Conference vs Western Conference (-2.5)
The East vs West format in the NBA All-Star Game is back, which should hopefully add a little bit of intensity to the game. Prior to the format change, the West had won three in a row and six of the last seven All-Star Games. Naturally, the West is listed as a slight 2.5-point favorite for Sunday’s game in Indianapolis.
If experience matters, the West certainly deserves to be the favorite. LeBron James is heading into his 20th ASG while Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have a combined 24 selections. On the other side, the Eastern Conference has four first-time all-stars and just four players with more than three previous all-star selections. For comparison, the Western Conference has just two players with three or fewer all-star selections. The Eastern Conference has also lost Joel Embiid and Julius Randle to injury. Outside of Bam Adebayo, the East doesn’t have much paint protection against the deep Western Conference frontcourt of Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Davis. That edge should be enough for the Western Conference to resume its all-star dominance over the East.
To check out the latest spreads and get the over under predictions for this weekend , check out BetQL, which offers updated odds, totals, and picks from our proven computer model.
No. 4 Marquette vs No. 1 UConn
The Big East owns the college basketball spotlight this weekend with a top-five matchup between the no. 4 Marquette Golden Eagles and the no. 1 Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies clearly have their sights set on back-to-back national titles. UConn is 23-2 on the season with its two losses both coming on the road against Kansas and Seton Hall. The Huskies are also 8-4 against the spread since the start of January. The team’s current winning streak is at 13 games, including a 101-65 win over DePaul earlier this week, so it appears the Huskies are clicking on all cylinders heading into Saturday’s showdown.
Of course, the Golden Eagles are also riding an eight-game winning streak. Shake Smart’s team is also 7-1 against the spread in its last eight games. Obviously, Marquette has losses against Purdue and Wisconsin this season, as well as a couple of road losses in conference play, so the Eagles have stumbled against quality competition. But they also have wins over Illinois, Kansas, and Texas. Marquette is also 4-0-1 against the spread as an underdog. That’s enough to believe that the Golden Eagles can go toe-to-toe with UConn for 40 minutes and possibly spring the upset.
You can get the latest betting lines, moneyline betting picks , sharp analysis and more and college basketball data at BetQL.
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