The Volunteers will be visiting Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday for an SEC showdown. With a 6-5 record and a 14-12 overall record, the Volunteers are 5th in the SEC. The Crimson Tide is at 8th with a 16-9 overall record but a 5-6 conference record.
The Iowa State Cyclones will host the Sooners on Saturday. The Iowa St Cyclones are 18-8 and are fourth in the Big 12 with an 8-5 record. The Sooners are 2nd to last in the Major 12 with a 3-10 record while having a 13-12 record.
Coming off of a strong – but losing – playoff effort last year versus the Bulls, the Indiana Pacers came roaring back to begin the 2011-2012 year. The team is experiencing its greatest early record in the previous eight years, but are still troubled versus the more skillful squads in the league. Whereas they’re 11-4 thus far, merely 4 of those wins are versus squads with records above .500.
Number 1 rated Kentucky versus the NCAA championship hopefuls Georgia? Appears like a recipe for a crushing defeat, specifically as Kentucky just barely regained that desired No. 1 berth on the rankings for the first time in the earlier 2 months. Whilst the Kentucky Wildcats are on top of the rankings and experiencing an 11 game win streak, the Bulldogs can best be termed sporadic so far in the season.
On Jan 12th, things heat up when the Cleveland Cavaliers come into Phoenix to take on the Suns. A couple of years ago, this might have been an outstanding match with LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire going head up in a collision course. In the era of free agency however, times certainly have evolved as this match looks considerably different. Phoenix is preferred by 6 points over the Cleveland Cavaliers and this is apparently a safe bet.
The Sacramento Kings face an uphill battle when they face the Houston Rockets in Houston on January 13th. This is a case of both squads restructuring for the longer term as both squads look nothing like their early 2000′s heydays. The Kings look to go back to their past dominance in the west with standout play from their youthful stalwarts. The Houston Rockets are still coping with the fallout from the retirement of Yao Ming. The Houston Rockets are favored by 3 points by the oddsmakers and this seeks to be a difficult game to call.
The AT&T Center may get some long distance action on Jan 13th as the Trailblazers visit San Antonio to face the Spurs. Portland is a youthful team seeking to rebuild as the short but electric Brandon Roy era officially ended with his retirement in December. Former #1 pick Greg Oden has additionally had continued issues with his knees as Portland seemingly can not shake the specter of Sam Bowie. The Spurs look to defend their court with sizzling plays from their regular dependable lineup. The Spurs are liked by 8 points and this seeks to be a great bet.
On Jan 12th, things heat up when the Cleveland Cavaliers come into Phoenix to take on the Suns. A couple of years ago, this might have been an outstanding match with LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire going head up in a collision course. In the era of free agency however, times certainly have evolved as this match looks considerably different. Phoenix is preferred by 6 points over the Cleveland Cavaliers and this is apparently a safe bet.
The United Center in Chicago will be in the spotlight as the Wizards arrive in town to take on the Bulls. In years past, this competition could have been the hardest ticket to get as the 2nd comeback by Michael Jordan turned the Wizards into press darlings throughout the nba. Jordan now is long retired however and the Wizards have become an excellent young team with vast amounts of possible waiting to be drawn on. The sportsbook has the Bulls preferred by 8 points which sounds correct and sounds like a solid bet with Chicago being rooted on at home.
Saturday evening on January 14th, the New York Knicks come into Oklahoma City to battle against the Thunder in this big competition between these two squads. It is a tale of two squads as the Thunder come up with a continual team of young guns vs the New York Knicks who it looks from year upon year usually enters into play with plenty of modifications going on. The New York Knicks are preferred by 4 points and this could hold unless Durant has one of his usual killer games.
