More picks, more winners. That’s been the story of late, let’s ride.
NBA
Celtics -8.5
OKC +7
Portland -4.5
Suns -11.5
CBB
Texas +2
Vandy +7.5
Bellarmine/Stetson o141
WVU/TCU o143
NHL
PHI/PIT o6
NYI ML
CHI +1.5
Boston -8.5
I knew something was up with this line when I saw it this morning. Toronto has the Covid. No Siakam, VanVleet or OG tonight and I think Boston makes light work of them. Boston’s struggling, but should be fine against a bunch of backups and Lowry.
OKC +7
OKC has been a team that I love backing as a dog. They always seem to be in games that they shouldn’t. They’re 11-6 ATS on the road as an underdog and I think there’s value here that could be a bounce back spot after they laid an egg versus Dallas.
Portland -4.5
I don’t have much on this game here other than the fact that I trust Dame, Trent and Melo more than anyone on the Kings. The Kings have only covered once in their last 12 games and that was against the Pistons. The Blazers have figured it out after their initial dip when they first lost McCollum and Nurkic. Back the better team here.
Suns -11.5
I got this earlier when the line was -6.5 just because the Suns are rolling and this will be the Warriors’ 6th game in 10 days plus they’re on a back to back. Then it was announced that Curry and Draymond will be sitting tonight. Kelly Oubre should be out as well and the Suns are making a run at the top of the West. This team is different with Chris Paul and I expect DBook to be pissed after that bogus ejection the other night.
Texas +2
I love the Longhorns in this spot. They’re 3-1 as road dogs this season and they will have a little extra motivation in the season’s second edition of the Red River Rivalry after dropping a game to the Sooners by 1 point in Austin. That was also in the middle of the Sooners’ insane tear against ranked teams. Since then, 1-5 ATS and they’ve lost the last 3 SU as favorites. Hook ‘Em.
Vandy +7.5
These late season non-conference games are weird but I like Vandy in this spot. Cincinnati is not the same team they were a few years back when Mick Cronin was running the show and the American Athletic Conference has not impressed me as a whole. Cincy is 4-9 ATS in conference play and Vanderbilt plays in a better conference (although the SEC is my least favorite of the power 5 conferences) where they are 8-7 ATS. Back the Commodores and they might even be able to steal one on the road here.
Bellarmine/Stetson o141
I was looking at the ASun bracket last night and I was shocked to see first year D1 program Bellarmine as the 2 seed in that bracket. Good for them. At first I was going to take them ATS in this game, but I’m going to go over the total. Both teams are hitting over their total in about 65% of games this year. (Stetson 13/20), (Bellarmine 10/15). I also think with this being an ASun tourney game, I think it goes down to the wire and some foul shots push us over.
WVU/TCU o143
I’ve been riding WVU overs (16-7) all year long and I won’t stop now. “Press Virginia” actually makes teams try to play faster and WVU can flat out score the basketball, especially with the turnovers that they force. I don’t expect this game to be close, but it’s March so I don’t want to lay that big number. Either way, I think WVU comes out the gate to make a statement after that heartbreaking Baylor loss and they put up a ton of points.
PHI/PIT o6
Overs are 3-0 when these two teams play this year, including two nights ago even without Crosby on the ice. The Penguins either score a lot or get scored on a lot, so I’ll take that trend to continue. The Penguins are #5 for most goals allowed per game and the Flyers are #5 for most goals scored per game. Take the over.
NYI ML
The Sabres are bad. Jack Eichel is in hockey purgatory and his play is suffering probably due to low morale. Just take the better team and don’t even think twice.
Blackhawks +1.5
I’ll take the Blackhawks on the puckline here. There’s also some value on the ML at +180 so feel free to take that if you’re feeling froggy. The Blackhawks have been playing much better hockey than expected this season and a big reason is the improvement to their defense and surprisingly good goaltending after the departure of Corey Crawford. This is no slouch coming to town in Tampa Bay, but I like this game to be low scoring and close. Take your chances on the Hawks.
Images via MassLive.com
Between the Yards 