Jack Jones
Ohio Bobcats -7
I am siding with the Ohio Bobcats Thursday to win big at Central Michigan. All of the motivational factors are working in the Bobcats' favor, plus they are clearly the better team in this one.
Ohio sits atop the MAC East division at 6-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. Simply put, if they win out they will be in the MAC title game. They have saved their best football for last with a 37-20 road win at Akron followed by a 35-31 home victory over Temple last week.
Central Michigan has nothing to play for. The Chippewas lost at Kent State 21-24 last week to fall to 3-7 on the season. They are officially eliminated from bowl contention. I believe CMU will have a hard time showing up tonight with their fate decided.
Plus, Ohio has had two extra days to prepare for Central Michigan. They last played on November 2nd while the Chippewas last played on November 4th. That extra preparation should pay huge dividends.
Ohio is putting up 32.2 points/game and they rank 20th in the country in total offense (458.8 yards/game). The Bobcats give up just 21.2 points/game while ranking 25th in total defense (335.3 yards/game). The Bobcats rank 29th in the land in passing defense (194.9 yards/game).
The Bobcats' ability to stop the pass will be huge in this one considering the Chippewas rely very heavily on the pass, averaging 269.5 yards/game through the air. The Chippewas are only scoring 22.6 points/game this season while allowing 31.3 points/game and ranking 85th in total defense (410.7 yards/game).
Fading the Chippewas has been a very profitable move for bettors all season. Central Michigan is 1-9 ATS in all games in 2011. The Bobcats are 17-7 ATS in their last 24 conference games, and 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games in November. Central Michigan is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games as an underdog. The favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. Bet Ohio Thursday.
Rob Vinciletti
Edmonton Oilers vs. Boston Bruins
Play: Boston Bruins
Boston has dominated in this series winning the last 5 here at home v Edmonton and 14 of the last 20 of their home games overall. The Oilers have played well recently. However this will be a tough spot for them as they have lost 21 of their last 30 November games and 5 of the last on the road when the posted total is 5 flat. When playing off 3+ road games they are an anemic 1-12 straight up. Look for Boston to get the win here tonight.
Jeff Alexander
1 Unit Ohio/Central Michigan OVER 59.5
The Chippewas have played to the over in 7 of their last 8 games. The Bobcats have played to the over in 6 of 9 games this season, including 2 straight. Very little defense has been played in the MAC this season, and I expect this trend to continue. Central Mich has played 2 MAC home games this season. It combined with Northern Illinois for 89 total points and Eastern Michigan for 63 total points. E. Mich is exactly an offensive juggernaut. We're talking about a team that ranks 103rd in the country in scoring at 21.2 ppg. Ohio averages 32.2 ppg and has scored 37 and 35 points respectively in its last 2. The over is 5-0 in the Bobcats' last 5 road games. We'll take the Over.
Dave Price
1 Unit Houston/Tulane Under 77.5
With this number continuing to climb, the value now lies with the under. Tulane is not a very good offensive team. I don't expect it to provide enough points to help carry this one over the number. The Green Wave have scored 17 points or less in three of their last 4 games, playing to the under in all 3 of those matchups. Odds makers have posted a total of 70 or higher for 4 Houston games this season and the Cougars have come in under the number in 3 of those. We'll take the Under.
NHL Predictions
Florida Panthers -107
Florida is coming off of a 5-1 victory in Toronto on Tuesday, after they had lost their previous three games in shootout. Despite losing 3 of their past 4 games the Panthers have looked solid as of late, and could have easily gone 5-0 in their last 5 games. One of the those shootout losses came against tonight’s opponent in the Jets, in a home game they should have won. The Jets are home now after a 7 game road trip on the East coast. The Jets went 3-2-2 over those 7 games, but lost their last three. Tonight marks Winnipeg’s 4th game in 6 nights, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Panthers be able to take advantage of that. The Jets have had troubles defensively, as they are allowing 3.33 goals against per game this season. Winnipeg will be without 3 or 4 of their starting d-men tonight due to injuries (Meech, Enstrom, Hainsey out and Jones questionable). Ondrej Pavelec will most likely be between the pipes for Winnipeg, and he is just 4-5-3 on the year with a 3.31 GAA and .896 SV%. With Jacob Markstrom sent down the AHL I expect to see Jose Theodore in net tonight for the Panthers. He is 5-2-2 on the season with a 2.43 GAA and .922 SV%. Tuesday night he looked good in stopping 38 of 39 shots faced against Toronto. A lot of the Panthers early season success has come from their powerplay, which is converting at 22.6% (5th in the league). Note that the Jets are just 1-4 in their last 5 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days. The Panthers look to even the season series between these two teams tonight, and I think they will take advantage of the Jets returning from a long road trip. Take Florida tonight as small underdogs.