The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: Total Under 212.0 (-110)

This is the fourth meeting of the season between these Atlantic Division foes. Philadelphia won-and-covered the first two before Brooklyn earned a 100-96 home win before the All-Star break. Neither team played on Friday, so both are on equal rest heading into this one. The Sixers have lost six straight and have only covered the spread in one game so far in the month of February. Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon both missed Thursday's 20-point home loss to Boston, and both will miss this contest with the Nets. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey both missed last week's game between these two teams, so Philadelphia will be offering a different look in this one. The under is 11-1 in Brooklyn's last 12 games, and that's the only direction we can look for this one. Since January 21, Brooklyn's defense has held opponents to an average of 100.1 points per game. The Nets have been held below the 100-point mark in seven of their last 12 games. Dating back to the end of last season, the last five meetings have seen an average of 207.2 points per game. Both teams are bottom-10 in offensive efficiency this season and both teams are bottom-5 in pace.

THE PLAY: Total Under 131.0 (-110)

We were fully prepared to back Iowa State as an underdog in this trek to Houston, but those plans got tossed out the window when the Cyclones announced that both leading scorers - Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones - were going to miss this contest. Both Gilbert and Jones have played every game for Iowa State over the last two seasons. Neither has missed a game since March 2023. Gilbert led the Cyclones with 17 points when these teams met in Houston last season, then followed that up with a 16-point performance in the Big XII Championship Game victory over the Cougars. We still have a relatively-high level of confidence that Iowa State can defend Houston in this matchup, but without Jones and Gilbert, how are the Cyclones going to score? These teams played three times last year with those three games seeing an average of 119.3 points per game.