Want to learn how to handicap like the pros? Please sign up for a FREE CLASS at www.SportsWageringU.com taught by Kyle Hunter and Kiev O’Neil. We will also be having a special guest. https://sportswageringu.com/products/ncaab-experts-package and if you learn something and want to go deeper, you could always take the full courses for each sport! We hope to see you there!
Memphis -3 +100 – 2 stars – Forget everything that you thought about this basketball team from December 15th – February 1st. Memphis was very very injured this year and struggled mightily because of it. We must not forget that this team was considered a top 20 team in the beginning of the season with wins against Saint Louis, Virginia Tech and Alabama. They just beat Houston so is that a let down spot? NOT WHEN YOU ARE ON THE REVENGE TOUR. This team beat Cincinnati while injured. They will be fine here on the road.
I cashed a 2u winner on the Bulls last night and am currently enjoying a 12-3 run in the NBA. Tonight, I’m rolling with 3 plays, 2 of which are reserved for premium members. Premium plays have hit at a 57.2% clip and netted my members +45.4u since September 2021. Click here to learn more about becoming a premium member!
*NBA(1u): Celtics/76ers UNDER 210(-110)–6:30 PM CT
Boston enters tonight’s bout with Philly playing the best defense in the NBA over their past 3 games; on the season, Boston ranks 2nd in defensive efficiency. Philadelphia is a pretty mediocre offense to begin with, but over their past 3 games, the ‘6ers rank just 27th in offensive efficiency. That said, Philly has held a Top 10 defense all season and is playing even better than that ranking over their past 3 games. Boston has plenty of talent on the offensive floor, but they rank a measly 19th in offensive efficiency over the course of this season. As a kicker, Philadelphia runs at the 3rd slowest pace in the league, while Boston runs at a below-average pace themselves. This as close to a “playoff environment” as you’re going to find with the real playoffs still a couple of months away, so there shouldn’t be many freebies to go around for either side. I think this is a “first to 100 wins” type of game that stays comfortably under this total.
*NBA(1u): Mavericks/Heat UNDER 209(-110)–6:30 PM CT
This game features two Top 5 defenses in the league, and each are in great current form entering tonight’s game. In addition, Miami ranks 26th in pace this season, while the Mavericks rank dead last. While each offense has had marginal success lately, neither of these teams have played a playoff team in over a week. Dallas is without a volume 3-point shooter in Tim Hardaway Jr, while the Heat are without a similar scoring threat in Tyler Herro. This game is going to have a playoff-type of feel to it between two evenly-matched teams; I don’t think this total does justice to how much of a defensive battle this is going to be. I think the first to 100 points wins here, and this total might not even reach 200.
*CBB(1u): Villanova/Providence UNDER 132(-110)–7 PM CT
Providence has climbed up to #8 in the AP Poll, much to the chagrin of many of the analytics gurus who think Providence is the luckiest team in the country. There’s a reason why Villanova is 4.5 point road favorites in a Top 10 matchup. However, rather than looking at a side here, I’ll take a look towards this Under. While Villanova’s offense is very efficient, the Wildcats run at one of the slowest paces in the country(#351 in pace). The crowd at Dunkin Donuts Center is going to be ruckus, and with one of the better defenses in the Big East, I think there’s a clear path for Providence to get consistent stops tonight. The Friars also run at a very slow pace but don’t have quite the level of efficiency on the offensive end of the floor that Villanova does. Villanova ranks 25th in defensive efficiency. Given the magnitude and implications of this game, there aren’t going to be free points found anywhere near Providence tonight. The Wildcats should pull this one out, but the pace of each team combined with the environment leads me towards playing this Under.
Tuesday card led by the 100% BIG East Conference Game Of The Year, the NBA Game of the week and NHL. SEC play Below.
The NCAAB SEC Power Play is on Kentucky at 9:00 eastern. The Vols fit a late season system that plays against teams that are undefeated this late in the season. The Wildcats are better on both sides of the ball and have taken the last 2 on this court. Look for the Wildcats to deal the Vole their first lo of the year at home.Play on Kentucky plus the point or two. On Tuesday the BIG Eat conference Play of the Year headline along with the NBA Game of the Week and a Powerful NHL Total. See us at goldencontender@aol.com or on facebook/twitter to jump on. For the SEC play. Go with Kentucky. Rob V- Golden Contender sports
This period of time before the All-Star break is no joke. Teams are tired, and motivation isn’t always equal, that’s for sure. I’m glad we pulled out of the Nuggets game but wow, what the hell happened with Golden State? Yikes. Onto a day where I see plenty of value across the board.
NBA Picks:
Celtics/Sixers under 210 **
The Celtics defense is on fire right now, able to completely stifle another team at a moment’s notice (see their game Sunday against Atlanta in the 2nd half), and both of these units play tremendously slow. The shooting will need to be off the charts for this to go over 210. I’m on the under.
Celtics -1.5 **
Speaking of the Celtics surging, I think their talent and defense will be too much for Embiid to handle alone. I really like Boston tonight.
Mavs/Heat under 208.5 *
For many of the same reasons above, I don’t see how this number doesn’t fall well-below the mark. Both teams play slow, both teams are top 10 in defense, and there won’t be an easy shot in this one. Only for 1 unit since Spencer Dinwiddie gets his first opportunity to play for Dallas and he could up their tempo a bit. Still like the under, and the total is going down.
Hornets/T-Wolves over 243 *
Have you seen Minnesota totals lately? Do you see how fast these teams go and how little defense they play? Even this inflated line doesn’t feel high enough for a Timberwolves game right now.
CBB Picks:
Florida State -2 *
Revenge game for the Seminoles
Kentucky ML *
The Wildcats are playing some superb basketball right now. I trust them more than Tennessee.
Utah State +4 *
Tough spot but Utah St. needs to get right. Too many points.
If you ever have any questions, message me here, on Twitter, or on Instagram. I will make myself available from 9am to 5pm every day, but please don’t expect an answer outside of those hours. I gotta shut it down sometimes. All picks are 1-5 stars based on unit size and confidence. 3 star picks are rare, 4-5 star picks are VERY rare. -Chris
The NHL continues to roll following the All-Star break with a small four game slate tonight. There’s not a lot of great matchups but I’ll breakdown Chicago vs Winnipeg and offer some other plays.
Chicago Blackhawks @ Winnipeg Jets
Time: 9:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN +
Chicago Blackhawks: 17-24-7, 7th Central (9-13-4 Away)
Winnipeg Jets: 20-17-8, 6th Central (11-8-1 Home)
Team
Opening ML
Current ML
Spread
Total
Chicago Blackhawks
+140
+145
+1.5 (-170)
o5.5 (-120)
Winnipeg Jets
-175
-165
-1.5 (+150)
u5.5 (+100)
Trends:
Chicago are 2-8 SU in their last 10 games
Chicago are 4-8 SU in their last 10 games on the road
Winnipeg are 3-8 SU in their last 11 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Winnipeg’s last 9 games at home
Preview:
This will be the second meeting between these two teams this year. The Jets defeated the Blackhawks 5-1 at home on November 5, 2021. Winnipeg closed as a -145 favorite in that game, with the Total being set at 6.0 (-115/-105).
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are coming off a 5-1 loss against the St. Louis Blues on the road. Chicago has struggled this season across the board. They don’t have a great offense, their defensive is also very bad, and Marc Andre-Fleury is playing much worse than last year. The Blackhawks are ending their three game road trip tonight against St. Louis where they’ve split the first two games, losing to the Blues in their last game as previously mentioned and defeating the Oilers 4-1 on Wednesday.
Chicago ranks 30th in the NHL in terms of Goals For Per Game with an average of 2.38. In their last 10, they’ve been slightly better offensively averaging 2.40. The Blackhawks do not generate a ton of shots on Goal ranking 29th with an average of 28.6. When you look at the Blackhawks lineup they just don’t have a lot of talent up front. Patrick Kane leads the team in points, averaging a point per game. Next is All-Star Alex DeBrincat with 39 points in 48 games but after him, the production really tails off. Their Power Play ranks 15th converting at a rate of 20.1%. It’s really hard to find anything good when looking at this team from an offensive prospective, they fail to generate shots and fail to capitalize on the little scoring chances they do create.
Jonathan Toews is out for tonight with a Concussion.
In terms of defense, the Blackhawks rank 24th in Goals Allowed Per game averaging 3.35. In their last 10 games, they’ve been worse conceding an average of 3.80 per game. They allow an average of 32.1 Shots Against per game ranking 21st. Their Penalty Kill ranks 28th with a 74.5% success rate. Again, its tough to find the positive’s here when looking at the Chicago defensive unit. Seth Jones has not lived up to expectations but is still 3rd in terms of points for the team which says something.
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to get the start in net for the Blackhawks tonight. He has a 15-17-4 record on the year with a 2.94 GAA and a .908 SV%. In his last five games he’s allowed 5-1-5-2-4 Goals Against.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets have been pretty solid since returning from the break. They’ve gone 2-0-1 defeating the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators on the road. Their only loss came at the hands of the Dallas Stars 4-3 in OT. They return from a three game road trip to face the Blackhawks tonight where they’ll begin a four game home stand.
Winnipeg ranks 20th in terms of Goals For per game averaging 2.87. In their last 10 games, they’ve been worse averaging 2.50. However, in their last three games they average 3.33 Goals For per game. The Jest do rank 10th in terms of Shots on Goal averaging 33.5 but have the 24th worst Shooting %. Their Power Play ranks 11th converting at a 21.5%.
The Jets average 2.89 Goals Against per game game ranking 17th. In their last 10, they’ve been worse averaging 3.00. Winnipeg does allow a lot of shots against but Chicago doesn’t generate a ton of shots for as previously mentioned so I don’t think that’s a major concern. Their Penalty Kill also isn’t great ranking 27th with a 74.8% success rate.
It looks like Logan Stanley and Evgeny Svechnikov will return to the lineup tonight. However, Neal Pionk will be out tonight for personal reasons.
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to get the start in net tonight for the Winnipeg Jets. He has a 16-15-7 record on the year with a 2.83 GAA and a .913 SV%. In his last five games he’s allowed 2-4-0-2-5 Goals Against.
Pick:
WINNIPEG JETS 60 MINUTE LINE (-105)
The Jets have been better as of late and are better at home, which is expected. They’ve been great against division opponents this year while Chicago has struggled within the division. Neither team is great, but Winnipeg is a better team than Chicago and should take care of business at home here against an inferior opponent.
Other Plays on the Night:
DETROIT RED WINGS/ MINNESOTA WILD OVER 6.0 (-120)
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 03: Will Barton #5 of the Denver Nuggets brings the ball down the court against the Miami Heat at the Pepsi Center on November 3, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
517 Magic at Nuggets 1Q OV 55*
We have a mid-range total here as the books are adjusting to the possibility of a sluggish start the day after the Super Bowl. The Magic are trending 7-3 O/U L10 in the 1st quarter on the road and the Nuggets 9-1 O/U L10 1Q at home. We have the first quarter and first half less than the full game total and I want to take advantage as the trends favor the over.
I look for this young Magic team to try and steal a win (or at least a cover) tonight by coming out pushing initially. And although the Nuggets are a good defensive team, the Magic tend toward the under on the season because the go through scoring droughts. Orlando’s tendency towards the under and the market pushing this one down will keep this as a small one unit play for me tonight. However, in my opinion, questionable motivation spots in the NBA has led to less defense, I’ll look for an early 1st quarter over.
Check out more of my Patreon plays, where I am a modest +3.31 units in February but looking to get on a run!
Sorry about all the back and forth but there’s reverse line movement on the Nuggets so I’m officially OFF that game. You should be able to get your money back no problem, since the line hasn’t really moved since we bet it. Thanks, –Chris
The Knicks have NO business being this big of a favorite, especially without RJ Barrett.
Warriors -6.5 **
Golden State allowed LAL to play way too close recently – this should be an all-hands-on-deck game for Curry, Klay and the gang against an LAC offense that’s extremely under-talented in comparison. I’d take it up to -7.5
Nuggets -10.5 **
All chalk today but this is what Denver does – they LOVE blowing out bad teams. Orlando is banged up too; this number isn’t too high for me. I’d take it up to 11.5.
In addition to this free play, I have 2 NBA plays reserved for my premium members, one of which is a rare 2u play. I’m currently on an 11-2 NBA run, and my premium plays have hit at a 57.3% clip since starting in September 2021. Click here to learn more about becoming a premium member, and let’s have a hot start to the week!
*CBB(1u): Virginia/Virginia Tech OVER 118.5(-110)–6 PM CT
Typically, I don’t like playing Over’s this low the same way I don’t like playing Under’s on high totals. However, considering how each team enters tonight’s game, I think this is a bad number put out by the oddsmakers. Virginia Tech is on fire right now offensively, averaging 77.5 PPG in their current 5 game win streak. This recent success has the Hokies all the way up to 19th in offensive efficiency, and they’ll face a Virginia defense that is a lot more vulnerable on the defensive end of the floor than we’re used to seeing with a Tony Bennett coached team. That said, Virginia seems to have turned a corner offensively themselves. They’ve moved up 30 spots in my offensive efficiency ratings over the past few weeks and enter tonight having won 5 of their last 6. Virginia runs at the slowest pace in the country, while Virginia Tech ranks just 343rd in pace, so I can understand why this total is so low. However, Virginia is 6-1 to the Over on the road in conference play this season, and I think we see that trend continue tonight. I wouldn’t make plays like these a habit, but this total just doesn’t accurately represent how these two teams enter tonight’s matchup.
