Tommy Brunson
The Chippewas are back home buoyed by a 21-0 fourth quarter last week in their comeback underdog win at Western Michigan. Now Central Michigan is back home for a date with Eastern Michigan, and the Chipps are once again installed as the small home pup.
Eastern Michigan did rout Ball State in their last game, but the Eagles are just 3-6 on the season, so laying points on the road with Eastern is not something I am enamored with. True, Eastern Michigan has covered 11 in a row on the road, but all 5 covers this year were as the underdog, and each of the last 10 covers on the road are as the dog too!
Central Michigan has played their last pair (both wins), and 4 of their last 5 away from home, so look for the "home cooking" tonight to treat the Chippewas the right way. Series numbers show Eastern Michigan stopping a 4-game series losing streak with the home 26-21 win last season, but I am calling for the Central straight up domination to increase to 5-1 the last 6 series meetings.
Take any points available with the home team tonight.
4* CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Joey Juice
Magic host the surprisingly successful N.Y. Knicks, who head into this game on no rest after defeating the Hornets at MSG last night.
The Knicks look GREAT, at home! They are 4-2 in the Garden but only 1-2 on the road..
The Knicks have to prove they can win on the road before they get my respect let alone my money.
Orlando is coming off of a couple of days rest, so they should be ready.
The Knicks on the other hand should be tired, especially Porzingas who has been a one man show.
Bet the Magic.
2* ORLANDO
Eric Schroeder
Golden State's Kevin Durant has a left thigh contusion and will NOT play tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves. free This play was written up long before the news came up there was an injury. I will downgrade to the lowest star rating, and personally WILL NOT be playing this game any longer.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are playing really good basketball right now. They're 7-3 on the year and arrive in Oakland riding a five-game win streak.
Thing is, those wins have come against a struggling Oklahoma City team, the Heat, the Pelicans, Dallas and Charlotte.
None of those five are the Golden State Warriors.
I love the defending NBA champs as my free winner tonight, as they're about to give the T'Wolves a quick wake-up call.
The Warriors have knocked off Minnesota in 17 of the past 20 meetings, including twice by way of demolition in Oakland last season.
I'm banking on the chemistry I'm seeing from Golden State's fearsome foursome: Stephen Curry (25.7), Kevin Durant (24.8 ) and Klay Thompson (20.3) and Draymond Green (10.5).
Lay the chalk tonight, as Golden State wins by a dozen.
1* WARRIORS
Chris Jordan
My free winner is icy, with the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs going Over the posted number.
The Leafs are in the midst of a three-game home stand, and have had a night to rest since being challenged by the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. Toronto, which has gone over in three straight games, is the No. 1 team in goals-for in the league, with 60 over its first 16 games played.
I know Minnesota is far behind with 40 goals scored in its first 13 games, and averages just 3.08 per game, but the Wild have poked in six twice in their last six games. They've also gone over in two of their last three.
The Wild are also 5-0-1 Over on the road this season, while the Leafs are 6-1-1 Over at home.
Play this one Over tonight, as they should get to 7 or 8 no problem.
4* Wild/Maple Leafs Over
Jack Brayman
Going to side with the New York Rangers as my free play for Wednesday, as I think they get the best of the visiting Boston Bruins in this one.
For as bad as things were to start the season, for the Rangers, things are looking up suddenly. They're in second-to-last place in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, but they've won four ina row, and are 6-2-2 in their last 10.
Boston, which is 1-2-1 on the road this season, just beat Minnesota 5-3 at home on Monday, but it has lost three of its last five due to a stagnant offense that averaged two goals per game before the win over the Wild.
Now, with two tough games on the docket: tonight and Friday at Toronto, I don't know if the Bruins are going to survive to win just one.
Look for the Rangers to thrive on Boston's mistakes, as they're 6-for-13 with the power play over the past four games, and catch a Bruins team that has lost eight straight after a win, dating back to last season.
New York, which has won 19 of 26 in this series at home, has won five in a row against Boston.
4* RANGERS
John Martin
Pacers vs. Pistons
Play: Pistons -7
The Detroit Pistons have been one of the most underrated teams in the NBA this season. They have opened 7-3 SU & 7-2-1 ATS through 10 games. Andre Drummond worked on his free throw shooting in the offseason and is shooting over 70% from the line. That improvement, plus the addition of underrated shooting guard Avery Bradley, have made the Pistons a surprise contender in the East in the early going. Now they catch the Pacers in a good spot. Indiana is a tired team right now, playing the 2nd of a back-to-back and its 6th game in 9 days. The Pistons have had three days off having last played on Saturday.
Doug Upstone
Toledo vs. Ohio
Play: Toledo -3
For all intents and purposes, this looks like Part 1 of two in a MAC mini-series. After this contest, if both teams win out, they will collide again in MAC title game in a few weeks. In this confrontation, Ohio U. has slid from +6 to +3 point home underdogs. While Toledo has the more complete team, statistically, these teams are very similar. The Bobcats always get the most out of their talent thanks to coach Frank Solich, but at this price Toledo makes the most sense.
Dave Price
Knicks vs. Magic
Play: Magic -5½
The Orlando Magic have a nice edge in rest here as they will be playing just their 2nd game in 5 days. The New York Knicks will be playing their 5th game in 8 days and the second of a back to back here after using a huge 35-19 4th quarter to beat the Hornets 118-113 last night. The Magic will be hungry for a victory following two straight losses after their 6-2 start to the season. Aaron Gordon has the versatility to match Kristaps Porzingis, and the Magic are more talented at almost every other position on the floor.
ASA
Eastern Michigan (-2) over Central Michigan
It may look strange to see a 3-6 team favored (no matter how small) on the road against a 5-4 team but don’t be fooled. The Eagles are much better than their record shows but they’ve simply had a lot of tight losses this season and have played a tougher schedule than the Chippewas. Eastern Michigan still has a shot at becoming bowl eligible if they win out to finish the season. The Eagles defense is allowing only 20 points and 355 yards per game. The Eastern Michigan offense has shown improvement as they’ve averaged 31.8 points per game their last 4 games and 450 yards per game their last 3 games. They catch Central Michigan off of a big rivalry win at Western Michigan that certainly could leave the Chippewas “flat” for this game. The Chips came from behind for that big win and it marked the 2nd time in 3 games that Central Michigan allowed over 300 yards rushing. The Eagles ran for 225 yards last week and being able to run the ball here makes their passing game even more dangerous. Eastern Michigan has averaged 277 passing yards per game this season. The Eagles are on a 13-3 ATS run on the road and the Chippewas are on an overall 6-12 ATS run. Bet Eastern Michigan Wednesday evening.
Mike Anthony
Los Angeles vs. Boston
Play: Boston -7
This line has come down and now there's serious value on a Boston team that's won nine straight. While Lonzo Ball is keying an LA resurgence with his playmaking, he's about to run into the NBA's top defensive team. The Celts allow a league-low 94.5 points per game even after giving up 107 in Monday's win in Atlanta. Boston is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games playing on one day's rest. Celtics roll tonight on ESPN.
SPORTS WAGERS
SAN JOSE -110 over Tampa Bay
OT included. The Lightning are 11-2-2 and getting a lot of press for obvious reasons. It isn't too stunning that Steven Stamkos (25 points in 15 games) and Nikita Kucherov (23 points in 15 games) have been beneficiaries of an uptick in scoring league-wide, but the major difference in Tampa Bay's attack from 2016-17 to this season is the goal support up and down the lineup. Six other players have four goals or more, including rookie defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Brayden Point, who has 16 points in 15 games. However, the Bolts have not been as dominant as the media or their record suggests.
Tampa ranks 17th out of 31 teams in Corsi For % per 60 minutes. They also rank 17th in overall Corsi +/- during five-on-five play with a overall score of -5. To give you an idea of how non-dominating that is, Carolina ranks 1st in the league with an overall score of +173. Ranking above the Bolts are Vancouver, the Islanders, Nashville, Chicago, Dallas and Boston among others. Ranking far above the Bolts is tonight’s opponent, the Sharks, who rank 7th overall in Corsi +/- The Bolts are scoring a boatload of goals so their stock is soaring but this is a weak defensive team that is in for some regression as soon as their luck inevitably runs cold. Tampa ranks second in the luck-driven PDO department while the Sharks rank 25th. In other words, everything is going in for the Bolts. They have created less scoring chances than San Jose but have scored 23 more goals more. The scoring numbers for the Bolts are very simply unsustainable.
On October 30th, the Toronto Maple Leafs went into San Jose and lost 3-2 in what might be the most misleading score of the year so far. The Sharks outshot the Leafs 39-18 but it was even worse, as Toronto could not get out of its own end. That the score wasn’t 8-2 is more surprising than the actual final score. We mention that because Tampa and Toronto are very similar teams. Both teams are speedy up front with immensely talented forwards that can string together a bunch of goals very quickly. Toronto’s puck possession numbers are actually superior to the Lightning’s possession numbers. The Sharks dominated the Leafs and they can do the same to the Bolts. San Jose’s relentless forecheck is a staple of Peter DeBoer coached teams.The Sharks are a top-6 team in both Corsi for and Corsi against. However, San Jose has scored the third fewest even-strength goals in the NHL and that’s a case of nothing but bad luck. The Sharks are at home, they are actually the superior team here and they cannot be a dog or evenly priced in their own building against a team with a defense as weak as the one they’ll see here. Tampa’s record is off the charts but the product on the ice is not even close to being as good as their 13 wins in 15 games suggest. The other side of that coin is the the Sharkies are playing a dominating style of hockey without the results.
Pass NCAAF
Andre Gomes
Los Angeles vs. Boston
Pick: Los Angeles +6.5
Horford won't be playing tonight and this is a huge blow for the Celtics as he was being the team's best player. He had a significant impact in both ends of the floor, as he is one of the team's best playmakers and the Celtics also don't have a lot of depth on the frontcourt. This will be a problem against the Lakers, who love to attack the basket and they are also quite effective in doing just that.
On the other side, the Lakers' defense has been playing surprisingly well this season, especially on the perimeter. They still issue some issues on their interior defense, but Boston isn't the right team to expose that. I expect a close game in here and so, I'll be taking the Lakers tonight.