Free Picks for Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017 from some of the nations best and worst handicappers.
DAVE COKIN
PACERS AT PISTONS
PLAY: PISTONS -4
A strong in-season trend and perhaps a little extra motivation in play here. The Pacers have been a disaster when playing on the road off a win so far this campaign. Nine games, nine losses and an improbably 0-9 spread record in this situation. One cautionary note is that I do think the Pacers are starting to get hot together to some extent as the backcourt combo of Teague and Robinson is starting to click.
But this should be a pretty big game for Detroit. The Pistons played a very bad game the last time these teams met, losing big at home, leading to some pointed comments after the game by Stan Van Gundy.
The Pacers have played well on this court, winning seven of their last nine visits to the Palace. But they’ve been a very poor road team this season with only four away wins and with Detroit off a good game, I can live with laying a couple of baskets tonight. I’ll side with the Pistons to get the win and cover.
Sleepyj
TWolves / 76ers Over 203.5
Both teams come in well rested for this one....Philly decided last game to play little defense and they actually won a game with that mentality. ..T-Wolves decided to go all out on defense last game and they lost....Philly might try the same approach here and Minnesota might try to flip flip the style of play from last game....Both teams combined give up 212ppg...It's the offense that's an issue for both squads...Combined is right around 203ppg...Still the raw numbers don't add up and this game looks like it will rise a decent amount...These teams played already this season and they only scored 186 points in that game...That might be the reason this line is a tad low as well....Last time out Philly only shot 37% against the Wolves and both teams combined shot just 26% from 3pt land....76ers have given up 7 straight games of 100 or more points...T-Wolves..have scored 100+ in the last 5 of 6 games....All the numbers I see says this number is off by about 35./4 points..So I'll beat the move here and throw down a small wager.
Ben Burns
Pacers vs. Pistons
Play: Pistons -4½
I've had success with both these teams recently. This one should favor the Pistons. While the Pacers did win here earlier, a 105-90 victory a few weeks ago, they're still an ugly 4-13 ATS/SU on the road for the season. That includes a 1-3 ATS mark as road underdogs in the 3.5 to 6 range. The Pistons, on the other hand, are 6-3 SU/ATS as home favorites in the -3.5 to -6 range. They're also 5-2 ATS the last seven times that they attempted to avenge a home loss. They're going to be hungry and I like their chances.
Jim Feist
Heat at Suns
Pick: Under
Miami is 3,000 miles from home and doesn't like to run, #29 in the NBA in points scored. Miami is 5-2 under the total on the road and the Under is 4-0 in the Heat's last 4 road games vs. a team with a losing home record. Phoenix is 9-4 under the total playing on no days rest. And the Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings, 4-1 under here in Phoenix.
Scott Spreitzer
Los Angeles at San Jose
Play: San Jose -142
These teams met on New Years Eve in Los Angeles, a 3-2 Kings' win. San Jose has been great in the second of a home-and-home situation, winning five in a row. The Sharks have been outstanding on the defensive end of the ice and the Kings have struggled scoring goals on the road, scoring two goals or less in six of their last seven away from home ice. The Kings have won just one of their last six road games. Nice bounce back spot for the Sharks and we'll jump on board.
Mike Rose
Kansas State at Kansas
Play: Kansas -12.5
The Jayhawks won and covered all three meetings with K-State last season, so you can bet your bottom dollar the Wildcats will be going all out to save some face in this one. Kansas won 77-59 and covered the closing 12 point spread in these hated rival’s meeting in Lawrence last season. The won was their tenth straight as a host in this rivalry, while the cover moved them to 9-1 against the spread over that stretch.
This is a major step up in class for the Wildcats whose toughest opponent to date has been the Maryland Terrapins; a team that currently ranks out at No. 59 according to the most up to date Pomeroy Ratings. While K-Suck has a nice true road win at St. Louis under their belts, this is a much tougher animal to deal with than the one the Billikens brought to the table.
I simply don’t trust Kansas State to generate enough offense to entertain the thought of backing them. The Jayhawks are likely to win the rebounding battle and will simply have too much offensive firepower for the visitors to contend with. Look for them to parlay those advantages into a fourth straight win and cover in the recent series.
Oskeim Sports
Utah Jazz at Boston Celtics
Play: Boston Celtics -6
Utah point guard George Hill suffered a lip laceration against Phoenix on New Year's Eve and is currently in the league's concussion protocal. Hill was ruled out of Monday's game against the Nets and his status for tonight's game against Boston is uncertain. Hill's absence would be problematic for the Jazz as he's averaging 18.8 points in 30:29 minutes per game this season.
The Jazz will also be without point guard Dante Exum, who is out of action due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee and remains under evaluation by the team's medical staff. In any event, Utah embarks on a five-game road trip that begins in Brooklyn before landing in Boston for the second of back-to-back road tilts. Meanwhile, Boston has been off since its 117-114 win over Miami on December 30 so Brad Stevens' squad will be well-rested for this game.
Utah is a money-burning 7-17 ATS in its last 24 road games versus teams with a winning home record and 1-5 ATS in its last six games overall (prior to Monday's results). The Jazz have also struggled in this series, posting a 2-7-2 ATS record in the last eleven meetings (0-5-2 ATS L/7 games in Boston). The favorite is 9-2-2 ATS in the last thirteen meetings, while the home team has been an 80% ATS winning proposition of late.
Finally, the Jazz's anemic attack, which is 6.2 points per game worse than average, will have a difficult time keeping pace with a Boston offense that is averaging 106.1 points per game this season. The Celtics are also capable of preserving and protecting a lead at the foul line where they are shooting 80.1% this season.
With Utah standing at 10-23 ATS as a road underdog and Boston going 41-26 ATS as a home favorite, lay the points with the Celtics
David Banks
Wisconsin @ Indiana
Pick: Indiana -1
An early season Big Ten showdown is on tap Tuesday night when 14th-ranked Wisconsin travels to Assembly Hall to take on No. 16 Indiana. The Hoosiers (10-4) are on the heels of a two-game losing streak having lost their first game in conference play to Nebraska, 83-78, and then dropping a 77-62 decision to sixth-ranked Louisville.
The Badgers (11-2) haven’t lost since a 71-56 blowout at the hands of then fourth-ranked North Carolina. Since then, Wisconsin has won eight straight including its first game in Big Ten play, a 72-52 win over Rutgers on Dec. 27. Senior guard Bronson Koenig leads the Badgers with 14.1 points per game. Senior forward Nigel Hayes scores 14 points and adds 5.8 rebounds per game while 6-foot-10 sophomore Ethan Happ shoots 67 percent from the field and averages 12.7 points and a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game.
The Hoosiers, an early Big Ten favorite, started the season with a huge win over third-ranked Kansas only to fall victim to the season’s biggest upset, a 71-68 defeat at the hands of mid-major Fort Wayne. Indiana has a ton to talent led by junior guard James Blackmon Jr. and sophomore Thomas Bryant. Blackmon leads the Hoosiers in scoring (17.3 ppg) and Bryant adds 12.1 points per game and leads the team in rebounding (7.6 rpg). Robert Johnson (13.8 ppg) and OG Anunoby (12.2) also score in double figures for the nation’s 14th-best scoring team. Indiana averages 86.5 points per game.
Harry Bondi
DETROIT -5 over Indiana
Not only is this a big revenge spot for the Pistons, who got blown out by the Pacers by 15 points just two weeks ago, but we have also line our pockets this year going against Indiana on the road and as an underdog all season and we’ll do it again here tonight. The Pacers are a dismal 4-13 ATS this season away from home and have covered just five of 16 when catching points. Pistons are 5-2 ATS when revenging a home loss this season and they do it again.
Wunderdog
Edmonton @ Columbus
Pick: Edmonton +145
Edmonton is much improved on defense at #10 in the NHL in goals allowed, with a winning record both home and away. And the offense is potent, ninth in goals scored, and seventh on the power play. Edmonton is 10-5-3 on the road and faces a Columbus team home from a two-game road trip. The visitors have the speed on offense and the strong defense to keep pace with the red-hot home team.
Nelly
TCU - over Oklahoma
TCU won just 12 games all last season but in Jamie Dixon's first season in Fort Worth following a successful 13-year run at Pittsburgh the Horned Frogs are 11-2. TCU missed in a big opportunity for a signature win on Friday night with an 86-80 home loss to Kansas but the competitive effort has the team believing they can be a Big XII contender and a NCAA Tournament team. Dixon's teams often played soft non-conference schedules at Pittsburgh but the Frogs have battled through a decent slate with wins over Illinois State, Arkansas State, UNLV and a pair of wins over Washington. Big XII play will be a much different animal however with a deep league expected. TCU gets another big opportunity at home tonight hosting Oklahoma, a Final Four team from last season but a squad that has struggled of late with losses in five of the last six games. The Sooners were blown out in the Big XII opener hosting Baylor and also took less than impressive losses vs. Memphis and Auburn. Two of the season's six losses came in overtime and Oklahoma did beat Clemson early in the season but this looks like a difficult matchup to get back on track in. TCU appears to have pretty clear edges on both sides of the ball and this is a really young Oklahoma squad that hasn't quite figured out its optimal rotation yet with 10 players getting significant minutes. Jordan Woodard has missed the last two games and the senior point guard is proving to be an integral piece for the team and it seems unlikely that he will suit up tonight which means the losing streak looks likely to continue.
Dave Cokin
Oklahoma at TCU
Play: TCU -10
Info is that Jordan Woodard will be sitting out a second straight game for Oklahoma with an illness. That's bad news for the Sooners, who have been struggling. Lon Kruger keeps juggling the lineup looking for the right combo, but whatever he's trying isn't working right now and the absence of Woodard is huge. Double revenge conference home chalk angle is working like a charm so far and with the Horned Frogs off a loss on this court to Kansas, I don't think there's any chance they take anything for granted tonight. This team has shown some pretty good killer instinct as well, so I would think that if they have a shot to bury the Sooners, they will. I'll lay the lumber here with TCU.
Brett Atkins
Tuesday's comp play is the Hawks of St. Joe's plus the very generous spot in Kingston tonight.
Rhode Island may be the better team this time around, but the Hawks have been a bit of a "bugaboo" for the Rams, as Phil Martelli's team has won 7 of the last 8 series meetings straight up, including a season sweep last year.
St. Joseph's has won their last pair of games, and 4 of their last 5 on the year, so look for them to be competitive this Tuesday night against a Rhode Island team that will be happy just to win the game tonight.
Rams take it, but the Hawks get the spread cover plus the double-digits.
4* ST. JOSEPH'S
Brad Wilton
My Tuesday comp play release is the Kansas Jayhawks to once again beat down their in-state rival, the Kansas State Wildcats.
Both teams are 12-1 straight up, but only one is ranked in the Top-Five, and that would be Kansas.
The Jayhawks took all 3 meetings last season over the Wildcats, and they also covered in all 3 of the wins.
Kansas is on a 29-10-1 against the spread run in this series, and the Jayhawks have covered 10 of their last 14 in Big 12 play.
Kansas State is just 3-7 against the spread their last 10 away from home, and the home team in this series sports a 16-4-1 spread mark the past 21 series showdowns.
Kansas the call on a Tuesday night in Lawrence.
3* KANSAS