Sam Martin
Marshall at Tulsa
Play: Tulsa
Solid line value taking the home underdog tonight as Marshall has not proven they are capable of winning big on the road. Thundering Herd was listed as double-digit favorites in each of their last two road games with disastrous results, losing outright at Middle Tennessee State and then escaping Florida Atlantic with a one-point win. Tulsa's rushing game matches up well against Marshall, and while we don't expect the Herd to lose this game outright we believe Tulsa can keep it close.
Dave Price
NY Knicks +2
The Knicks head into tonight's game with momentum after upsetting the Hawks in Atlanta last night. That victory sets up an ideal situation to back New York tonight as it is 11-0 ATS in home games off an upset win on the road over the last 3 seasons, winning by an average score of 104.5 to 89.5 in this spot. The Knicks have also been one of the best bets in the NBA when playing without rest, going 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 in that situation. Houston has failed to cover the number in each of its last four games and the trends show we should continue to fade away. The Rockets are 15-29 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 2 or more consecutive games over the last 3 seasons and 11-26 ATS in road games after a game where they failed to cover the spread over the last 3 seasons. Take the Knicks.
Chris Jordan
My free play for tonight is on the Marshall Thundering Herd in college football, as I see them destroying Tulsa in the teams' Conference USA showdown.
Marshall is already bowl eligible and is now looking for its third straight win, hoping to enhance its bowl chances. The Herd have always been a good postseason draw, and now it's on them to enhance their resume.
Marshall is 1-3 on the road this season, and this is a great opportunity to better that mark, as a win also puts Marshall in a tie with East Carolina atop the C-USA East.
Meanwhile, Tulsa (2-7) is hoping avoid its fourth straight defeat, but I don't think it happens against this hard-hitting defense. I honestly don't think Tulsa quarterback Dane Evans can hang. The redshirt freshman will be under fire the entire game, and based on his last three games - he is 39 of 85 for 440 yards, has thrown two touchdowns and six interceptions and has an 83.0 NCAA passer rating - I don't think he will handle Marshall's pass rush.
Take the Herd tonight, as this should be no contest.
5♦ MARSHALL
Jeff Benton
Your Thursday freebie is for the points to ring up when Marshall and Tulsa do battle.
The Thundering Herd hit Oklahoma having eclipsed the total in each of their last three games, and four of their last six overall, while the Golden Hurricane snapped a three game Under clip with and Over at East Carolina to make it five of their last eight having played Over the total.
This series has been traditionally high-scoring in the short time the teams have faced one another, as each of the last three meetings since 2008 have all played over. Last year the teams combined for 83 whopping points in Huntington. Tonight it is time for them to combine for a game in the 70's, as Marshall and Tulsa play a fourth straight series Over.
Rakeem Cato has led the Herd to 49 points or better in each of Marshall's last three games. Look for another prolific night tonight at Skelly Field.
4♦ MARSHALL-TULSA OVER
Craig Davis
Marshall/Tulsa OVER is your free play of the day as the Thundering Herd gets set to take on a struggling Tulsa team on the road.
I never thought, at the beginning of the season, that Marshall would ever have the chance to go into Tulsa and be listed as a near two-TD favorite... but that's exactly where we're at. The 'Herd is currently -13 at the time of this writing and the total is around 61.
While my gut says Marshall should roll in this game, let's not forget they are just 1-3 on the road but a perfect 5-0 at home, including last week's huge 56-14 win over hapless UAB.
What I know about Marshall is this: they are a well-oiled machine on offense and continue to score at a high level. Before their 56 vs. UAB last week they scored 61 in a blowout win over Southern Miss in the previous week.
Tulsa's biggest problem all season has been their lack of defense and turnovers. I like both of those things in our favor if I'm playing the over.
Tulsa should give Marshall a few short fields with some turnovers while allowing them to run and throw at will.
The only way we don't get to the OVER in this game is if the Golden Hurricane take care of the ball, limit their turnovers and penalties, and forget how to run their offense.
This one seems fairly easy... take the OVER as your free play of the day.
4♦ MARSHALL-TULSA OVER
Scott Delaney
On the heels of my NBA freebie winner on Denver last night, over the visiting L.A. Lakers, tonight's free winner from pro hoops is on the Golden State Warriors, minus the points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
There are plenty of big names in tonight's Western Conference showdown at Oracle Arena in Oaktown, with a match-up that includes the Warriors' Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and David Lee and the Thunder's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Problem for the Thunder - and Warriors fans looking to see two of the best players in the league at their best - I'm not so sure they're going to be at their best in this one, after a disappointing game last night in Los Angeles against the Clippers, who ran the Thunder ragged in a 111-103 clinic.
And the biggest disappointment for the Thunder here will be the fact they couldn't sustain their nine-point halftime lead.
Now Durant, Westbrook and the rest of the boys from OKC have to deal with a Warriors team that has played well on both ends of the floor this season, averaging 103.9 points per game (8th in the league) while limiting foes to a mere 96.1 ppg.(6th).
In addition, the Warriors have won all three of their home games this season by an average of 20 points on 54.7 percent shooting, they come into this one after producing their best shooting night of the season in a 113-95 victory over Detroit on Tuesday and the home team has covered four of the last five meetings, while the favorite has cashed in six of the last seven.
Take Golden State here.
4♦ GOLDEN STATE
Brad Wilton
ACC battle tonight, and this Georgia Tech-Clemson series has been a most definite "dog" of a series, as in the underdog has been the play.
Dating back to 1990, the underdog in the rivalry stands at 19-5, with 16 of the last 24 meetings having been decided by 5 points or less!
Based on those numbers, I will take the Yellow Jackets as your free play for Thursday night. Georgia Tech has the type of ball control offense that can keep the football out of the Clemson offense's hands for stretches of time as the Techsters makes it difficult for the # 8 ranked Tigers to put up "style" points as they look to move up the rankings ladder in the last few weeks of play.
Clemson has twice left the back-door open this season, allowing late TD's by both N.C. State and Maryland to blow the cover as the double-digit favorite, and another blown cover would not be a surprise for a team that is just 3-4 this season when listed as the chalk.
Conversely, G-Tech has gone 11-4 against the spread their last 15 games dating back to last season.
Points work in this one.
2♦ GEORGIA TECH
Brett Atkins
Told you the Oregon Ducks were going to roll in college hoops last night, right? Tonight your free winner is on the Under in the Marshall/Tulsa game - the other college football contest on the card.
Alright, so Marshall won at home last week against UAB, 56-14, to become bowl-eligible. This week it heads into Tulsa, to take on the downtrodden Golden Hurricane, and I don't think the Herd will be looking to fire up the offensive engine enough to force a high-scoring game, once the game is out of reach.
I don't even know if Marshall covers the number, since a 10-point win would suffice, something like 31-21. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me to see a 34-21 final, or 37-21. But the fact is I don't see these two getting into the 60s.
The Golden Hurricane has lost three consecutive home games, but they also lead the series with Marshall, 4-0, with two wins at home and two wins in Huntington.
Last week Tulsa rushed for 188 yards against an East Carolina defense that was allowing only 85.2 per game, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hurricane play a ball-controlled game tonight, looking to play keep-away from Marshall.
I don't know how this game plays out with the final, or which side to take, but don't look for a high-scoring, explosive game.
4♦ Marshall/Tulsa UNDER
Sean Michaels
7-2 with my last nine comp plays following last night's second straight NBA winner this week on the Spurs over Washington.
Sticking in hoops tonight and backing the Warriors (-5) at home against the Thunder, who are playing their first back-to-back set of the season.
Oklahoma City is coming off a 111-103 loss in LA to the Clippers last night, a game they led 62-53 at halftime. The Thunder, who are missing starting center Kendrick Perkins (death in his family), were out-rebounded 50-35 (18-8 on offensive glass) which resulted in 14 second-chance points for the Clippers, who took advantage of second-year center Steven Adams' first pro start.
This is a "statement" game for Golden State tonight. The Warriors haven't beaten anyone of note yet and they're 3-0 at home, but the wins have come against the Lakers, Kings and Pistons. With Stephen Curry healthy (25 points in three quarters of Tuesday's 113-95 rout of Detroit), Russell Westbrook (shooting just 34.8 percent) will have some defensive issues in just his sixth game back from a knee injury.
3♦ GOLDEN STATE
Harry Bondi
MARSHALL (-12.5) over Tulsa
This is the time of year we love to go against "dead teams" and Tulsa certainly falls into that category. After winning a school-record 11 games last season, the Golden Hurricane limp into this game 2-7 overall with losses of 19 and 24 points the last two weeks. This is a team that has clearly given up on this season, as seen by tonight's depth chart that lists six freshmen in the starting line-up. Meanwhile, Marshall has everything to play for. Wins in their final three games will send the Herd to the Conference USA title game for the first time in school history. Marshall is known for its offense as it averages a conference-best 42 points per game, but the defense is also playing very well and ranks second in the league in points allowed. No Marshall player has ever beaten Tulsa in his career, so let's take the ultra-motivated, explosive Herd against a Tulsa team that has already waved the white flag on the season.
Wunderdog
Georgia Tech at Clemson
Pick: Clemson -10.5
A contrast in styles will clash as Georgia Tech and their option running attack heads to Clemson to face Tajh Boyd and the Clemson fast-paced passing attack. The Tigers were handed their only defeat by Florida State who has been beating everyone by huge margins. Georgia Tech has not faced this potent of a passing attack all season, and the closest they have seen to it was against Miami. The Hurricanes hung 45 points on the Yellow Jackets. Clemson is hard to slow down and the Jackets had no success last year, allowing Clemson 47 points on over 600 yards of offense. The problem for Georgia Tech is if they get behind here, they are taken out of what they do best which is run the football, and stand the chance of getting blown out. Clemson has an 26-14 ATS record in conference games since the arrival of Dabo Swinney. Under Swinney, this team has never lost ATS as a home favorite in this range (7.5 to 14 points). Meanwhile Tech has failed to cover their last four vs. winning teams. Play on Clemson.
NHLPredictions
Dallas Stars -105
The Dallas Stars improve to 9-7-2 on the season after a 3-0 victory in Edmonton last night. They are now 6-5 on the road this year. The Flames are 6-9-3 on the year, and 3-2-2 at home. Calgary has dropped 4 straight games and 6 of their last 7 overall. The Dallas Stars will come right back with Kari Lehtonen in net after a shutout last night vs the Oilers. He has been solid this year with an 8-3-2 record, 2.01 GAA and .932 SV%. The Flames will go with Reto Berra who is 1-2-1 on the year with a 3.23 GAA and .900 SV%. The Flames are giving up 3.50 goals against per game (29th) making it very tough for them to win games. Note that the Stars are 4-0 in their last 4 road games, and 4-1 in their last 5 vs a team with a losing record. The Flames are just 2-12 in their last 14 vs Western Conference opponents. I like the way the Stars have been playing lately by winning 4 straigh road games vs Edmonton, Detroit, Boston, and Ottawa, and I think they continue that streak with a win against a struggling Flames team tonight. Take the Stars at a good price.