Free Picks for Friday, March 3rd, 2017 from some of the nations best and worst handicappers
DAVE COKIN
SPURS AT PELICANS
PLAY: SPURS -6
San Antonio suddenly has a real chance to catch Golden State for the top seed in row West. The Spurs are only a couple back in the loss column and with Durant gone for quite some time, I have to think San Antonio is going to try and make a push to get that home court advantage for the entire playoffs.
This hasn’t been a good site for the Spurs, so I don’t think there’s much chance they take this one for granted and they also lost the last meeting with the Pelicans by a big margin.
New Orleans is off its best game in some time as they crushed the Pistons, but this team has not done well at all in maintaining any positive momentum. New Orleans will get Cousins back from his suspension tonight, but the team is 0-3 in the games he’s played since the trade with Sacramento.
The Spurs have been terrific in revenge games so far this season, winning and covering five of six. I give the visitors the motivational edge tonight, and there’s obviously no question they’re the superior team. The Spurs will be a popular choice with bettors tonight, but I also think they’re the right side, so I’m on San Antonio in this one.
Ray Monohan
St. Louis / Winnipeg Over 5.5
Two teams who have plenty of offensive weapons meet on Friday which gives the Over some value here.
Looking at Winnipeg first, they are a much more threatening team when it comes to playing at home. The Jets are averaging 3.13 goals per home game and scoring against the Blues this year has been a norm.
The Jets have put in 13 goals in 3 meetings with St. Louis this season.
As for the Blues, they have plenty of weapons who can strike. St. Louis has averaged 2.8 goals per game as they play with extreme pace.
Some trends to note. Over is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings. Over is 20-6-1 in Jets last 27 overall.
Expect this one to have plenty of goal scoring chances, as both teams will pepper the opposing goal, helping this Over out.
Jesse Schule
Drexel vs. James Madison
Play: James Madison -3
The James Madison Dukes and the Drexel Dragons are bottom feeders of the CAA. They meet in the first round of the CAA Tournament Friday, and the Dukes are a slight favorite. Drexel has lost five straight, and nine of it's last 10 overall. One of those losses came at home to James Madison by a score of 70-64. The Dragons are banged up in the backcourt, with guard Miles Overton out for the season with a wrist injury, and Kari Jonsson doubtful with a sore knee. The Dukes have only won 3 of their last 10 games, but have played far better than Drexel during that span. They are averaging over 70 points per game in their last five, and have shot better than 70 percent from the free throw line during that span. The Dragons have hit just 60 percent of their free throws and averaged 63.8 points in their last five games. The Dukes are 7-0 in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Ben Burns
New York at Philadelphia
Play: Over 215½
These teams have split a pair of meetings season. Both games were won by the home team. Each was decided by a single point. Both games also stayed below the total. The last one did so barely. The closing O/U line for that 2/25 game was 220; the teams combined for 219. We're currently getting a lower O/U line to work with than we did for that game, providing some line value.
The Knicks, who are off a 101-90 win at Orlando, have seen the 'over' go 9-3 when off an "upset" win and 5-3 when off a double-digit win. Meanwhile the 76ers, who are off a 125-98 thrashing at the hands of the Heat, have seen the 'over' go 14-6 when off a double-digit loss. They've also seen the 'over' go 14-5 their last 19 games overall. We should see plenty of points again here.
Marc Lawrence
Iowa State vs. West Virginia
Play: Iowa State +7½
Edges - Cyclones: 5-3 SU and 7-1 ATS as a dog of three or more points this season; and 7-2 ATS as road dogs versus .750 or greater opponents… Mountaineers: 4-8 ATS in Last Home Games versus .450 or greater foes off a win. With ISU playing with revenge from their worst home loss of the season, an 85-72 setback to WVU, we recommend a 1* play on Iowa State.
Braxton Myles
Iowa State vs. West Virginia
Play: Iowa State +8
Iowa State is playing some of the best basketball right now. This is going to be a great game between two conference teams, Its going to take a lot from West Virginia to end the game up 8 points. If Iowa State starts out hot from behind the 3 point line I can see them pulling off another victory here at the end of the season, ISU is fighting for seeding in the big tourney right now so they will come out firing in this game. Iowa State is 5-4 SU in this series since 1997 and the series is tied at 1-1 in games played at West Virginia over the last 3 seasons.
Rob Vinciletti
Spurs vs. Pelicans
Play: Spurs -6
The Spurs were beat by New Oreleans last time they met. The Spurs are 9-3 ats with revenge and have covered 8 of 10 on Fridays. the pelicans are 1-6 ats off a spread win adn have failed to cover 4 of 5 vs winning teams. Home dogs that scored 100 or more as a home favorite of 4 or less and allowed 90 or less like the pelicans are 0-6 ats since 1995 vs an opponent that was a home favorite of 5 or more and failed to cover. Look for the Spurs to serve up some revenge.
Art Aronson
St. Louis at Winnipeg
Play: Winnipeg -120
St. Louis is struggling, it’s lost four games in a row, most recently a 2-1 home setback to Edmonton on Tuesday. Goaltender Jake Allen is just 8-11 with a 2.93 GAA on the road this year. St. Louis averages 2.77 GPG and allows 2.87. Winnipeg has won four straight in this series and we think it has a fantastic shot to make it five in a row. Conor Hellebuyck is 20-18 with a 2.87 GAA on the year, including 11-8 with a 2.62 GAA at home. The Jets average 2.92 goals and allow 3.19. Note though that St. Louis is just 1-5 in its last six against the Western Conference, while Winnipeg is 8-3 in its last 11 home games against a team with a losing road record. Consider laying the price on the JETS in this one.
Doc's Sports
Akron vs. Kent State
Play: Akron Pk
This is the final game of the season in the MAC. I think it will be a good one. But I think that it will go the way of Akron. They have been the best team in the league this year. They are 13-3 and the No. 1 team in the East. One of those losses was at home to Kent State. I don't think that the Golden Flashes are going to sweep this series this year. These two teams have split the season series the last four years and five of the last six years. I think that will be the case here. Kent State has won four straight games. But they are just average at home. They are just 4-5 SU in their last nine home games. Kent State is just 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as a favorite. That is something to keep in mind if they are favored here. Whatever the line is it will be small either way. And this will be a win for the Zips to close out the regular season.
Mike Anthony
San Antonio vs. New Orleans
Play: New Orleans +6
New Orleans frontcourt will keep the frontcourt on their heels in transition, they are too quick, and very aggressive when they are moving up court. New Orleans has some parts in play now, and they will make things happen. They are gritty enough to shut down the strong offense of the Spurs - at least here they will. San Antonio has lost to the Pelicans before and they didn't have anything better than what they have now - and they got smoked, losing by 16. That's a tad worrisome to me. New Orleans is better now by far. Yet the Spurs didn't beat them, and they were a team that were expected to win. New Orleans has some things to hash out still - but they will squeak by the Spurs at home. New Orleans wins this out outright here at home on Friday night.
Jim Feist
Missouri St at Northern Iowa
Pick: Under
Tourney play means intense defense with so much at stake. The Missouri State Bears are 4-0 under the total following a double-digit loss at home. Northern Iowa is third in the MVC in points allowed, on a 9-2 run under the total. The Under is 7-2 in the Panthers last 9 vs. a team with a winning straight up record. The Panthers have won five straight MVC tourney championship contests. In the last meeting UNI won 55-52 three weeks ago and look for another defensive battle.
Anthony Michael
Cleveland -3
Look for a very motivated Cleveland team here off of a loss to Boston on Wednesday night. The Cavs love Friday night covering 11 of their 15 games on Friday and they love playing the Hawks covering 7 of their last 9 games against Atlanta. The Hawks have only covered 2 of their last 8 home games - look for a motivated Cavs team that has lost 2 of their last 3 SU to put up a big effort here and get this win and cover.
Indian Cowboy
Washington (-5) over Toronto
Solid back-to-back winners on the newsletter for us as we take a great deal of pride in giving you quality content on our Docs Newsletter. We have the best handicappers in the business and we love trying to make your time worthwhile with quality selections. Let's go for three in a row here as this Friday night. The Wizards are not the same team they were in the first half of the year. This is a team that now sits at 34-23 after being miserable in the first half and underachieving greatly. One of those games was against the Raptors when they lost 103-113 on the road. Now, times have changed. The Wizards are frankly just one game away from the Raptors in the win column as we currently write this and don't be a bit surprised here if this team indeed gets their revenge against Toronto. Remember, Washington recently beat OKC by 22 points, Indiana by 13 points, and New Orleans by 14 points and frankly should have beat Cleveland if it was not for LeBron's miracle bank shot falling away. We like Washington to get their revenge. And given that Toronto has been stumbling lately with inconsistency, we like the Wizards to get it done here this Friday night behind a solid home crowd.
Allen Eastman
Akron (-1) over Kent State
This is the final game of the season in the MAC. I think it will be a good one. But I think that it will go the way of Akron. They have been the best team in the league this year. They are 13-3 and the No. 1 team in the East. One of those losses was at home to Kent State. I don't think that the Golden Flashes are going to sweep this series this year. These two teams have split the season series the last four years and five of the last six years. I think that will be the case here. Kent State has won four straight games. But they are just average at home. They are just 4-5 SU in their last nine home games. Kent State is just 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as a favorite. That is something to keep in mind if they are favored here. Whatever the line is it will be small either way. And this will be a win for the Zips to close out the regular season.