Friday 12/21/18 thread for free handicapping service plays and expert predictions for NCAAFB, NFL & NBA games.
John Anthony Sports
Friday's Free Selection: Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders + 13
_________________________
Kenny Towers
FREE PLAY FOR FRIDAY - PORTLAND -2 over Utah
_________________________
High Stakes Syndicate
Free Selection for Friday: UAB Blazers - 4 (NCAA BB)
_________________________
Vegas Steam Line
Your free winner for Friday: Take OREGON +2½ over Baylor
_________________________
Arthur Ralph
FREE play 7-2 run FRI Xavier -17
Huddle Up Sports
Free Play: Marquette -2 College BB
_________________________
Hawkeye Sports
Friday's Free Pick: Washington Capitols - 165
_________________________
Golden Dragon
FREE WINNER for Friday
Xavier -17 College BB
_________________________
Nevada Sharpshooter
Your free winner for Friday: Take OKLAHOMA +2 over Northwestern
_________________________
Easy Money Sports
Lee' Early Friday Free Selection Is
Oregon State -8½
Sharp Bettor
SharpBettor FREE Play for Friday, December 21, 2018
12/21 05:35 PM NBA (513) MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS (514) SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Take : Spurs
_________________________
Platinum Plays
Free Pick: the Atlanta/NY Knicks Game OVER 230½ Points
_________________________
#1 Sports
Friday's Free Selection: San Jose State Spartans + 10 1/2
_________________________
Atlantic Sports
Friday's Free Selection from Atlantic Sports: Illinois State - 13
_________________________
Roz Wins
Roz's Friday, December 21, 2018, Free Pick
12/21 04:00 PM CB (807) OREGON VS (808) BAYLOR
Take : Baylor
Totals4U
Friday's Free Selection: Oklahoma/Northwestern under 141
_________________________
Razor Sharp
YOUR RAZOR SHARP FREE PICK FOR FRIDAY: ALABAMA (CBB) -2 over Penn St
_________________________
Mike Wynn
Free Play: Free Orlando -2½ Over Chicago
_________________________
Gus Augustine
Friday night comp play will be to take the double-digits with the Bulldogs of Alabama A&M as they face the Explorers of La Salle.
Here is the deal....All these teams want for Christmas is a WIN!
Any win will do mind you, as A&M is 0-10 straight, and La Salle is also 0-10 straight up.
This begs the question, is one 0-10 team 12 points better than the other?
My reply would be NO!
The Explorers will get back their "big gun" Pookie Powell who has missed a few games with a back injury, but Ashley Howard's team has not played in any live action since way back on December 8th, and they bring in an 0-11 against the spread mark their last 11 games played at neutral sites. They are also a money-burning 2-7-1 against the spread in their 10 losses this year.
As for the Bulldogs, they may be 0-10, but with the points they have actually covered in 3 of their last 4 games, and 6 of their last 8 overall.
Again, any win will do here, so let's look for La Salle to at least break their maiden, but for this battle between a pair of winless teams to be close and entertaining.
Take A&M plus the points.
2* ALABAMA A&M
_________________________
Tommy Brunson
Friday free play winner on the Hawks and Knicks to light the scoreboard up at Madison Square Garden in a game that plays Over the total.
This is the third showdown of the season between the teams, their last meeting in November at Atlanta holding Under the total, but the first meeting in New York in October played well Over the posted price - N.Y. winning 126-107.
That Over made it 5 of the past 7 series meetings in the Big Apple between the teams landing Over the total, and put the overall Over run at 13-5 the last 18 times these teams have jumped ball.
Neither team is a big proponent of defense, as the Hawks are 30th in the NBA in scoring defense - allowing 119 points per game, while the Knicks are not far behind at 27th in the league in the same category - allowing almost 116 points per game.
The Hawks did play an Under their last time out, but 2 of their last 3, and 5 of their last 8 games this season have played Over. On the road, Atlanta is on a 4-2 Over run.
As for the Knicks, they have been Over the total in their last pair of contests, and 6 of their last 8 overall.
Sit back and watch as this game features very little defense, and plenty of easy baskets being made.
Over the total we go at the Garden tonight!
4* ATLANTA-NEW YORK OVER
Ray Chadwick
Good home spot for the hot Blazers as they host a Jazz team that is feeling pretty good about themselves after a Wednesday night 108-103 home win over the NBA champion Warriors in Salt Lake City.
Things have not been "smooth-jazz" for Utah when they pack their bags lately though, as they head to Rip City saddled with road losses both straight up and against the spread in 5 straight - well, actually it is an 0-4-1 spread slide on the road. Not only that, but Coach Quin's team has dropped 5 of their last 6 games played at the Moda Center both straight up and against the spread.
Portland meanwhile, comes into this home game with wins in each of their last 3, and 5 of their last 7 overall both straight up and against the spread. Damian Lilliard continues to be the conduit for the Blazers offense, as he is averaging over 27 points per game on the year.
The Utah defense continues to be their calling card, but their offense has been inconsistent to say the least, as they have been held to no more than 97 points in half of their last 6 games. Yes, they were able to get to 108 in their win over Golden State, but they will need to do better than that against a Trail Blazers team that is averaging close to 112 points per game on the year.
The Blazers have defended home court very well this year, 12-4 straight up and 11-5 against the spread thus far on their home floor, so with Utah's recent road struggles, have I will look for Portland to enjoy the spoils of a Friday night home game just before Christmas over the Jazz.
Lay the small wood with Portland.
3* PORTLAND
_________________________
Mike Williams
Dec 21 '18, 12:30 PM in 53m
NCAA-F | Florida International vs Toledo
Play on: Toledo -7 -105
_________________________
Hunter Price
Dec 21 '18, 12:30 PM in 53m
NCAA-F | Florida International vs Toledo
Play on: Toledo -7 -105
_________________________
Sal Michaels
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -109
_________________________
Bobby Conn
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -109
Dustin Hawkins
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -104
_________________________
Kenny Walker
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: Western Michigan +13 -109
_________________________
Info Plays
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -109
_________________________
Mark Wilson
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -105
_________________________
Brandon Lee
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12½ -106 at pinnacle
10* FREE NCAAF PICK (BYU -12.5)
I'll lay the double-digits with BYU. Typically when you have a double-digit favorite in a bowl game, the public is all over that team, but that's not the case here.
My guess is the public just doesn’t feel all that confident laying this many points with a BYU team that only finished the year 6-6. I get it, but a closer look at this thing and it’s really hard to see the Broncos making a game of this.
Western Michigan had a mere 3 wins the entire season by more than a touchdown and those were against Delaware State, who is an FCS team that finished the year 3-8. The other two were against a 2-10 Georgia State team and 1-11 Central Michigan team.
While they did have a couple of nice wins over Miami (OH) and Eastern Michigan in MAC play, both those came before they lost starting quarterback Jon Wassink to a season-ending injury. The only reason they didn’t finish the year on a 4-game losing streak, is because Northern Illinois was resting their starters in the finale, as they had already clinched a spot in the MAC Championship Game.
Prior to holding Northern Illinois to 21 points, the Western Michigan defense had given up 42 to Ball State, 59 to Ohio and 51 to Toledo in their previous 3 games. BYU is going to have a field day against this defense. I think a lot of people just look at the fact that the Cougars only averaged 25.4 ppg on the season and think they aren’t all that great.
What they need to realize is just how many good defenses they played. They played Arizona, Cal, Wisconsin, Washington and Utah from the Power 5. They also played 3 of the top Group of 5 defenses in Utah State, Northern Illinois and Boise State.
I also like the move BYU made to true freshman quarterback Zach Wilson. He started the final 6 games and completed 62.2% of his attempts with a 8-3 TD-INT ratio. He also averaged 7.7 yards/attempt, which was quite an improvement over Tanner Magnum’s 5.8 yards/attempt. Magnum also had a mere 5-4 TD-INT ratio.
While BYU figures to be scoring at will, I think the Cougars defense is going to make it real tough on the Western Michigan offense. The Broncos have some decent skill players, but this was not the same high-powered offense once Wassink went down. They will struggle to run against this BYU defense, which only gave up 3.7 yards/carry despite the brutal schedule they faced. Give me the Cougars -12.5!
Steve Janus
Dec 21 '18, 4:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-F | BYU vs Western Michigan
Play on: BYU -12 -106
_________________________
Mike Lundin
Dec 21 '18, 7:05 PM in 7h
NBA | Pistons vs Hornets
Play on: Hornets -3½ -109 at GTBets
#NBA FREE PICK FROM MIKE LUNDIN
The Detroit Pistons are in a let down spot following a 129-123 OT triumph as a 5.5-point underdog at Minnesota Wednesday night. They had lost seven of eight before that win and I think they'll come up well short of covering the spread when visting Charlotte Hornets tonight.
Charlotte put together a solid performance as they snapped a two-game slide with a 110-99 win against Cleveland on Wednesday. Sure, they failed to cover the spread for a fourth straight game, but I think that just makes the Hornets a stronger play here.
Free pick on Charlotte Hornets.
_________________________
Cole Faxon
Dec 21 '18, 8:00 PM in 8h
NCAA-B | North Carolina A&T vs Minnesota
Play on: North Carolina A&T +23
_________________________
Jack Jones
Dec 21 '18, 8:05 PM in 8h
NBA | Bucks vs Celtics
Play on: Celtics -1 -101 at pinnacle
Jack’s Free Pick Friday: Boston Celtics -1
The Boston Celtics come into this game with the Milwaukee Bucks highly motivated for a victory. They come in off back-to-back upset losses to Detroit and Phoenix, so they should be focused and ready to go. Plus, they’ll be fresh as this is just the 2nd game in 6 days for the Celtics.
The Bucks come in riding high on a three-game winning streak. But those three wins have come against the Cavs, Pistons and Pelicans, and that’s a banged-up Pelicans team right now. All three of those games were close deep into the fourth quarter as well. And it’s the 3rd game in 5 days here for the Bucks and their 3rd different city.
It’s crazy that the Celtics are only 1-point home favorites tonight, basically just having to win the game to cover, when you consider how important home-court advantage has been in this series. Indeed, the home team is a perfect 10-0 SU in the last 10 meetings. The home team is also 8-2 ATS in those 10 meetings. Boston is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 meetings with Milwaukee.
Even with their two recent losses, the Celtics are still playing well going 8-2 SU & 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall. Boston is 6-0 ATS in its last six games when playing on one days’ rest. The Celtics are 23-7 ATS in their last 30 home games. The Bucks are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 road games. Boston is 12-2 ATS at home when the line is +3 to -3 over the last two seasons. Bet the Celtics Friday.
_________________________
Jimmy Boyd
Dec 21 '18, 9:00 PM in 9h
NCAA-B | Oklahoma vs Northwestern
Play on: Northwestern -1 -110 at betonline
1* Free NCAAB Pick on Northwestern -
I like the value here with the Wildcats at basically a pick'em on their home court against the Sooners. Northwestern comes in at 9-3 with two of those losses coming in Big Ten play where they got a raw deal and had to play at Indiana and then host Michigan in a 4 day span. The only other loss is a neutral site defeat to Fresno State, where they went an ice-cold 35.3% from the field.
Oklahoma is a quality team and they built up quite the resume in their 10-1 start to the season. However, that lone loss came in a game against Wisconsin, who held the high-powered Oklahoma offense to just 58 points. Like the Badgers, Northwestern is a team that enjoys grinding out games and winning with their defense.
The Wildcats come in allowing 61.0 ppg and have been outstanding at defending the 3-point shot, as opposing teams are averaging just 5 made 3-pointers a game against them and shooting 28.5%.
Northwestern has thrived at home against hot shooting teams like Oklahoma, as they are 14-5 ATS at home over the last 3 seasons vs a team that is shooting 45% or better from the floor. They are also a perfect 6-0 ATS last 6 at home after holding their previous opponent to 33% or less from the field and have won here by an average of 25 ppg. Take Northwestern!
Alex Smart
Dec 21 '18, 9:30 PM in 9h
NCAA-B | Norfolk State vs UTEP
Play on: Norfolk State +7 -109