Free Picks: Free Service Plays for Friday, March 10th, 2017

DAVE COKIN

LONG BEACH ST VS UC IRVINE
PLAY: UC IRVINE

Scores can be very misleading. Take a pair of final from Thursday’s Big West tournament action as an example. UC Irvine defeated UC Riverside by nine. Long Beach State was an 11-point winner against Hawaii. But beyond the similarities in the margins, these two games had little in common.

Irvine had a pretty easy time of it in its win. The Anteaters jumped out to a decent early lead and were never really threatened. Different story for Long Beach. That 73-62 final against Hawaii was quite misleading. The game was tied at 54 before the 49ers went on a monster late game run to register a win that was far tougher than the final tally might indicate.

This is one of the better under the radar rivalries and both sides should be revved up for this rubber match. Each team won on its home court during the regular season. Irvine destroyed Beach back in early January. The rematch was another of those games where the final was not really indicative of how the game went. The 49ers got out to a huge early lead, but Irvine came all the way back to actually get the lead with less than seven minutes remaining. But in the end, Long Beach earned the win by making the most of a substantial free throw disparity.

I think the difference tonight will be defense, with the lack of size on the part of the 49ers eventually doing them in. Irvine has looked like the true class of the conference since Luke Nelson finally got healthy, and I don’t believe the 49ers will be able to guard him effectively in this game. Jaron Martin has also been on a roll, and I sure can’t see him having another brutal game that resembles what took place in the last meeting between these teams.

The Anteaters look like the considerably better team to me at this juncture. If the betting line is where I believe it will be, I see some value on the UC Irvine side in a game I expect them to win by close to double digits.

Ray Monohan

Wizards vs. Kings
Play: Kings +8

The Kings are actually playing somewhat well as of late, as they have a lot of players who are playing some fire. Sacramento catches 8 points against a Wizards team who really isn't playing that well.

The Wizards have been up and down since their long winning streak and situationally this is not a nice spot for them.

Some trends to note in regards to the situation. Wizards are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. Wizards are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.

Washington just isn't in a good spot here and the Kings at this many points are worth a move.

Art Aronson

Houston at Chicago
Play: Houston -4½

Houston comes in hungry after losing its second straight, most recently a 115-108 home setback to Utah on Wednesday. Chicago is also desperate, it comes in having lost three straight, most recently a 98-91 setback at Orlando on Wednesday. The Rockets average 115.1 PPG and allow 108.4. Chicago averages 102.3 PPG and allows 103.1. Note though that Houston is 4-0 ATS in its last four on the road and 15-5 ATS in its last 20 following a SU loss, while Chicago is just 1-4 ATS in its last five overall. Neither team has looked good of late, but Houston is still first in the league in three balls made per contest, while Chicago is in last place. The Bulls are also banged up and their new guys have yet to find their groove yet. We think Harden and company can take advantage, consider the ROCKETS in this matchup.

Marc Lawrence

Wizards vs. Kings
Play: Kings +8

Edges - Kings: 1-1 ATS in with one day of rest versus foe with one day of rest… Wizards: visiting team in this series is 0-7 ATS. With Washington off an upset win at Denver Wednesday night and the avenging Kings off a 5-point loss at San Antonio Wednesday night, we recommend a 1* play on Sacramento.

Jim Feist

UL-Lafayette vs. Georgia St
Play: Over 157

Louisiana-Lafayette has an uptempo offensive attack on an 11-4 run over the total. Jay Wright scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns made 21 of 22 free throws in the final 5:44 to defeat Little Rock, 78-71, in the first round Wednesday. The Over is 5-0 in Ragin' Cajuns last five vs. a team with a winning straight up record. Georgia State doesn't play much defense, allowing 78 and 67 thhe last two games. They gave yo 101 when they last played Lafayette, a 101-86 defeat that sailed over. The Over is 4-0 in the Panthers last 4 vs. a team with a winning straight up record, and the over is 5-0 when these rivals clash.

Doc's Sports

Magic vs. Hornets
Play: Hornets -7

The Hornets have had their share of issues lately but this team is just a few games out of the playoff picture in the east and they have started to play pretty well as they make a push for the No. 8 seed. The Hornets recently came off a seven-game road trip. That trip did not go exactly as they planned, but it wasn’t as bad as their W-L numbers may indicate as they lost in OT at Detroit and at LA Clippers, and they were pretty competitive at the Raptors as well. They looked great in their first game back home, winning by 12 vs. the Pacers, and we think that positive momentum will continue here despite a loss on Wednesday. The oddsmakers posted reasonable line for this one as this is two “bad” teams playing, and the Magic just seem to be playing out the string lately as they have no playoff aspirations.

Mike Anthony

Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets
Play: Charlotte Hornets -8

Charlotte Kemba Walker comes down from the G position and helps out vs the easy buckets down low, more than he should have to. Walker keeps his eyes on the bucket with his shot attempts, putting up 18/game. Orlando is going to struggle trying to keep him on the shelf here. Orlando has not gotten hands in shooters faces very well. Orlando also has not scored very well either, only putting up a pitiful 99/gm on the season. The Magic are not going to be able to stop the ball from going in the hoop, even with the overly athletic, Bismack Biyombo as a defensive weapon. Charlotte wins by 12 points

Tennis Insiders

Djokovic/Troicki v Bopanna/Cuevas
Pick: Bopanna/Cuevas

Djokovic was 0-3 in doubles action on the ATP World Tour last season, and his participation here looks simply to adjust to the court conditions. He'll team up with fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki, whose singles record is 5-9 at this tournament, not comfortable with the slow, high-bouncing ball. He was hammered 1-6/4-6 by Dolgopolov yesterday. They'll take on Bopanna & Cuevas, two established doubles players. Bopanna is 9-5 this season, ranked the No.23 doubles player in the world. The focus is really on Djokovic here, his performances on the doubles court are not comparable with his singles, he doesn't bring the same intensity or focus to the court. The main aim is to accumulate match-time & gain rhythm as these court conditions are quite tricky. This line should be much closer to -200 for Bopanna/Cuevas, but the stature of Djokovic will always keep it pinned low. Take the favorites to record a comfortable victory.

BEN BURNS

Magic vs. Hornets
Play: Hornets -8

These teams will meet again in less than two weeks, at Orlando. While the Magic may win that 3/22 contest, I don't like their chances here. The Hornets, much better in their own building, already hammered the Magic by 40 combined points, in the first two meetings. They've only played one home game since the middle of February and that resulted in a double-digit win over the Pacers. This marks the start of a 3-game homestand, with a trio of winnable games. The Hornets, currently 11th in the conference, know that a 3-0 sweep puts them back in the hunt for the 8th and final spot in the East. They also know they can't afford to squander opportunities like this one. Catching the Magic likely without Vucevic once again, look for the Hornets to take care of business.

CHASE DIAMOND

Duke vs. North Carolina
Play: Duke +4

Best game on the card by far today as far as being able to watch as the 25-8 Duke takes on the 27-6 UNC. Duke lost last time out giving up a ton of points and with so much on the line today I think the defense gets turned up as Mike Krzyzewski will draw up a winning plan for Duke tonight. Duke is off an upset of Louisville and normally I'd stay off them the next game but this game means everything to these players and It's hard to turn down plus points on Duke and a super sharp play as the public races to bet on UNC here.

INFO PLAYS

North Carolina -3½

Here are some systems backing our pick. Duke is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) in a neutral court game where the total is 150 to 159.5 over the last 3 seasons. North Carolina is 290-238 ATS (+28.2 Units) as a favorite since 1997.

Cal Sports

St. Bonaventure at Rhode Island
Play: Rhode Island -5

This is an actual 4% play which my All-Access cutomers receive. As the #4 seed this is Rhode Island’s first game while St Bonaventure played 24 hours ago beating the #12 seed UMass. I have the Rhodies 8 points better plus add a point or two playing rested versus an unrested. St Bonaventure may have won 4 of their last 5 games but they just beat UMass twice in a row (4-14 conf record #12), Duquesne (3-15 last) and St Joe’s (4-14 #13).

David Banks

Washington @ Sacramento
Pick: Sacramento +8

The Sacramento Kings haven’t fared much worse without C DeMarcus Cousins. They did lose three in a row last week, but previously had won five of six. Young big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere need to take advantage of the chance to become the Kings’ future. Guard Buddy Hield is beginning to show promise since coming over in the Cousins trade from New Orleans. Hield is averaging 13.8 points since joining Sacramento and had 16 in a loss to Brooklyn last Wednesday. On Friday night, all three players will need to be at the top of their game as Washington comes to town.

The Wizards, now third in the Eastern Conference standings, won six of nine games before a Sunday game with Orlando. Washington, 36-24 and in first place in the Southeast Division, is catching steam in the second half of the season. The backcourt combination of Bradley Beal and John Wall is one of the best in the league. Both players average 22.7 points per game and Wall is second in the NBA in assists averaging 10.8 per game. Behind Wall and Beal, the Wizards can fill it up. They are eighth in the NBA in scoring.

With Cousins gone to New Orleans and Rudy Gay out for the remainder of the season with an Achilles tendon injury, Hield is now the Kings leading scorer. The team needs more production Cauley-Stein and Labissiere as well as from Darren Collison, who has played 30-plus minutes in the Kings last two games as head coach Dave Joerger plays around with the starting lineup.

Ben Burns

Columbus -241

These teams are playing very differently right now. The Jackets, 24-10 at home, haven't allowed a single goal over their past two games. Three of their last four games have resulted in shutout wins. On the other hand, the Sabres, 11-22 on the road, have given up 10 goals in their past two games alone. They've given up at least two goals in nine straight games. Knowing they play these same Sabres at Buffalo tomorrow, look for the Jackets to "hold serve" at home here.