Free Picks for Tuesday, March 7th, 2017 from some of the nations best and worst handicappers
DAVE COKIN
FLORIDA A&M VS SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
PLAY: FLORIDA A&M +5
My knowledge of the MEAC is very limited, so I will only risk a half unit on this tournament matchup.
The math indicates the dog slightly, as off the stats I ended up making Florida A&M -3.5, so a bit of value on the Florida A&M side.
I also have a tendency to like underdogs who play zone against teams that cannot shoot the three-ball. So the game fits on that count, as the Rattlers play lots of zone and the Bulldogs are one of the worst there point teams in the nation.
Actually, neither of these teams is much good at anything other than effort. The MEAC is a very weak league, and aside from NC Central, there isn’t a single team inside the top 300 on the power ratings.
These teams met last Saturday and SC State won at home by 11, in spite of missing all but three of their three-point attempts. They did shoot twos exceptionally well, so there should be some dropoff there. Also, while A&M is a bad free throw shooting entry, they were really terrible in this particular game, going a pathetic 7/17.
I would anticipate this being a close game as there’s not a great deal to distinguish between these squads from what I can see. I’ll take the five with Florida A&M, but only for a small wager.
Red Dog Sports
Newcastle United vs. Reading
Play: Reading +310
Free play on Reading. They are #4 in the England Championship table and played well at home as they are 5-1-1 in their last 7. However, Newcastle is #1 with great statistics and goal difference but they have lost two home games in 2017. Nice value on the home underdog at +310.
Jim Feist
Boston College vs. Wake Forest
Play: Over 160
Can't see much defense in this one. The Boston College defense stunk all season and got worse down the stretch, allowing 104, 91, 82 and 82 points the last four games. BC is on a 9-3 run over the total, 5-2 over at neutral site. Wake Forest loves to run, topping 80 or more in 9 of the last 10 games. That includes an 85-80 win at Boston College. Wake Forest is on a 13-3 run over the total and when these rivals clash the over is 12-3.
Rob Vinciletti
St Francis vs. Mount Saint Mary's
Play: St Francis +5
The Red flash have won 9 of the last 12 including a solid road dog win at Wagner last out to make it here against MT. ST. Mary's. The flash have covered 5 of the last 6 in tournament play and all 3 times as a road dog from +3.5 to +6. They have home loss revenge here and have won the last 2 times in this scenario. The Mountaineers are ranked 290th in the nation ins coring so we are not keen on laying points with them. They are 1-7 vs winning teams and have failed to cover 4 of 5 when the total is 140 to 150.
Sean Murphy
St Louis at Minnesota
Play: Minnesota -165
The Blues snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-0 shutout victory in Colorado on Sunday night and remain in the driver's seat in terms of the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference. I don't look for them to add two points on Tuesday night, however, as they head to Minnesota to face a Wild squad that owns a strong home ice advantage.
Minnesota has gone 23-8-1 on home ice this season, including a perfect 2-0 mark against the Blues in this building.
The Wild bounced back from a 1-0 loss in Columbus with an impressive 3-1 victory over the Sharks at home on Sunday. While they've managed to score only three goals in their last two games, they're averaging north of 3.4 goals per contest on home ice this season.
The Blues were sellers at the trade deadline for a reason. While the Wild are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this year, the Blues are not. While we're dealing with a fairly steep line on Tuesday night, I believe the price could be even higher.
Marc Lawrence
Boston College vs. Wake Forest
Play: Boston College +10½
Edges - Eagles: 4-1 ATS last five games in this series… Deacon Demons: 2-9 SUATS last eleven games in this tourney. With Wake Forest 1-5 ATS in games against foes off back-to-back losses this season, we recommend a 1* play on Boston College.
Mike Anthony
Portland Trail vs. Oklahoma City
Play: Oklahoma City -7
I like the Thunder beating the Blazers by at least 10 when they meet Tuesday in Oklahoma City. This is a payback game for the Thunder, who dominated much of the way in Portland last week only to see a fourth-quarter cold spell result in a 114-109 loss. Oklahoma City lost all three games of that road trip but has won four straight at home. Lay the points as OKC bounces back with a big win here.
Ben Burns
Blazers vs. Thunder
Play: Over 221½
These teams just combined for 223 points less than a week ago. Tonight's final score could well be even higher. The Blazers saw their last game produce 246 combined points. The game against the Thunder was actually their lowest-scoring contest all week. Prior to facing OKC, in their most recent road game, the Blazers combined with the Pistons for 233 points.
The Blazers, who saw last night's game at Minnesota postponed, have seen the 'over' go 8-2 when playing with two day's rest. They allow more than 212 ppg on the road and have seen the 'over' go 9-5 when the O/U line was 220 or greater. Expect a shootout.
Mike Lundin
Blues / Wild Under 5½
The St. Louis Blues are 14-16-1 on the road this season and they average just 2.55 goals per game away from home. They're coming off a 3-0 win at the NHL-worst Colorado but have scored just nine goals through their last six games overall. Tonight they'll visit a Minnesota Wild side that is conceding 2.12 gpg home at Xcel Energy Center and the Wild's star netminder Devan Dubnyk has allowed just one goal in each of his last two starts against St. Louis. I think goals will come at a premium in this contest and I'm backing the under.
Anthony Michael
Georgia Tech +1
These teams have similar records but the Jackets are much better against ACC competition sitting at 8-10 SU in ACC play while Pitt only has 4 SU conference wins all season long. G Tech has covered 11 of their last 15 games so they have been playing well lately and they dominate the Panthers on the ATS board covering their last 5 games against them.
David Banks
Pittsburgh vs. Georgia Tech
Pick: Georgia Tech +1.5
Georgia Tech could enhance its tournament resume with a strong showing in the ACC tournament which gets underway Tuesday when the Yellow Jackets take on Pitt at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Yellow Jackets (17-14) have three very impressive victories over ACC regular season champ North Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida State. Should Georgia Tech beat the Panthers, they would then face sixth-seeded Virginia.
For Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner, the end of the season had to be somewhat disappointing. The Yellow Jackets could have really made a strong case for an NCAA tournament bid but dropped three of their last four ACC games. If they are to make some noise in the ACC tourney, it starts with guard Josh Okogie, the team’s leading scorer. Okogie, a 6-foot-4 freshman, averages 15.5 points per game. Ben Lammers (14.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and Tadric Jackson (11.7 ppg) are the only other double figures scorers for Georgia Tech, a team that struggles on the offensive end. The Yellow Jackets average just over 67 points a game, which is among the worst in the nation.
Pitt has really struggled this season. In the team’s final 16 games of the season, the Panthers won just three times. Pitt lost its last four consecutive regular season games after upsetting then 17th-ranked Florida State. Michael Young leads the Panthers in scoring averaging 19.9 points per game. Pitt, 15-16 on the season, won just four ACC games all season.
Carmine Bianco
Brighton & Hove at Rotherham
Play: Brighton & Hove -1
Tuesday's Free Play is a play on Brighton laying a goal at Rotherham. With a couple of back to back losses their last two a trip to Rotherham couldn't come at a better time for a Brighton side looking to stay in the top two with a promotion spot into the EPL next season. Lay the goal here.
Joe Williams
Pittsburgh vs Georgia Tech
Play: Georgia Tech +1.5
These teams just met a week ago and the Yellow Jackets won 61-52 in Atlanta on Feb. 28. They're 5-2 ATS in their past seven, and 11-4 ATS in their past 15 overall. It's uncertain why they'e underdogs, all things considered. The Panthers are 0-4 SU in their past four outings and 0-3 ATS in the past three. Look for the Jackets to come out on top.
Wunderdog
Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
Pick: Philadelphia -109
Philadelphia has turned things around, getting five of a possible six points in its last three games to move within three points of the eighth-place New York Islanders. The Flyers have allowed three goals the last three games and are 8-2 against the Atlantic Division. They face a slumping Buffalo squad that is #21 in goals scored, #18 in goals allowed, #29 in penalty killing. Buffalo squandered a three-goal lead in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers earlier in the season. They did so again on Sunday as it fell for the sixth time in seven outings in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh. The sputtering Sabres also have blown third-period leads in three of their last five games. The Sabres are 21-48 in the third game of a three-in-four situation and the Flyers are 14-6 in the last 20 meetings.