Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #27 Sunday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Lightning Puck Line -1.5 goals +134 @ Chicago Blackhawks @ 2:35 ET - The Lightning let one get away and lost in the shootout to the Blackhawks on Friday. Watching that game it was very evident who the better team was but give Chicago credit for taking advantage of their opportunities and finding a way to win that game eventually in the shootout. However, as a result of that win and this opportunity at revenge for Tampa Bay, you can fully expect a blowout road win here. Of course that is why TB is a money line favorite priced in the 2 to 1 range here. That said, where the value lies is with the puck line as we can get the Lightning at +135 by laying the 1.5 goals. While the Bolts most recent win over Chicago came in OT, this was preceded by a 14-game stretch for Tampa Bay in which ALL 14 of their games were decided by a multiple-goal margin and that included 11 wins by 2+ goals. Look for another one of those right here. 10* TAMPA BAY Puck Line -1.5 goals +134

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Sunday 10* Top Play Tottenham Hotspur Goal Line -1 -116 vs Crystal Palace @ 2:15 ET - Tottenham is very healthy compared to most teams in premier league action at this point in the season. Conversely, Crystal Palace is one of the teams dealing with the most injury issues at this point in the campaign. It certainly shows in level of play on the pitch of late as Crystal Palace has not scored a goal in 4 of their last 5 matches across all competitions. The lone fixture in which they did manage to find the back of the net it was a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove but Crystal Palace was very much outplayed in that on. Also, their last two losses in premier league action have come by a combined 5-0 score and their last two losses to Tottenham have come by a combined 6-0 score. Overall, Crystal Palace is winless in last 4 meetings with the Hotspur. Of course all of the above is a big part of the reason Tottenham is a 2 to 1 favorite on the money line in this one. That said, where the value lies is with the goal line in this one. We can lay a small price in the -116 range to take Tottenham at -1 goal in this fixture. Note that Tottenham has won 4 of its last 5 across all competitions and the 4 victories have come by a combined margin of 13 to 1. Look for another dominating victory here. 10* TOTTENHAM -1 goal -116

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #603 Saturday 8* Pittsburgh Panthers (+) @ Clemson Tigers @ Noon ET - The Panthers are off a win but this followed a lengthy losing streak. Here is the key though. Pittsburgh's 5-game losing streak featured all 5 losses coming by 7 or less points. Pitt is a very strong rebounding team and is not an easy team to blow out. Also, on the road, they are allowing just 41.6% from the field to their opponents. I know Clemson is a very solid team, particularly at home, but I do not see them winning big in this game. The Tigers are going to have their hands full with a scrappy dog that hits the boards hard and plays tough defense more often than not when traveling. Also, when these teams met last season the Panthers lost by 20 points and that was on their home floor! Pitt shot very poorly in that one from 3-point land while Clemson shot lights out from beyond the arc. That kind of ridiculous disparity will not happen again here. Grab the generous points being offered to a scrappy underdog in this one. 8* PITTSBURGH 

ACC Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #840 Friday 10* Top Play Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+) vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets @ 8 ET - Of course it has been a disappointing finish to the regular season for Wake Forest. However, the Demon Deacons are not going to lay down here in their home finale. That said, this is simply too many points in my opinion. Georgia Tech is only 3-5 in road games this season while Wake Forest is 5-5 in home games. Also, the Yellow Jackets are off a huge home win versus Duke. Not sure how excited the Jackets are going to be about this game as a result. That said, the Demon Deacons are likely to prove to be the hungrier team and they lost the first match-up with Georgia Tech this season largely due a big disparity in 3-point shooting as they had a horrific shooting night. However, Wake Forest is hitting 34% from beyond the arc this season and Georgia Tech is shooting 35% from beyond the arc this season. In other words, and particularly with this rematch being at Winston-Salem, the Yellow Jackets are unlikely to hold such an edge from 3-point land in this one. Look for this one to go down to the wire as the Demon Deacons are a very hungry home dog here and I just do not see them losing this game by double digits on their home floor. 10* WAKE FOREST

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Thursday 10* Top Play Chelsea Goal Line +0.25 goals -107 @ Liverpool @ 3:15 ET - Liverpool used to be unbeatable at home but that trend has completely reversed of late and now they have struggled badly at Anfield. That said, I love the value here with a Chelsea club that has played so well, particularly on defense, since Thomas Tuchel took over. Since Chelsea is the traveler in this one, we can get extra line value here with the goal line. With the +0.25 goal, even a draw for Chelsea cashes a ticket for us. Since Tuchel took over, Chelsea is unbeaten with 6 victories and 3 draws and they have conceded only 2 goals in these 9 matches! Liverpool has now gone 7 straight matches on their home pitch without a victory! Indeed, their last win at Anfield was in mid-December. That said, I like the value here of just needing a draw with Chelsea to cash our bet. Considering all of the above, a low-scoring duel is likely and the travelers have a great shot at the upset and I also fancy our chances of at least a draw in this one as the aforementioned streaks are long-term and continue their run here. 10* CHELSEA Goal Line +0.25 goals -107

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #532 Wednesday 10* Top Play Cleveland Cavaliers (+) vs Indiana Pacers @ 7:05 ET - The Pacers are on a 4-game SU and ATS losing streak while the Cavaliers have won and covered 4 straight. Of course Indiana would love to reverse this trend but this is Cleveland's last game before the All-Star break and they are hungry to keep the winning going and enter the break on a 5-game run. The Pacers have their home finale before the break on deck for tomorrow so this situation favors the Cavs in my opinion. Cleveland had a horrific losing streak going before starting this win streak and they do not want to lose that winning feeling right before the break. They will go all out here and if they do fall short look for it to be by only a bucket or two. The Pacers are just 3-9 SU their last dozen games and one of the wins was by just 6 points. That said, I love the valuable with the sizable home dog in this one. 10* CLEVELAND 

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #618 Tuesday 10* Top Play Georgetown Hoyas (+) vs Xavier Musketeers @ 7 ET - Georgetown leading scorer Jahvon Blair will be back for senior night in Washington DC tonight. The Hoyas still managed to get by without him at DePaul on Saturday afternoon. Georgetown now faces a much tougher challenge then they did with the Blue Demons but I don't see the Hoyas being denied in their home finale. Georgetown should hold a rebounding edge here and the Musketeers are not quite the same team without guard Nate Johnson. I know they just upset the Bluejays but that makes me like going against Xavier even more here as they could be a little flat after upsetting Creighton. That was the Musketeers home finale and now they face a team highly motivated to win their home finale as well. Keep in mind, Xavier was on an 0-4 ATS run prior to knocking off the Bluejays. Also, the Hoyas enter this game on a solid 6-2 ATS run at the betting window. With the early line move toward Xavier, I like this one even more. Grab the home dog in this one as they have gone from being a slight favorite to now being the underdog in this one. Traditionally going against moves like this works out very well and I love this spot for all the reasons noted above too. 10* GEORGETOWN

Earliest Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #504 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Indiana Pacers @ 7:05 ET - The Sixers are normally fantastic on their home floor. But they just gave a horrific effort versus the Cavaliers on Saturday and lost the game in OT outright as a double digit home favorite! Suffice to say, Philadelphia was not happy with that result and will be ready to go here after a very rare home loss. The 76ers beat Brooklyn by 16 points the last time they entered a game off a home loss. Also, here they can take advantage of an Indiana team that has lost 10 of its last 14 games. The Pacers Malcolm Brogdon is dealing with a knee injury and missed their last game. Even if he goes tonight he is unlikely to be 100 percent and this is an angry Sixers team that Indiana will be facing here. Look for the home team, 14-3 this season and 31-4 last season as a host, to roll by double digits in this one! 10* PHILADELPHIA

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Sunday 10* Top Play Tottenham Hotspur Goal Line -1 goals -105 vs Burnley @ 9 AM ET - In recent weeks, looking at Tottenham performances does not impress but they were without Harry Kane for much of that time. Now he is back and overall this club is very healthy and in much better shape on the health front than that of Burnley. Also, this game is on the home pitch of Tottenham and note that Burnley has not traveled well at all this season. They have won just 3 of 12 matches on enemy pitch plus have scored a total of only 8 goals in those dozen affairs. Only Sheffield United, dead last in the table by the way, has scored fewer goals as a traveler in this campaign. That said, the host should dominate in this one. Of course that is why they are nearly a 2 to 1 favorite on the money line. Where have value here, in my opinion, is by reducing our lay amount to a pick'em price by taking the Hotspur on the goal line  which is at a -1 goal even. I look for Tottenham to roll big here. The Hotspur have 2 recent victories that came by a combined score of 8 to 1 in UEFA Europa League action. Though not in premier league those are confidence boosters and Burnley's last two non-draw decisions across all competitions were each decided by multi-goal margins. I feel strongly that this match-up will be as well. Odds favor a home club victory and I expect a solid margin as Tottenham has scored 4 goals in 3 of its last 5 matches across all competitions and Burnley has been held to 1 goal or less in 4 of its last 5 matches across all competitions. 10* TOTTENHAM -1 goal -105

Big East Beast Top Side - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #684 Saturday 10* Top Play Xavier Musketeers (+) vs Creighton Bluejays @ 5 ET - Without a shadow of doubt, of course, Creighton is a very good team. Also, Xavier looks very unimpressive to the betting markets because of a recent 1-3 run. However, all that has done here is create exceptional value in my opinion. Keep in mind, the Musketeers had an unwanted two weeks off due to health protocol impacting their schedule so one could give them a mulligan for the home loss to Connecticut which followed. Since then Xavier has had two tough road games and just one home game. They won the only home game and the Musketeers are now 10-2 at home this season. Again, I know the Bluejays command (and deserve) respect but prior to a road win and cover at Georgetown in their most recent away game, Creighton was on a 1-3 ATS run in road games. This is Xavier's home finale and you know they would love nothing more than to get revenge for their road loss at Creighton earlier this season plus close the home portion of their schedule with a big win. As you would expect, the Bluejays don't shoot as well nor score as well on the road as they do at home. As you would also expect, the Musketeers do shoot better at home plus score better as a host. They have a great shot at the upset here which certainly has me liking the added value of having these points on our side too. 10* XAVIER

Big East Beast Early - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #610 Saturday 8* DePaul Blue Demons (+) vs Georgetown Hoyas @ Noon ET - The Blue Demons might get Javon Freeman-Liberty back for this one. He has been in concussion protocol but this began exactly two weeks ago so today could be the day for him at home and in the most winnable game remaining on DePaul's schedule. Even if he does not play here, I like the fact this line has gone from a pick'em to a -3 on Georgetown. Yes the Blue Demons are at the bottom of the Big East but the Hoyas are not dominators, particularly on the road, by any stretch of the imagination. That said, taking a look at DePaul's last 6 home games, 1 was a high-scoring loss but in the other 5 games they allowed an average of only 61.2 points per game! This team does show some commitment on the defensive end. As for Georgetown, they allowed an average of 72.5 points per game in their last two games and those were at home and they got dominated on the glass by UConn in the most recent of those two games. Also, the Hoyas have allowed an average of 79 points per game in their last 3 road games. Don't be surprised when the Blue Demons prove to be the hungrier team in this one and get the job done on their home floor. 8* DEPAUL

Early TV Blowout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Saturday 10* Top Play Brighton & Hove -105 vs West Bromwich @ 10 AM ET - West Bromwich is the host here but has just 2 wins on the entire campaign and just 1 home win and their average goal differential on their home pitch is actually 2 goals per match. Just horrible numbers. Conversely, Brighton & Hove is a respectable 4-4-4 as a traveler this season and their goal differential is nearly dead even on the road. However, Brighton & Hove still need to get a big win here as they are not safely away from the relegation zone. Even though Brighton & Hove are off a draw and a loss in their last two matches they have dominated both incredibly! They actually out shot their competitors 31 to 8 in those matches including 13 to 3 in terms of shots on goal. Brighton & Hove simply has not gotten what they deserved in their last two matches and they will make the most of facing a weak West Bromwich club here. The road team has allowed just 1.3 goals per match as travelers this season while the host team here has allowed 2.7 goals per match on their home pitch. I don't see the road team being denied here. 10* BRIGHTON & HOVE -105

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #536 Friday 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (-) vs Houston Rockets @ 7:35 ET - The Rockets have lost 9 straight games. Houston went 1-8 ATS during this run and the lone ATS win never should have happened. The Rockets trailed by 26 points at the half - and by as many as 29 points during the game - at Philly last week but got a bit of a miracle back door cover in that game. Even with under 10 minutes to go in the game Houston was still down 18 points. The point is that the Rockets very easily could be on an 0-9 ATS run and the fact is they are highly like to fall to their 10th straight SU loss here and I look for Toronto to win this one by double digits. The set up here is solid as the Raptors are off back to back losses and will be extra hungry here as a result. Toronto, prior to the B2B defeats, had won 9 of 12 games both SU and ATS and I fully expect them to respond here. Also, the Raptors are on a streak of 20+ games in which whoever the SU winner is in their games is also the ATS winner. Considering that as well as the fact that the Rockets have lost 9 straight games, you can see why I fully expect the home team to get the win AND cover in this one! 10* TORONTO

Situational Slaughter - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #737 Thursday 10* Top Play Iowa Hawkeyes (+) @ Michigan Wolverines @ 7:30 ET - The #3 team in the nation at home where they are 11-0 this season and facing a team that is only 5-4 this season when away from home and yet this one featured a 3.5 as an opening line. The odds makers had the right idea and yet the market place things they have it all wrong and have already pushed this line to as high a 5.5 in some spots. In typical contrarian fashion I am on the other side of the move but, as always, it is not without reason. The Hawkeyes are 5-2 SU in their last 7 road games and the two losses each came by 5 or less points. That said, I love the line value here as Michigan is off of 3 straight hard fought wins and is going to be really tested now by a dynamic Iowa offense that is averaging 80 points per game its last 4 games. The Wolverines are off a high-scoring win over Ohio State but had averaged only 69 points per game in their 3 preceding games. Allowing 87 points to the Buckeyes also has to be a concern for Michigan as they now take on the highest scoring team in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes also have far and away the best assist to turnover ratio in the conference plus they lead the Big Ten in rebounding. Grab the generous points here. 10* IOWA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #684 Wednesday 10* Top Play Butler Bulldogs (+) vs Seton Hall Pirates @ 7 ET - This line is not up everywhere right now and that is because of the questionable status of three senior starters for Butler. The Bulldogs have Bo Hodges, Bryce Nze, and Aaron Thompson all listed as questionable for this one. My take on this is I don't see these guys again all missing another game. Maybe not all 3 play but I would be surprised if at least  2 of the 3 are not seeing action in this game tonight. Why? Well they are seniors and even though they have two more regular season games left this is definitely the most winnable game on their schedule that remains. Their next two games are versus Villanova and at Creighton. Yikes! By the way, even without all 3 of those aforementioned starters, the Bulldogs were down by only 5 points with a minute and a half to go in their 12 point loss to the Musketeers Sunday. Now they are at home and a big dog and could have some starting firepower back for this one and note that Seton Hall is 13-9 this season while Xavier is 12-4. The Pirates are certainly solid and have gone 10-6 in Big East action but the Musketeers are no slouches it is just their Big East schedule has been heavily impacted by covid. There is simply tremendous value with the home dog in this match-up and I suspect this line will steadily come down as the day goes on so lets jump on the early value here in a game the Bulldogs will be gunning hard for the upset win. It truly is their most winnable game left on the schedule and historically they are a tough team at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 10* BUTLER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #628 Tuesday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs St John's Red Storm @ 8 ET - Randomly playing revenge situations will get you in trouble in no time but finding the right revenge spots can be pure gold. The best teams in the Big East this season are Villanova and Creighton. The Wildcats lost by double digits at St John's earlier this season and now it is payback time. Why should we expect a solid home win for Villanova here? Well the best sample size to look at is how the Red Storm performed against the Bluejays this season. St John's has already faced Creighton twice and lost each game by an 18 point margin. Villanova can do the same here and this line is down to an 11 as of early game day morning. I'll take it. The Wildcats will take advantage of a Red Storm team that has allowed 86 points per game in its last two games. Villanova is a very strong shooting team at home. Also, the Wildcats are allowing just 66 points per game as a host this season. Coincidentally the posted total on this game is 152.5 and 86-66 indeed sounds about right and the expectation of that final score is justified per the above. The point is you can see why I am expecting the Cats to win this one by about 18 to 20 points. 10* VILLANOVA

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #554 Monday 10* Top Play Houston Rockets (+) vs Chicago Bulls @ 8:05 ET - The Rockets have had extra time off due to cancelled games. This has given them even more time to think about their current 7-game losing streak. That said, I expect a highly motivated Houston team to take the floor tonight at home against Chicago. As for the Bulls, they take the floor off a win and cover but that was at home against Sacramento. What is noteworthy about this is Chicago hasn't covered consecutive games since mid-January so, coming off an ATS win, odds favor the Bulls falling short tonight. There was a reason the odds makers opened up the team on a 7-game losing streak as the favorite here. Don't let the line fool you. Grab the Rockets as they get back on track in a big way in this one. Chicago was on a 4-9 ATS run prior to knocking off the Kings Saturday. 10* HOUSTON

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #828 Sunday 8* Xavier Musketeers (-) vs Butler Bulldogs @ 7 ET - The Musketeers are off back to back losses but that was preceded by a 13-point win at Butler that brought Xavier to 11-2 on the season. Now the Musketeers are hosting the Bulldogs and in a foul mood and, as a result, this match-up has blowout written all over it. Butler is off back to back losses and is now 1-8 SU (and 2-7 ATS) on the season in road games. Overall, 6 of the Bulldogs last 7 losses have come by at least a dozen points and I am expecting this one will as well. The Musketeers suffered a 1 point loss when they hosted Butler last season so they won't overlook this team nor will they take their foot off the gas. Blowout city in this one! 8* XAVIER

Eastern Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #537 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Toronto Raptors @ 7:05 ET - The Sixers are off back to back wins but non-covers. Finally in this one they should have both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons both on the floor together and I expect a road rout to result. Since the Raptors have had some recent wins and because the 76ers are the visitors for this one, we are getting a low number to work with. That said, I won't hesitate to step in as there is great value with this line opening up at a 2.5 this morning. 6 of the Raptors last 7 losses have come by 4 or more points. Each of Philly's last 7 wins have come by 5 or more points. Toronto is playing their home games in Tampa this season and they have certainly not held the same home court edge as in years past. The Raptors enter this game 1-3 SU last 4 home games and the lone win was against an Orlando team this is winning just 40 percent of their games this season. Now Toronto is facing a 76ers team that is 19-5 SU this season in games in which Embiid has played. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Big 12 Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #639 Saturday 10* Top Play Texas Tech Red Raiders (+) @ Kansas Jayhawks @ 2 ET - The Red Raiders have had a layoff due to a combination of weather and covid issues forcing postponements. That can, of course, be detrimental to a team. However, Texas Tech is not a normal team as they are one of the best teams in the nation and they are also fighting mad here. Their most recent game left the players and the coach fuming and they have been waiting a long time to get back on the floor and they will make the most of this opportunity today. The Red Raiders also have lost 3 games against Kansas including the most recent one by a single point in December. That said, Texas Tech is hell bent on revenge here and I am well aware of the fact that the Jayhawks have been playing better and winning some games. The key here though is who they faced. Now Kansas is in more of a dog fight style of game here and the last 5 times they have played a game with a spread either way that was 5 or less points, they have gone 0-5 SU and ATS. The Jayhawks simply aren't the same team they used to be and they already got blasted at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this season. I am not saying Kansas will get blasted here but I am saying the Red Raiders get the road win. Payback time here. 10* TEXAS TECH

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #614 Saturday 8* Villanova Wildcats (-) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 1 ET - The Huskies got their star player, James Bouknight back in their most recent game and that is keeping this line lower. I know Connecticut is a respectable team, especially with Bouknight back healthy again. However, the Wildcats are off just their 3rd loss of the season and will be ready to respond here just like they did after their first two losses. Keep in mind, Villanova entered that game with a 13-2 record on the season. The Huskies have lost 2 of last 3 road games and each defeat came by at least 8 points. The Wildcats two wins when off a loss this season each came by double digits and had an average margin of victory of 22 points per game. 11 of Villanova's 13 wins have come by a margin of at least 8 points and this one will too. UConn is on a 3-4 SU and ATS run and each of their last 3 losses have come by at least 7 points. With the spread on this one sitting right around a half-dozen points, we have solid value with a home team angry off a loss. 8* VILLANOVA

Eastern Conference Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #506 Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Chicago Bulls @ 7:35 ET - Two games ago the Sixers had Ben Simmons on the floor but played without Joel Embiid. Then the very next game Embiid was back but Simmons missed. The 76ers still built a 29 point lead in that game and led by about 15 to 20 points at a minimum from that point on but found a way to blow the cover late against the Rockets. I do not expect a repeat of that here with both stars back together on the floor tonight. Also, the Bulls are still without Lauri Markkanen and Otto Porter and those two forwards average a combined 30.7 points and 12.4 rebounds a game. This one sets up well, as a result, to be a home blowout. Prior to the non-covering win versus Houston, the 76ers had been a perfect 4-0 ATS run when at home off an ATS loss. Once again off a non-cover and with big personnel edges in this one in terms of the injury situation, the 76ers roll and get a solid cover to improve to 5-1 ATS last 6 when at home and off a non-cover. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Puck Line Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Rotation #68 Friday 8* Detroit Red Wings Puck Line +1.5 goals -153 vs Florida Panthers @ 7:05 ET - The Red Wings have remained ultra competitive despite their overall poor record this season. Detroit is off a 2-0 shutout loss and they opened up the season with a 3-0 shutout loss. However, in between were 16 games of which only 5 resulted in a defeat by more than 1 goal. That said, I like the value with the Red Wings here at +1.5 goals on the puck line in this one. They catch Florida at an ideal time for an upset win as the Panthers are off back to back wins over the Lightning and Hurricanes. Those were key wins for Florida and could leave them a little flat as they now are in 1st in the division and take on a last-place Red Wings team. This one has upset alert written all over it and, if Detroit does fall short, look for the defeat to come by just a single goal in what should be a very competitive game. The Panthers last 9 wins have featured only 2 by more than a 1-goal margin. 8* DETROIT +1.5 goals -153

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #570 Thursday 10* Top Play Milwaukee Bucks (-) vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:35 ET - The Bucks just lost to the Raptors by a double digit margin on Tuesday. They were favored by about a half dozen points in that game and yet got crushed. In Thursday's rematch, Milwaukee again favored by a similar amount. Must be a huge mistake by the odds makers, right? Long-time followers know how I feel about supposed mistakes by odds makers! The point is that this is set this way with good reason and, in typical contrarian fashion, I am backing the team no one will want here. The Bucks have lost 4 straight games but note that they are 2-0 this season when off a home loss and both victories came by a double digit margin. I expect this one will too. Lay it. 10* MILWAUKEE

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #556 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Houston Rockets @ 7:35 ET - 76ers will have Joel Embiid back tonight plus they are back on their home floor where they are known for dominating. After 3 straight losses - all on the road - the Sixers can't wait to come out strong at home and take out their frustration someone. That someone is the downtrodden Rockets and they should provide the perfect punching bag for Philly to take advantage. Houston has cleaned house this season and now is struggling ever since. The Rockets enter this game having lost 6 straight games. Also, Houston's last five road losses have all come by 12 or more points and, in fact, the average margin of defeat has been a very ugly 21 points per loss! That said, you can see why I am expecting a blowout home win for Philly here and this is a rare case in which I am willing to lay big points. The 76ers need a big win and the Rockets continue to get crushed in road games. More of the same here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #672 Wednesday 10* Butler Bulldogs (-) vs Marquette Golden Eagles @ 6:30 ET - The Bulldogs lost by 3 at Marquette two weeks ago but couple of important notes about that. One is that this is the only win that the Golden Eagles have had in their last 7 games! Another is that when you look at the box score for that game it is somewhat of a miracle that Marquette even won that game. The Golden Eagles took only 39 shots from the field but hit 61% of them. That high shooting percentage will most definitely not be repeated on the road. Also, the Bulldogs had just 9 turnovers in the game while Marquette had 22. Again, bit of a miracle that the Golden Eagles somehow held on to win that game. Now it is payback time and I like the fact that Butler is at home for this one. The Bulldogs have won 6 of 9 home games this season while Marquette is just 2-6 ATS in road games on the season. Butler has won 3 of its last 4 home games and that included knocking off Creighton when the Bluejays were ranked #8 in the nation. They can play with anyone here at Hinkle Fieldhouse and I expect a solid home win here after they arguably deserved much better in the first meeting in Milwaukee a few weeks ago. 10* BUTLER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #608 Tuesday 10* Top Play Connecticut Huskies (-) vs Providence Friars @ 6:30 ET - The Huskies seek revenge for a loss by a double digit margin at Providence last week. Connecticut actually had 9 more shots from the field but the Friars had 18 more free throw attempts. That latter statistic will not be repeated here at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT. Also note that Connecticut's James Bouknight is very close to returning from his elbow injury. The Friars are off a road win but entered that game having lost 4 of last 5 away from home. Huskies are averaging 76 points per game at home this season while Providence has been held to an average of 62 points per game in last 3 road games. The revenge-minded home team gets a boost with the imminent return of Bouknight even if he is yet on the floor this evening. There is a mental aspect to this as well that their star's return is imminent. 10* CONNECTICUT

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Monday 10* Top Play Chelsea Goal Line -1.75 goals vs Newcastle United @ 3 ET - We have to win this match by a multiple goal margin to cash our ticket but Chelsea truly looks like a different club since Thomas Tuchel took over managerial duties. Coming off a casual effort in English FA Cup action against Barnsley, the stakes are again high now in Premier League action and Chelsea should dominate Newcastle. This game is on Chelsea's home pitch and they have allowed just 1 goal total in their last 5 matches. With that type of defensive dominance, a clean sheet can be expected here. So, the question becomes, can Chelsea score at least 2 goals here? Well, after the listless performance against Barnsley which included a lot of playing time for younger players, Chelsea will have the big guns back for this one and they will be taking on a Newcastle side dealing with numerous injury issues. Also, Newcastle has allowed at least 2 goals in 4 of their last 5 matches and this was all against clubs that certainly have not been playing at the peak level that Chelsea has since Tuchel took over. That said, this one should be dominated by the team on its home pitch. Lay it! CHELSEA -1.75 goals

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #803 Sunday 10* Top Play Marquette Golden Eagles (+) @ Seton Hall Pirates @ 3 ET - The Golden Eagles will be ready to bounce back after an embarrassing blowout loss at Villanova by a 32-point margin. That was their first really bad loss of the new year as in 2021 the average margin of defeat had been 6.4 points per game. That said, and considering they are in a good spot, Marquette is offering significant line value here after opening up at about an 8 point dog. The Pirates are in the perfect spot to struggle as they are off back to back wins on the road as a very small favorite. Now Seton Hall has not played in over a week while Marquette played on Wednesday. After that blowout loss to the Wildcats, the Golden Eagles will be ready to respond here as they look for some revenge against the Pirates. Seton Hall has actually won 5 straight games against Marquette so payback is on order here. Look for the Pirates to fall to 0-3 ATS in their last 3 home games as they have lost back to back games both SU and ATS and the Golden Eagles challenge them all the way after getting embarrassed on Wednesday. 10* MARQUETTE

Big East Best - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #630 Saturday 8* Georgetown Hoyas (-) vs Butler Bulldogs @ 1:30 ET - Georgetown is off an ugly home loss to Creighton in which they suffered from very cold shooting and scored just 48 points. However, in their 3 prior games heading into that one, the Hoyas scored an average of 77.7 points per game. Georgetown, after beating Providence, then faced ranked teams in 3 straight games. The Hoyas are off back to back losses but now will take advantage of a stepdown in level of competition here. Georgetown is hosting a Butler team that is off back to back wins but the most recent one was a fortunate one as they were getting hammered by St John's but then rallied in the 2nd half, tied it with just a few seconds left, and then won by 3 in overtime. Also, the Bulldogs have not won 3 straight games this entire season and I do not expect that to change here as their 2-game winning streak comes to an end. Also, Butler did beat Georgetown by 8 points earlier this season but the Bulldogs are just 1-7 SU on the road this season. Grab the Hoyas in this one. 8* GEORGETOWN

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #545 Friday 10* Top Play San Antonio Spurs (+) @ Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET - The Spurs are off home loss and it was a bad one as they lost by a margin of 23 points. That type of loss often easier to bounce back from than the one the Hawks just had which was a one point loss at Dallas. Atlanta did win their most recent home game but that was preceded by 4 straight losses for the Hawks as a host. As for the Spurs they have been road warriors this season with a 7-3 mark away from home both SU and ATS. San Antonio has played the tougher schedule so far this season. Also, the Spurs are at that time of the year where they would take their annual rodeo trip and they will not be back in San Antonio until their game over two weeks from now on the 27th. Traditionally the Spurs have done very well on this annual road trip and this is the first of 7 away games. Also, Atlanta is just 4-6 SU against Western Conference teams this season while the Spurs are a perfect 3-0 SU against Eastern Conference teams this season. Look for that trend to reach 4-0 after the final horn sounds on this one. 10* SAN ANTONIO

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 10* Top Plays Temple Owls (+) @ Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - The last 4 games between these teams have been decided by an average of just 3.8 points and now the Owls are a 6.5 dog in this one and it is a revenge spot. Temple lost at home against Cincinnati a week ago. The Owls enter this one off 3 straight losses but they got the big dog cover with a strong effort at Wichita State on Sunday. Temple is now on a 3-0 ATS run in road games and I look for the Owls to continue that strong run as travelers here. Though the Bearcats got the cover at Temple a week ago, Cincinnati is 2-9 ATS in their other games this season and I feel they are over-valued in this one. Opponents are actually shooting 47.5% against the Bearcats in their home games this season while the Owls are holding opponents to 40.9% in their road games this season. I am grabbing the hungry, undervalued dog in this one. 10* TEMPLE

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #534 Thursday 10* Top Play Detroit Pistons (+) vs Indiana Pacers @ 8 ET - While it might seem hard to trust a 6-18 team against a team playing around .500 this season, in typical contrarian fashion I am on the ugly dog here. In this case the Pistons have a rest edge as they were off last night after hosting the Nets on Tuesday. As for the Pacers, they were at Brooklyn last night to face those same Nets. That said, tough spot for Indiana here. Also, as bad as the Pistons full season record is, they have been more competitive of late. Detroit has won 3 straight home games outright as home dogs and that was against tough teams - Nets, Lakers, 76ers! Going further back, the Pistons are on a 7-2 ATS run last 9 home games so they have been strong as a host this season. The Pacers entered last night's game at Brooklyn on a 3-9 ATS run and I look for Indiana's covering struggles to continue here. 10* DETROIT

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #737 Thursday 10* Top Play Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Minnesota Golden Gophers @ 5 ET - Early line movement toward Minnesota already and I understand that because of the revenge angle. However, there is a match-up issue here. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Golden Gophers by 17 in the first meeting and it was not entirely a fluke. Minnesota has been outrebounded by a margin of 2 boards per game this season while Purdue is outrebounding opponents by 7 boards a game on the season. Comparing these two teams' stats on the season, the Boilermakers are also the better shooting team. Purdue has won 6 of 8 games entering this one while Minnesota is off a win but that was preceded by 6 losses in 8 games. The Boilermakers also have a rest edge here having not played since the 6th while the Gophers just played on the 8th. Minnesota has a great home record this season but the odds maker set this line very low with good reason. Don't let the number scare you away. Look for the road team to roll in this one. 10* PURDUE

Non-Conf Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #520 Wednesday 10* Top Play Dallas Mavericks (-) vs Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET - The Hawks are off a big win versus the Raptors Saturday and that snapped a 3-game losing streak for Atlanta. That said everything must be "all good" again and the Hawks back on track, right? No, not at all! They were very fortunate to not only beat the Raptors but especially by a double digit margin! Toronto had 97 shots from the field compared to just 74 for Atlanta. The Hawks had 18 turnovers compared to just 6 for the Raptors. So how did this win happen? Insane shooting that will not be repeated for Atlanta on the road here. The Hawks shot 57% from the field and made a ridiculous 19 of 36 from three point land. Just crazy numbers for shooting and that leads to value here with the Mavs as short home favorite. Dallas has gotten back on track with wins in 3 of its last 4, including a win at Atlanta, but the Mavericks are still flying under the radar with the betting markets because they are on a long-term poor ATS run. That can lead to special value in certain situations and that is precisely what we are seeing right here. Lay it! 10* DALLAS

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #644 Wednesday 10* Top Play Providence Friars (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 4 ET - The Huskies are a different team without leading scorer James Bouknight and he is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. Connecticut is now on a 1-3 SU/ATS run without him. As for Providence, reinforcements are very near to returning as both Jared Bynum and Jimmy Nichols are nearing returns. So when someone casually looks at this game, they see an 8-4 team laying just 1.5 points at a 9-10 team. However, as you can see, there is absolutely a reason this game is priced this way so do not be fooled by the 4-win team in this range. The Friars are off a home loss in which they allowed 92 points and they will be ready to respond big here and improve to 5-0 this season when off a game in which they allowed 79 or more points. Another disadvantage for UConn here is this is just their 2nd game in the past 2 weeks. The home team in a much better spot here from a situational and personnel perspective. 10* PROVIDENCE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #631 Tuesday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Butler Bulldogs @ 9 ET - The Red Storm are red hot entering this game on a 6-0 SU run and 8-0 ATS run. St John's next game after this is not for a full week. That  said, the Red Storm can absolutely lay it all on the line here with a strong aggressive effort. Speaking of aggressive play, that is the reason St John's is averaging twice as many (10) steals per game as Butler is (5) this season. Turnovers were a key in the first meeting between these teams and that was a Red Storm home win by double digits. Now in this second meeting, because Butler is at home, the host is a popular choice. The line opened up with St John's -1.5 but has flipped and is now up to a -2.5 on the Bulldogs! Love the added value here with the road dog. Butler enters this game off a home win versus DePaul but this was preceded by a stretch that saw the Bulldogs go 3-7 over 10 games. Butler is simply not as strong this season and the Red Storm are surging. Not only do they do a better job in terms of steals and blocked shots, St John's also has been the better shooting team this season across all categories - from the field, free throws, and three pointers. Grab the road dog Red Storm here plus the points but expect an outright win. 10* ST JOHN'S

Game of the Month - Rickenbach NFL Rotation #101 Sunday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 6:30 ET - The irony here is incredible. The Chiefs are looking to become the first team to win back to back Super Bowls since the Tom Brady-led Patriots beat the Andy Reid-led Eagles back in 2004. This is Andy Reid's 3rd Super Bowl in his career and he finally gets his shot at Super Bowl revenge against Brady and, in getting a win here, would displace a Brady-led team in the record books as the most recent one to go back to back in the biggest game of them all in all of sports. I don't see Reid and the Chiefs being denied. This will be Reid's 32nd playoff game as a head coach and, as noted above, his 3rd Super Bowl. Tampa Bay is led by Bruce Arians and he is making his Super Bowl debut as a head coach and also entered this post-season 1-2 as a head coach in playoff action. I know this post-season has gone well for Arians and the Bucs but lets take a closer look. They faced a Redskins team without their starting QB and that didn't even belong in the playoffs really. Then they had a +4 turnover ratio against the Saints. Then they got outgained by the Packers in Green Bay but won the game thanks in part to horrible coaching on the part of GB. That will not happen here against Andy Reid and the Chiefs. Also, I love the fact that the Chiefs are just 2-8 ATS their last 10 games while the Buccaneers are on a 6-2 ATS run their last 8 games. Watch that flip in the final game of the year. Also, we certainly do not want a push but do note that 4 of the 5 Bucs losses came by 3 or more points while 15 of the Chiefs 16 wins have come by 3 or more points. This line was a 3.5 earlier but has come down to a solid -3 as of the Thursday before Super Bowl weekend. In other words, it is now "go time" for us. Time to pull the trigger. The fact the regular season meeting was only a 3 point win for the Chiefs despite a yardage edge of 114 is also helping to give us line value here. In what should be a very entertaining game, don't be surprised if coaching and special teams play a key factor in the final outcome and BOTH of those factors FAVOR the Chiefs in a big way here. 10* KANSAS CITY

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #560 Sunday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Clippers (-) vs Sacramento Kings @ 3:05 ET - The Kings have won and covered 7 in a row so, in typical contrarian fashion, I am on the other side here. Sacramento is in a very tough spot here as this game starts at Noon local time and this is after the Kings were in action yesterday at home against Denver. Sacramento did get an upset win in that game while LA enters this game angry off an upset loss so the situation is perfect. That is why I am willing to lay points here as I expect the Clippers to go all out here and roll to a win by at least a dozen points. Los Angeles does not play again until Wednesday and also they do not have another home game until next Sunday. Also, they were off yesterday so they are rested and ready to go all out here and they are not happy about their home loss to a Celtics team that was without Jaylen Brown. Look for them to make up for that here as the Clippers are a perfect 6-0 this season when off a loss! The Clips have won the last two meetings by an average margin of 28.5 points and roll again here. 10* LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

NBA TV Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #531 Saturday 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (-) @ Sacramento Kings @ 5 ET - The Kings are hot so they are garnering the attention of the betting markets and I fully understand that. But in typical contrarian fashion, I like the Nuggets here. Denver is really ticked off heading into this game as they were up nicely at halftime against the Lakers Thursday and then had a horrific 2nd half. The Nuggets also play this game with double revenge against Sacramento. These teams met twice earlier this season and the Kings won each game including a 2 point win at Denver when the Nuggets were an 8 point favorite. The Nuggets have had enough of this Sacramento team this season plus are in a foul mood after what happened against the Lakers Thursday. Denver had won 11 of 15 before the collapse against the defending champs. Also, the Kings were on a 2-9 SU run before covering 6 straight games heading into this one. I am not totally sold on Sacramento just yet and feel the odds makers are on to something considering the Nuggets have lost both match-ups to the Kings and yet are now favored by more than the -1 they laid in the first meeting at Sacramento. Trust me it is not a mistake and I feel the road team wins by 7 to 10 here. 10* DENVER

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #609 Saturday 8* Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Connecticut Huskies @ Noon ET - The Pirates are 9-5 their last 14 games and here is the key. 4 of those 5 losses came against ranked teams. The only other loss was in overtime. That said, you can see why I expect Seton Hall to now take advantage of facing an unranked UConn team and we get some line value based on the Pirates being on the road so the points are on our side. Seton Hall off a dominating win in which they allowed only 43 points and forced plenty of turnovers. The Pirates will build off that here. The Huskies are 8-3 this season while Seton Hall has 8 losses already this season and yet Connecticut is a very small favorite here even though they are at home. This is a typical contrarian situation for me and I feel the Pirates are the better team and will get the job done on the road here. The road dog is the better shooting team on the season and I like the way their defense played in their dominating win earlier this week. 8* SETON HALL

Early Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Saturday 10* Top Play Burnley +0.25 +107 vs Brighton & Hove @ 10 AM ET - Brighton & Hove is off a huge upset win versus Liverpool. That makes this a great spot to fade Brighton & Hove. Burnley is off back to back losses but faced a resurgent Chelsea team with a new manager and a strong Manchester City team. In other words, no shame in those defeats and that was on the heels of 3 straight victories for Burnley across all competitions. As a result, I feel Burnley is still flying under the radar a bit and they have played a little better than most realize. Note that no team in the premier league has as many draws this season as Brighton & Hove with 9 thus far. The Albion have only 5 victories in 22 matches this season. That is why I like the value here with the "plus plus" on Burnley. A win or even a draw gives us a winning wager here and Burnley has won 4 and drawn once in 10 home matches this season. You can see why I like the odds here with the home dog especially given the huge victory that the visitor is coming off of. 10* BURNLEY +0.25 GOALS

Early TV Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #860 Friday 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (-) vs Maryland Terrapins @ 7 ET - Why is a 6-8 team favored over a 10-8 team? Precisely why I am playing the 6-8 team. The fact is the Nittany Lions are off a bad loss at Wisconsin and in bounce back mode. Before the ugly loss to the Badgers, Penn State had beaten Wisconsin as part of a 3-1 SU and ATS run and that victory over the Badgers was at home where the Lions have won 3 straight and they should make it 4 in a row Friday. The Terrapins are off a win versus Purdue by the slimmest of margins but are on a 2-6 ATS run and off the nail-biter win, will fall flat here. Maryland averaging just 62.6 points per game on the road this season while the Nittany Lions are averaging 81.1 points per game at home this season. The Terps are the better team defensively but the home/road dichotomy for PSU is a big one and they again come up big at home with a strong shooting performance off a loss. 10* PENN STATE

Early Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #506 Thursday 10* Top Play Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET - The Hawks are in a very tough spot here. Even though they are at home and it is the Jazz who are the travelers, Atlanta had to do battle with Dallas last night while Utah was resting. The Jazz have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA for awhile and have won 12 of their past 13 games. The Hawks have been a little short-handed of late and now playing a back to back certainly won't help matters. Atlanta entered last night's game against the Mavericks having lost each of their past two home games so playing at home certainly hasn't translated to an automatic W for the Hawks this season. In fact they already had a 3-game losing streak in home games earlier this season. 11 of the last 12 wins for the Jazz have come by a double digit margin. Look for this one to as well. 10* UTAH

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #736 Thursday 10* Top Play Temple Owls (+) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 7 ET - I am a Philly guy and was surprised the Owls didn't get it done on Sunday against Tulane. The game meant a little something extra after the passing of John Chaney whose name is synonymous with Temple basketball. The fact is that Sunday's disappointing result had a lot do with getting outrebounded and also the Green Wave shot much better. The Owls actually had just as many shot attempts as Tulane did in the game. Now Temple catches a break with facing a Cincinnati team that has not played in 3 and 1/2 weeks. Not only that, the Bearcats have lost 6 of their last 7 games. The Owls had won 3 of 4 before Sunday's loss and will respond big at home here. Cincinnati will struggle after the long layoff. Temple head coach Aaron McKie is also an Owls grad and the loss of Cheney means something extra to him for sure and I really look for a tremendous effort from the home team here and, unlike Sunday, they are catching the right team at the right time and they are a dog. I will take it. 10* TEMPLE

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #681 Wednesday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) @ Providence Friars @ 7 ET - When I see two teams with similar records and yet the game is around a pick'em, I will immediately be looking at the road team. In other words the odds makers are telling us who the better team is just by the fact that the road team is not a dog even though they are away from home and facing a team with a similar record. In this case, I was already looking at this game as the Pirates fell just short of the cover for me against Villanova on Saturday. That game saw Seton Hall hurt by one long scoreless drought that ended up being the difference in the game. The fact is the Pirates had 6 more shot attempts from the field in the game but the Wildcats shot a ridiculous 10 of 22 from three point land. Now Seton Hall is taking on a Providence team that has lost 5 of its last 7 and 1 of those 2 wins came in OT! In fact, the Friars are 5-6 in their last 11 games but 3 of the 5 wins came in extra time including one was a double OT game. Included in this stretch was an OT win at Seton Hall and the Pirates will now take advantage of their shot at revenge here. 10* SETON HALL

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #550 Tuesday 10* Top Play Indiana Pacers (-) vs Memphis Grizzlies @ 8:05 ET - The Pacers will certainly be ready to go here. They are off a bad loss to Philadelphia where they blew a big lead late courtesty of a horrible 4th quarter and bad play in the final minutes. Now Indiana will take advantage of hosting a Memphis team that, after nearly two weeks off, will be playing the 2nd game of a back to back plus it is their 3rd game in 4 nights plus they have division rival Houston on deck. Horrible spot for Grizzlies and the Pacers come in angry after blowing that game against the 76ers Sunday. 10* INDIANA

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #540 Monday 10* Top Play Oklahoma City Thunder (+) vs Houston Rockets @ 8:05 ET - The Rockets are on a roll with 5 straight wins but 2 of the wins came by a margin of 3 or less points and the most recent one, though by double digits, had a lot do with being an ideal situation. Houston is off a win at New Orleans where the caught the Pelicans off a huge upset win over the Bucks and completely out of gas in a back to back. That said, the value here is with the home dog. Oklahoma City might have been looking ahead to this game when they got throttled and allowed 147 points to Brooklyn  Friday. Either way, that kind of ugly loss certainly caught their attention after entering that game off back to back road wins that were outright upsets as underdogs. That said, I look for the revenge-minded Thunder to get right back on track here. I know each of these teams are different in terms of their rosters compared to August through early September when the Rockets ousted them from the playoffs. However, there is no doubt this game means a little extra something to Oklahoma City and, coming off that ugly loss, they respond large here and very likely even get the outright win for some true payback. For added insurance, I am grabbing the points here. 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #853 Monday 10* Top Play Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+) @ Louisville Cardinals @ 2 ET - The Yellow Jackets should have Bubba Parham back for this one as he is making the trip to Louisville after missing the last game to attend his cousin's funeral. I like the set up here as this is a classic case of two teams going the opposite direction and this is particularly true as it pertains to the betting window. The Cardinals are off a loss that dropped them to 1-3 SU and ATS in their last 4 games. They scored only 50 points in that game and it was against a Clemson team that just got waxed at Duke. For some more comparative reasoning though that is the same Tigers team that Georgia Tech just beat by 18 points. Also, the Yellow Jackets just beat Florida State by double digits while one of Louisville's 3 recent losses was against the same Seminoles team and they lost by double digits. The Jackets really stepped up without Parham in their most recent game to beat the Noles and now they get a boost with his return. I like those factors as well as the fact we're getting some points here against a team that has not covered any of the last 4 times they were favored in the -3 to -6 range. Cardinals fade continues as the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-0 ATS in their last 3 meetings with Louisville. 10* GEORGIA TECH

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #819 Sunday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Marquette Golden Eagles @ 3:30 ET - The last time the Red Storm lost a game it was at home against the Golden Eagles by a bucket. The last time Marquette won a game was that tight victory at St John's. The point is that now we get a chance at right back revenge and can ride a hot team and fade a cold team. That said, I like our chances here. In that first match-up the Red Storm actually had 13 more field goal attempts than Marquette but simply had an off shooting night. But this is a St John's team that is now surging with confidence courtesy of a 3-game winning streak and they have won 4 of their last 5 overall and are on a 5-0 ATS run. The Golden Eagles have lost back to back games and 6 of their last 9 SU. During this 9-game run, Marquette has covered just ONCE! Grab the value with the road dog in this one as they are primed for an upset so I will gladly take the points here. 10* ST JOHN'S

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #501 Saturday 10* Top Play Portland Trail Blazers (+) @ Chicago Bulls @ 8 ET - As long-time followers know I often like to go against the grain and I like the fact that this line is moving toward the Bulls in early market activity. I will fade the move and grab the extra value with the Trail Blazers. Portland was up by 20 in the first quarter of their eventual 3-point loss at the Rockets and they know they let one slip away there. Look for the Blazers to be extremely focused on getting back into the win column here. Portland is on a 5-2 ATS run in road games and had won 4 of 6 SU away from home prior to the tight loss at Houston. As for Chicago, they are just 2-5 SU in home games this season and plus the Trail Blazers have revenge from a home loss to the Bulls early this month. Payback time is here. 10* PORTLAND

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #648 Saturday 10* Top Play Seton Hall Pirates (+) vs Villanova Wildcats @ 3:30 ET - Seton Hall is loaded with seniors and juniors and that is the key to why they will bounce back here. The Pirates just lost an unbelievable game at home against Creighton Wednesday. Seton Hall had a huge lead rather late in the 2nd half and then witnessed a miraculous comeback as the Bluejays just had one of those shooting stretches where they could not miss. A younger team would be in trouble in their next game but Seton Hall is loaded with upperclassmen who know how to respond in a situation like this. The Pirates are at home which helps here and they also have plenty of confidence against the Wildcats. Though only 2-3 SU in the last 5 games against Villanova, Seton Hall has a knack for playing the Cats tough as the 3 losses each came by just 2 points apiece. The Wildcats are off a dominating win versus Providence but that was driven by a 19-9 turnover edge. They won't have that edge against the Pirates and, in fact, the turnovers are about equal in the last 4 meetings between these two teams. I expect Seton Hall to be very focused and motivated at home here after the way they lost to Creighton Wednesday and with the fact this is also a revenge game as the Pirates lost a tight one less than 2 weeks ago at Villanova. Payback time. Grab the generous points. 10* SETON HALL

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #572 Friday 8* New Orleans Pelicans (+) vs Milwaukee Bucks @ 7:35 ET - Too many points here. Of course the Bucks are the better team but they are on the road where they were only 2-5 ATS in road games this season prior to their win at Toronto on Wednesday. As for the Pelicans, they are only 3-3 SU in home games this season but all 3 losses came by a single digit margin and two of the defeats were by a margin of 2 points and 1 point, respectively. The point is that New Orleans generally does not get blown at home and Milwaukee generally does not blow teams out on the road. Also, this is part of a 3 games in 4 nights stretch for the Bucks as they are at Charlotte tomorrow. The Pelicans build off Wednesday's big win and will be difficult for Milwaukee to put away here. 8* NEW ORLEANS

Daytime Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #897 Friday 8* North Texas Mean Green @ Rice Owls @ 3 ET - The Owls have 6 players averaging 19 or more minutes per game this season and 3 of them are on the injury report for this game. Evee (covid), Havsa (ankle), and Mullins (toe). That said, this is not an ideal set up for a Rice team that has lost 3 straight games and hosts a North Texas team seeking revenge for a loss in their last visit here. Also, the Mean Green have won 6 of their last 8 games and I have been particularly impressed with their defensive play as they have allowed just 62.8 points per game this season. North Texas has allowed just 49 points per game in their last two games. I know they have had a layoff here between games but that has become the new norm in 2021 and they are rested and ready to go here. Lay it. 8* NORTH TEXAS

Big Ten Blowout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #720 Thursday 10* Top Play Rutgers Scarlet Knights (-) vs Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - The Spartans are 10-0 SU against the Scarlet Knights and yet are the underdog in this match-up! Big mistake by the odds makers, right? Of course not! Long time followers know how I feel about "mistakes" by odds makers and the fact is Rutgers is in the better situation right now and at home and they are catching a Michigan State team that hasn't played in nearly 3 weeks due to covid issues. The Scarlet Knights lost by 23 at Michigan State earlier this month but actually took 10 more shots from the field in that game but simply had one of those games where the hoop seems so small and they could not get shots to drop. Also, Rutgers made a ridiculous 6 of 17 from the free throw line. Yes they are not a good free throw shooting team but they are not normally that bad of course. They are hitting 60.4% from the charity stripe at home games this season. The Scarlet Knights have also faced the tougher schedule than the Spartans this season and enter this game bolstered by a road win at Indiana. 10* RUTGERS

Game of the Month - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #540 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:35 ET - The Lakers are in the middle of a 7-game road trip and when you look at this trip a couple of games caught LA's attention. One was at Milwaukee as they are considered the best team in the east and another was at Cleveland because of the LeBron connection there. That said, off a win over the Cavaliers and still undefeated in road games this season, Los Angeles opened up as a very small road favorite here with good reason. That reasoning is that this is actually a tough spot for them. The 76ers want this game and a very tough at home. They went 31-4 at home last season and are 9-1 at home this season. Joel Embiid will be back after missing the last game which was as much rest as it was anything else. The Sixers have actually won 3 of their last 4 with LA both SU and ATS plus the home team won each meeting last season by a double digit margin. I like the home edge and the situational edge and the markets of course will be backing the small road favorite here that is 10-0 SU in road games this season. That is why this line is moving higher and I'll gladly grab the additional value with the home dog that will prove to be the more motivated team here. Remember Sixers coach Doc Rivers was the Clippers coach and has extra motivation facing the Lakers as they battled hard again for LA supremacy last season before the Lakers of course ultimately prevailed and went on to win it all while Rivers and the Clippers parted ways. Big motivation here. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Big East Beast - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #669 Wednesday 10* Top Play Creighton Bluejays (-) @ Seton Hall Pirates @ 7 ET - Revenge is often overplayed and I believe that will prove to be the case again here. Many will back Seton Hall seeking revenge for getting blasted at Creighton 3 weeks ago. However, there are multiple problems with that. The Bluejays have now won 3 straight over the Pirates and part of the reason is that it is a match-up issue. Creighton is a 3-point shooting team and Seton Hall tends to struggle to defend the arc. The other issue for the Pirates here is that this will be just their 2nd game played in 18 days as they have been dealing with multiple cancellations. As for the Bluejays, their schedule has been flowing just fine and that means the shots - just like the first meeting - will also be flowing just fine as well. 10* CREIGHTON

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #527 Tuesday 10* Top Play New York Knicks (+) @ Utah Jazz @ 9:05 ET - There are two ways to look at this game but I am choosing the latter. The first way to look at this match-up is that the Jazz are on an 8-0 SU and ATS run. Not only that, the 8-game run dates back to a loss against, you guessed it, the Knicks! So this is a revenge game for a red hot Utah team. However, here is how I look at this one. The Jazz are laying too many points here. They are off a string of big Western Conference wins and now face a non-conference opponent plus have back to back big games on deck against the Mavericks. I like the fact that the Knicks are on a 4-1 ATS run. Also, not only are 3 SU wins included in that run, note that the Knicks last 4 SU losses have all been by a single digit margin. The average margin of defeat for NY during this run was just 5.5 points. The Knicks have gone 7 straight games without a single loss by more than 9 points. I am grabbing the big underdog here. 10* NEW YORK KNICKS

Professional Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #503 Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Detroit Pistons @ 7:05 ET - The Pistons are still without Derrick Rose for this one. Blake Griffin is expected back tonight but he has not been as effective as in years past. As for the 76ers I am aware of the Joel Embiid situation but he might play with tomorrow being an off day for Philly too. Plus Dwight Howard has really raised his level of play at times when Embiid is out. The Pistons did get the cover on Saturday but Detroit outscored Philly by 18 points from 3-point land in that one. Had they simply been dead even from beyond the arc, the Sixers win that game by 22 points. Also, lets look at this match-up from another vantage point as well. Philadelphia is currently at the very top of the Eastern Conference standings while Detroit - you guessed it - is at the very bottom of those same standings. Yes the Pistons have a home court "edge" here but have lost 7 of 9 games on their home floor this season! The 76ers, were it not for the 3-point shooting disparity, would have won Saturday's game by 22 which is not a huge surprise as their other road wins this season have come by an average of 22 points per game too! When these teams met over the weekend, the Sixers were of back to back huge wins against the Celtics so it was the perfect spot to fade them and, indeed, the Pistons delivered the ATS cover. Now, things are back to normal and we can lay a rather small number here and have the best team in the east against the worst team in the east so far this season. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #850 Monday 10* Top Play Portland Pilots (+) vs Loyola Marymount Lions @ 5 ET - The Pilots perfectly fit the classic ugly home dog theory. Yes Portland enters this game on a long losing streak but the Pilots are 5-4 SU at home this season and they have revenge from a home loss in the most recent meeting between these West Coast rivals. Inexplicably, the Pilots lost that game to the Lions despite having 20 more shot attempts from the field. It was a terrible shooting nigh for Portland from everywhere on the floor and they lost the game despite only having 9 turnovers while Loyola Marymount actually had 22 turnovers in that game! Coming into this game the Lions are on an overall 0-4 ATS run plus this is a team that has gone 0-4 SU on the road this season. Of course Loyola Marymount is the better team and that is why they are favored big on the road but I feel the points will prove to be far too many and that the Pilots will be tough to put away in this one. I know the Lions rate as the better team defensively but also note that Portland is averaging 76 points per game at home this season while Loyola Marymount is averaging just 61 points in road games. The Lions may defeat the Pilots here but I expect the game to be decided by a very slim margin. 10* PORTLAND

Playoff Game of the Year – Scott “The Bulldog” Rickenbach NFL Rotation #314 Sunday 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Buffalo Bills @ 6:40 ET – We are getting some line value here because of the Mahomes situation but honestly I expect the Chiefs to comfortably win this game even if Henne had to play the entire contest. But look for Mahomes to be back and just fine. As for the Bills, I do respect them but they have been living a charmed life. Teams that gained over 450 yards in a game and did not turn the ball over had been 11-0 all-time until the Colts did that to Buffalo in the Wild Card round and yet lost the game. Then Buffalo followed up that questionable win with another win. The Bills beat the Ravens thanks in large part to a 101 yard interception return for a TD that totally changed the game around. For the game, Buffalo was outgained 340 to 220 by Baltimore and yet still won. Again, charmed life so far for the Bills but now they face the defending Super Bowl champs off a non-covering win versus the Browns. That failed cover, despite a big half-time lead, has led to solid line value this week and the Chiefs at home are the play in this one. In their last 3 home games that matter (game versus Chargers was meaningless), KC allowed 17 points or less in each game. This is a Chiefs offense that averaged 33 points per game in their final 7 road games of the season. That is the sign of a powerhouse when you can score like that away from home and now the Chiefs are at home and off a frustrating offensive performance which is absolutely going to bring out the best in them today. I have not been as impressed with the Bills offense of late and that is why I see KC pulling away as this one goes on and I expect a win by a double digit margin and, at the very least, a TD margin for the home team. 10* KANSAS CITY

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #573 Sunday 10* Top Play Oklahoma City Thunder (+) @ Los Angeles Clippers @ 4:05 ET - The Clippers beat the Thunder by 14 points on Friday. They outscored them by 14 points at the free throw line. Also, Los Angeles dominated Oklahoma City on the boards. The Thunder will respond after losing badly in those two key stat departments on Friday. Neither one of those stats was expected when you look at the full season statistics for these two teams. No I do not expect OKC to win this game outright but I do expect the points to prove to be too many for LAC to cover in the rematch. The Clippers 5 most recent home games preceding the blowout win included 1 outright losses and 2 wins by a margin of 5 or less points. Look for this one to fall into that latter category or very close to that in terms of the final margin here. 10* OKLAHOMA CITY

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #558 Saturday 8* Detroit Pistons (+) vs Philadelphia 76ers @ 8:05 ET - You likely have heard the expression when talking about the NFL "on any given Sunday". Well this may be a Saturday rather than a Sunday and it may be the NBA rather than the NFL but that expression is likely to hold true here. I would not be surprised at all to see the downtrodden Pistons upset the 76ers here because situations simply do not get much better than this. Last season Philadelphia was eliminated from the playoffs by their long-time rivals, the Celtics. Now, the last 3 days the Sixers have faced Boston twice and they rallied yesterday to make it a clean 2-0 sweep. Now Philly is in a back-to-back plus playing their 3rd game in 4 nights and one can argue that the Pistons are in the exact same situation here from a scheduling standpoint and that is somewhat true but not entirely. The Pistons were already in Detroit last night at home here hosting the Rockets. Also, Detroit is on a losing streak while Philly enters off back to back key wins. The hungry home dog may not get the upset here but they should at least get the cash and keep this game much closer than one would normally expect in this match-up. Note that the Sixers have lost 3 straight road games and 4 of their last 5 on enemy hardwood. 8* DETROIT

Early Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #535 Friday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:35 ET - Grabbing a good team off a loss is always worth a look. When that team is getting points it is even better. When that team is also playing with revenge against a divisional foe that is better still. Finally, it gets even stronger when the teams just met. The Celtics loss at Philly Wednesday is certainly fresh in their minds as they blew a 6-point lead they had entering the 4th quarter. Here is a stat too that is unlikely to be repeated tonight: the 76ers had 45 free throw attempts compared to just 20 for the Celtics. You think a shot an extra 25 points might have helped Philly in their eventual 8 point win? Of course it did and, even though Boston is still without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are perfect ATS this season when off back to back ATS losses and also perfect SU when they enter a game off a SU loss. Payback time here and, keep in mind, the Celtics had won 5 straight games against Philadelphia before that loss Wednesday. 10* BOSTON

Goal Line Dominator - EPL 10* Top Play Liverpool -1.75 goals vs Burnley @ 3 ET Thursday - Look for Liverpool to win this one by at least 2 goals. In recent seasons they have been the best home team in the premier league. Also, they are coming off a scoreless draw in their most recent match and will be hungry to respond here as goal-scoring has been a problem of late for Liverpool. The good news for Liverpool here is they are facing a Burnley squad that always has trouble scoring goals and has just 4 in their 9 games on enemy pitch this season. Compare that with a Liverpool club that has scored 21 times in their 9 games on their home pitch on the campaign. I fully expect something along the lines of a 3-0 or 4-1 type win for the hosts in this one as Burnley can be strong on defense at times that is for certain but Liverpool is going to be very aggressive on the attack in this one knowing that Burnley is unlikely to burn them on the other end of the pitch. The host is very much in need of a big win and they get it here. 10* LIVERPOOL

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #502 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Boston Celtics @ 7:05 ET - This is a rivalry that goes back a long way as you know. But last season put an exclamation point on how one-sided things can be at times. Boston swept the Sixers out of the playoffs and that led to the firing of coach Brett Brown. Now Doc Rivers is the new man in charge and his players want revenge here. Yes the Sixers just struggled at Memphis but Joel Embiid did not play. He is back and is listed as probable for this game. Also, it is a home game for Philly and they are known for dominating at the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, the Celtics are still without Jayson Tatum and he is not even making the trip to Philly due to health protocols. That is a major loss for the Celtics as he was on fire this season. Speaking of major losses, Boston just got blasted at home by 30 points by Orlando. Of course that makes this a bounce back spot for the Celtics but, keep in mind, their ATS losses have come in pairs this season and I look for the loss to the Magic to be the first of two as the hungry 76ers get their playoff revenge in a big way here. Embiid on the floor for Philly and Tatum not on the floor for the Celtics is absolutely a big deal! Home team by double digits in this one. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Double Perfect Play - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #571 Tuesday 10* Top Play New Orleans Pelicans (+) @ Utah Jazz @ 9:05 ET - I have had great success with each of these teams as I am 3-0 my last 3 involving the Pelicans and 5-0 my last 5 sides involving the Jazz. Putting both of those streaks to the test here because I really like the value with the points being offered in this one. The last 4 meetings between these clubs have all been decided by a single digit margin. That includes 2 of the last 3 decided by just 2 points with the outlier decided by 6 points. All 3 of those results would get us a win in this one tonight. That said, the Pelicans come into this game off a confidence boosting win and 4 of their last 5 losses were by a single digit margin with 3 of the 4 decided by a margin of 5 or less. The Jazz have been hot and that is what has driven this line higher but their 5-game winning streak started with a win over the Bucks. Since then the last 4 teams they have faced all currently have losing records and a combined record of 21-31. I know the Pelicans also have a losing record so far this season but, without a doubt, they have underachieved. That is what is leading to value in this spot and I look for the revenge-minded Pelicans to get revenge for the July 30th loss to the Jazz. If they do fall short look for them to stay inside the number as they improve to 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #308 Sunday 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 6:40 ET - there can be two theories as to why this line is dropping to a 2.5 on gameday morning, one would be that the Buccaneers are attracting some attention and primed for an upset, however the other theory is the one I am going with which I believe will prove true in this case, I believe the sharps are setting this one up by knocking it down a little to get that 2.5 everywhere and then they will pound it and we'll see this game at a -3 again before too long and certainly at kickoff, I could be wrong of course but we'll see and either way I like New Orleans a ton here, the Saints have owned the Buccaneers in recent meetings and also all the pressure is on Tom Brady and Tampa Bay here, that is because so much is expected of them and Brady wants to atone for a horrific performance the last time the Bucs were in TB, all that pressure is not going to help the Buccaneers and this is a team that went 1-4 in games against teams with a winning record this season, keep in mind TB lost to NO twice plus lost to KC and the Rams and another loss to a playoff team was to the Bears, though the Saints were not overly impressive last week the Bucs were arguably much worse, Tampa Bay should have annihilated Washington last week but struggled to put them away and I am just not sold on this TB team as they were facing a Washington team that had a ton of issues and question marks for that game, also the Saints defense has allowed 16 points or less in 7 of last 10 games while the Bucs have allowed 23 points or more in 8 of last 10 game, I will gladly lay the short home price here, 10* NEW ORLEANS

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Sunday 8* Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Cleveland Browns @ 3:05 ET - the Browns just blew out a division rival nemesis when they crushed the Steelers last week, that was a turnover fueled win for Cleveland, one has to give them credit for that win for sure but they face a much tougher test here, Kansas City is coached by Andy Reid and they are coming off a bye week, in his career Reid's teams have thrived off bye week as they have gone 20-9 ATS and have won 24 of the 29 games SU, undoubtedly the Chiefs will be ready to go and they are the healthier too, the Browns have issues impacting their secondary and their offensive line, those are two areas you particularly don't want to be struggling in when facing these defending Super Bowl champs, the Browns are allowing 30.4 points per game on the road this season while the Chiefs have allowed 20 points or less in 5 of their last 7 meaningful home games, in other words the season finale that didn't matter does not count in those numbers, in fact that also means that KC has effectively been off for a full two weeks in terms of bye weeks and they will really be ready here both physically and mentally, in the Browns last 5 games against playoff teams they have allowed 35.8 points per game, look for a home blowout here, 8* KANSAS CITY

Goal Line Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach EPL Sunday 10* Top Play Manchester City Goal Line -2 goals -105 vs Crystal Palace @ 2:15 ET - Manchester City are one of the hottest clubs in the Premier League right now and are on their home pitch here and are a -500 money line favorite with good reason. I am going to lay the goal line here to take advantage of a great situation and a spot in which I am expecting a blowout win for the home side. Manchester City has lost and had a draw in their two most recent home meetings with Crystal Palace. That will insure the proper focus here and Manchester City has scored 15 goals in their last 6 matches across all competitions. Crystal Palace can be stingy on defense but Manchester City is simply too hot on the attack right now and they are seeking a big payback win here. Also, Crystal Palace's problem is they have been struggling to score goals. They have scored a total of only 5 goals in their last 8 matches across all competitions. Also, in their last 3 losses Crystal Palace has allowed an average of 3.7 goals per match. With this one expected to be a defeat you can also plainly see why I am expecting it to also be by a blowout margin. 10* MANCHESTER CITY goal line -2 goals

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #303 Saturday 10* Top Play Baltimore Ravens (+) @ Buffalo Bills @ 8:15 ET - The Colts last weekend were the first team ever to have over 450 yards of offense in a game with zero turnovers and still lose the game. Teams with those stats had been 11-0. In other words, the Bills got lucky...very lucky! Now their luck runs out this week. While I absolutely respect Buffalo QB Josh Allen and all this offense has done, there is simply no comparison between these defenses. The Ravens have the much better defense. Also, in terms of the Baltimore offense, a running QB like Lamar Jackson gives a defense like the Bills have absolute nightmares. The Bills have allowed 21 points or more in 6 of their last 8 home games. The Ravens have allowed 19 points or less in 6 of their last 7 games. In fact, Baltimore allowed an average of 13 points in those 6 games. Buffalo allowed an average of 27 points per game in those aforementioned 6 home games. I know the full season numbers make the defenses look comparable but I feel strongly they are not. Also, the Ravens had to battle with the Steelers and the Browns in their division while the Bills took advantage of a weaker division. Of course the Jets were garbage, the Patriots ended with a losing record, and the Dolphins (despite a winning record) were pretenders whose full season stats told the full story. Off the fortunate win last week, Buffalo's luck runs out this week and the Ravens advance to the AFC Championship Game. 10* BALTIMORE

Afternoon Annihilation - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #301 Saturday 8* Los Angeles Rams (+) @ Green Bay Packers @ 4:35 ET - Jared Goff has had a little more time to heal his thumb. The Rams also have their run game going strong. Additionally, you are talking about what might be the best defense in the league. They just held a strong Seahawks team to 11 first downs and Seattle QB Russell Wilson to 11 of 27 with his passing. The Packers offense certainly presents a tougher challenge but the Rams defense will be up to the task. At the same time, the Green Bay defense is susceptible to strong ground games and I like what Los Angeles has been doing on that side of the ball in recent games. The Packers are just 3-3 ATS in their last 6 home games. The Rams, including playoffs, are 11-6 SU this season and only 3 of those 17 games was a loss by more than a 3 point margin for LA. In other words, great value with the big points here in my opinion. 8* LOS ANGELES RAMS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #716 Thursday 10* Top Play Pacific Tigers @ 5 ET - I fully understand the line move here. Pacific hasn't played in a very long time and has only played one game in about 6 weeks. So I get it. But this is a Tigers team that went 11-5 in conference action last season and Santa Clara went just 6-10 in conference games last season. Not only that, the Broncos have only played 1 conference game this season. The point is that Pacific isn't that far behind everyone else in terms of conference games played and they are raring to go for their conference opener and they are at home and it is a day game. This is a very competitive team with a lot of heart and passion for the game. Having them at a home dog in this spot is something I won't pass up on. The Broncos are a decent program but I still expect more from Pacific than Santa Clara by the time this season goes into the books. As for this match-up in particular, even if the Tigers start a little slow they will eventually get back into a good rhythm within this game and on their home floor. The Tigers catch the Broncos off an upset win at St Mary's and that make this a great spot to fade them. Santa Clara was off back to back losses by double digit margins prior to that win over the Gaels. 10* PACIFIC

PA Insider - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #534 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) vs Miami Heat @ 7:05 ET - The Heat simply missing too many guys due to health protocols in this covid-impacted world we currently live in. Additionally, the Sixers are off a road loss last night in which they got blasted. They will now bounce back at home where they went 31-4 last season plus are 5-1 this season. While the 76ers have only 1 home loss this season, Miami has only 1 road win this season and plus Philadelphia has revenge from getting blasted by 31 points the last time they faced the Heat. This is actually a triple revenge spot as Philly has lost 3 straight against Miami and the set-up and the situation is perfect with the Heat outmanned in this game to a large extent. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Bowl Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #499 Monday 10* Top Play Ohio State Buckeyes (+) vs Alabama Crimson Tide @ 8 ET - Of course it is not easy to argue against a team that is 11-0 on the season but that argument is made a little easier when you're playing on a team that is 7-0 this season plus catching nearly double digits in points in the match-up. The fact is that Ohio State is a high quality program and there were a few times this season that Alabama's defense certainly was made to look susceptible. That said, with a potent ground attack and the dynamic Justin Fields at QB, I am looking for the Buckeyes to be in this game all the way. The Crimson Tide caught a break with facing an over-rated Notre Dame last week while Ohio State was very impressive facing a Clemson team that only struggled this season when Trevor Lawrence was not available at QB. That said, the Buckeyes huge win last week over the Tigers should do more than raise a few eyebrows. What it does is validate that Ohio State is not only strong enough to trade scores with Alabama, they just might be strong enough to get the upset win too. That said, there is no way I am passing up on taking more than TD in points here. The Buckeyes allowed 22 points per game this season. The Crimson Tide have also put some impressive numbers together this season (of course) but did allow an average of 35.5 points per game in their games against Texas A & M, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Florida. This should be a great game and I expect it to be decided by just a single score either way. Yes an upset would not surprise me in the least. That said, give me the big points. 10* OHIO STATE

Perfection Play - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #866 Monday 10* Top Play DePaul Blue Demons (+) vs Connecticut Huskies @ 6 ET - The set up here is a perfect one. The Huskies blasted the Blue Demons by 21 points when these teams met earlier this season but that was at Connecticut and DePaul simply had an off shooting game. Now the Blue Demons are at home plus star Huskies guard James Bouknight might miss this game. He scored 20 in the first meeting but is dealing with an elbow injury now. With UConn not scheduled to play again until a week from tonight it would make the most sense for the Huskies to keep him out of tonight's game and try to get better recovery for him before putting Bouknight back in game action. That said, the play here is the hungry home underdog that is entering this game off a home loss. The Blue Demons are playing just their 3rd home game of the season and do shoot better at home plus have more confidence on their home floor. It all adds up to substantial line value here with DePaul now catching nearly a half dozen points in this one. You have a 1-loss team facing a 1-win team here and this is going to get the attention of the betting markets and I love fading the masses here given the above situational value aspects we have in play for this one. The Huskies are off back to back road wins and I foresee a let up here while the hungry Blue Demons respond off of 3 straight losses including a home defeat and, in the process, get some revenge too. If the host does fall short I expect it to be by the slimmest of margins. Grab the points. 10* DEPAUL

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #152 Sunday 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (-) vs Cleveland Browns @ 8:15 ET - Following the money is not something I often do but there are exceptions. In this case, Pittsburgh is getting a lot of attention from the betting markets but rightfully so. Not only are the Steelers the much better defense, the Browns are dealing with a number of key issues. Cleveland has injury issues and has had covid issues which has impacted their preparation for this game plus forced guys out and has even forced their head coach out. That means the Browns interim head coach on the sideline will be their special teams coordinator. That makes for a very tall mountain to climb when you consider the Steelers wealth of playoff experience at head coach and as a team. Keep in mind, Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh are playoff warriors while Browns QB Baker Mayfield will be making his first ever playoff start. Cleveland's pass defense is allowing 288 yards per game when on the road this season. Pittsburgh's pass defense is allowing just 104 yards per game this season. The Browns will turn to their ground game to try and take some pressure off Mayfield here but the Steelers allowed just 93 rushing yards per game when at home. Cleveland went 1-5 ATS this season when on the road and facing teams not in the NFC East...in other words, teams with a pulse! Pittsburgh went 5-2 ATS in their final 7 home games this season. The Steelers have a long history of dominating the Browns when they face them at Heinz Field and that continues here. 10* PITTSBURGH

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #508 Sunday 10* Top Play New York Knicks (+) vs Denver Nuggets @ 6:05 ET - The Nuggets are in a back to back spot and off a big win at Philly yesterday and have a challenging match-up at Brooklyn on deck. That said this is absolutely a flat spot for them. After all, they blasted the Knicks by a 37 point margin the last time they faced them in New York. However, that was then and this is now and this is a different New York team and the Knicks are off a home loss Friday that ended a stretch of 3 straight wins SU and ATS and an overall 5-1 SU/ATS stretch. That said, I fully expect a big bounce back effort from the rested Knicks here at home and they'll take advantage of catching the Nuggets in a back to back. Also, Denver was just 3-5 SU this season entering yesterday's match-up with the 76ers and the Nuggets also have played a weaker schedule than the Knicks have. All signs here are point to great line value with the home underdog and I will take it. 10* NEW YORK KNICKS

Wild Card Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #147 Sunday 10* Top Play Baltimore Ravens (+) Tennessee Titans @ 1:05 ET - Revenge can be overplayed for sure but when the situation is "just right" it certainly can be a major factor. This is one of those cases. Not only did the Ravens lose to the Titans in the post-season last year, they also lost again in the regular season this year. Also, though they lost to Tennessee in the playoffs a year ago, Baltimore actually significantly outgained the Titans in that game but turnovers were the difference. Now you can't (or shouldn't) just blindly play games because of a revenge angle. But in this case, other factors line up which lead to the value. The Ravens have the much better defense in this match-up as they allow only 18.9 points per game. Also, Baltimore went 6-2 on the road this season. Tennessee has allowed 33.3 points per game their last 3 home games and also lost 3 of their last 5 home games this season. The Titans truly don't show a big home field edge and also struggled against stronger teams including losses to the Steelers, Browns, Packers and Colts. The road team is 3-0 SU and ATS in the last 3 meetings between these teams and that trend continues here. The Titans defense, in my opinion, simply can not be trusted here. The Ravens allowed 19 points or less in 5 of their last 6 games. Tennessee allowed 38 points or more in 3 of their last 5 games. 10* BALTIMORE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #145 Saturday 10* Top Play Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-) @ Washington @ 8:15 ET - While it may seem tough to lay more than a TD on the road in a playoff game you'll feel better about it after you read a few things here. First off, the Buccaneers went 6-2 on the road this season plus they have a great run defense and a fantastic passing attack. Secondly, they are taking on a Washington team that went 4-2 against their own division which is the NFC East which could easily be re-named the NFC Least based on how things went this season. The team that almost beat them for the division was the New York Giants and Washington lost both games with them. In other words, this is not a very good football team and one of their other wins was against a Bengals team that went 4-11-1 this season. Additionally, another win was against the 49ers but Washington was outgained by over 150 yards in that game and fortunate to win. Unlike Washington, Tampa Bay has plenty of quality wins on their resume this season and plus the Bucs only played one game (Giants) against an NFC East foe. That said, the Buccaneers absolutely played the tougher schedule of these teams. Also, although Alex Smith is back at QB for Washington he is not 100 percent. As for TB's Mike Evans he is listed as questionable but has progressed very well this week and has no ligament damage so the top wide receiver should be very ready to go here for this one. Washington went just 2-5 SU in their final 7 home games this season and one of those wins was against the 4-11-1 Bengals! The home edge for Washington is simply not there and Tampa Bay traveled very well this season. Also, the Buccaneers average margin of victory was 17.4 points per game in their 11 wins this season. Washington scored an average of 15 points per game in their 5 home losses this season and the Bucs averaged 31 points per game this season. You can see why I am expecting TB to win this game by at least a two TD margin here. Lay it! 10* TAMPA BAY

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #569 Saturday 10* Top Play Phoenix Suns (+) @ Indiana Pacers @ 7:05 ET - As a general rule I love taking a look at winning teams as underdogs. Of course that is because you have a team that wins more than the lose SU and they are also getting points to work with as well. So this game already caught my eye and I am well aware of the fact the Suns are off an OT game last night. However, a few keys from that game: the Suns lost, the Suns blew a 23 point lead, and no one played ridiculously high minutes for Phoenix. In other words, the Suns will be ready to go tonight and they are fired up and they are hungry for a victory after letting that game slip away last night. Note that Phoenix is 2-0 this season when playing the 2nd game of a back to back and also 2-0 this season when off a loss. Indiana is a quality team too of course but will they be complacent here off back to back wins? Also, the Pacers are 4-2 SU their last 6 games but two of those wins came by a victory margin of 2 or less points. That said, if you had played Indiana at -3 or more in each of their last 6 games you went just 2-4 ATS. I know the Pacers have a scheduling edge but I love the hunger factor for a Suns team whose starters didn't play all that well last night. The bench actually was better and now I look for the starters to come out hungry tonight and the bench to continue their strong play. Grab the points! 10* PHOENIX

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #141 Saturday 8* Indianapolis Colts (+) @ Buffalo Bills @ 1:05 ET - The Colts are very well coached and catching nearly a touchdown in this one. I know the Bills finished the season hot but Indianapolis is solid defensively. Also, the Bills faced some weak competition during their 6-game winning streak to close out the season. Don't get me wrong, Buffalo is certainly a very solid team, I am just saying that we have solid line value here with a very live dog in my opinion. The Colts went 5-2 SU/ATS in their final 7 road games of the season. Indianapolis also closed the season quite strong especially when you consider they dealt with some injury and covid-related issues over the final 5 weeks of the season. That is helping to give us some line value here in this one as is the fact the Colts blew a huge lead and lost to the Steelers a few weeks ago while Buffalo is off a big blowout win over Miami in the season finale. It all adds up to getting some additional line value with a road dog that travels well and plays solid defense plus has a future hall of famer, Rivers, at QB. Again, I like the coaching factor here too as I am impressed with Frank Reich and feel he could be an X-factor in this one too. The offensive mind of his trying to outsmart Bills head coach Sean McDermott who is a former defensive coordinator. Let the games begin, literally, and the dog takes the NFL Wild Card weekend opener - or at least takes the money in this one! 8* INDIANAPOLIS

Big Ten Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #859 Friday 10* Top Play Purdue Boilermakers (+) @ Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - Both these teams have been struggling ATS and I have no hesitation in fading a ranked Michigan State team in this one. The Spartans are ranked and at home and yet opened up as a rather small favorite here. Sure enough the early market move here is on Michigan State and yet, prior to back to back wins, the Spartans had lost 3 straight games SU. Also, prior to a rare cover in their most recent game, Michigan State had failed to cover 7 straight games! As noted above, Purdue has also had ATS problems this season but I like the fact the Boilermakers are off back to back SU losses for the first time this season. They are in the perfect bounce back spot here considering the situation and they have won each of their last two meetings with Michigan State. The Boilermakers also have played the tougher schedule so far this season and I feel the betting markets aren't properly factoring that in as they pound the Spartans here. We have excellent line value here with Michigan State off a huge blowout win where everything went right while Purdue is off back to back losses. By the way, the Spartans have a huge game on deck with red hot Iowa so this is a good spot for the Boilermakers from a situational advantage too. 10* PURDUE

Blowout Rout - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #536 Thursday 10* Top Play Memphis Grizzlies (-) vs Cleveland Cavaliers @ 8:05 ET - Even though the Grizzlies are still without Ja Morant, they are certainly in much better shape than the Cavaliers right now. Yes, Memphis is off back to back losses but they faced the Lakers and lost the 2nd of the 2 games by just a bucket. Prior to those 2 losses the Grizzlies had won 2 of 3 and that included a 15-point blowout win over Charlotte. As for Cleveland, they have lost 4 of their last 5 games and all 4 of the losses have come by a margin of at least 9 points. In fact, the average margin of the 4 defeats was 15 points and I would not be surprised to see another big loss here as the Grizzlies are anxious to bounce back after back to back losses. Memphis has not lost 3 straight games yet this season. The set up here is perfect as the Grizzlies are 0-4 at home this season and desperate for a big home win and the wounded Cavaliers come in here as the perfect punching bag for the home team to take out their frustrations. 10* MEMPHIS

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #730 Thursday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 7 ET - The Terrapins are off back to back losses and have not lost 3 straight games all season. Maryland had a great first half at Indiana on Monday but then fell apart in the 2nd half of the game. Fired up about the horrific 2nd half on the road against the Hoosiers, the Terps respond in a big way at home on Thursday. I know Iowa ranks as one of the top teams in the nation but they are on the road and off a hard-fought 2-point win in their most recent game. Also, the Hawkeyes have one Big Ten loss this season and it came at Minnesota. Up next for Iowa is a home game against, you guessed it, the Golden Gophers. That said, I really like the situational value here with the home dog Terrapins in this one. This is particularly true as the line on the Hawkeyes has been climbing this morning and Iowa is now favored by as many as a half dozen points in this one. We're getting some line value here because of the way Maryland's most recent game finished so poorly for them in the 2nd half. That said, we won't see that happen again here as now the Terrapins are at home and also lost their most recent home game against a red hot Michigan team. The situation is perfect for a home dog bounce back here and I would not be surprised to see an outright upset here but will grab the points just in case the Terrapins fall just short. 10* MARYLAND

ESPN Smash Pass - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #517 Wednesday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (+) @ Miami Heat @ 7:35 ET - This is a revenge game from the post-season as the Heat took the series 4 games to 2 back in September. Revenge is never an automatic but I like this spot quite a lot because I have tremendous respect for Brad Stevens as a coach and I know he'll have his guys ready for this one. Yes I know Marcus Smart missed Boston's most recent game but that was precautionary more than anything else. It was a back to back spot and it was facing a struggling Raptors team and Smart has been dealing with a thumb injury so they let him rest it. I know he listed as questionable for tonight as of early game day morning but I am quite positive he'll be playing tonight and I know Boston very hungry for payback here. Also, the Heat have been quite unimpressive early this season. Miami is off a win and is 3-3 this season and has yet to win back to back games. I look for that trend to continue here as the Heat again follow a win with a loss but I am grabbing the points as added insurance in case the Celtics fall short by the slimmest of margins in this one. In looking at the hustle stats for this one, Boston has been the better rebounding team, they have been getting many more blocks and also turning over the ball less in comparison with the Heat. We're getting line value here with the Celtics courtesy of the injury situation. Lets take advantage and fade Miami in this one! 10* BOSTON

Game of the Week - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #502 Tuesday 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) vs Utah Jazz @ 7:35 ET - Brooklyn will be without Kevin Durant (covid protocol) but the markets have over-reacted in my opinion. Now the Nets are as much as a 5 point home dog in this game and, keep in mind, others are going to step up big with KD being out. Especially in the first game without a superstar, you often see the rest of the team give a massive effort. So this may not last for the full 7 days he is out but I certainly expect it to be the case in this first game. That said, I feel the Jazz are being vastly over-valued here. We are getting line value here because they just blasted the Spurs by a 21 point margin courtesy of red hot outside shooting. I don't expect a repeat of that here as I expect some solid defense from an inspired Brooklyn team that is off back to back losses. 3 of the Nets 4 losses this season have come by a margin of 5 or less points and I am well aware of their 5-game ATS skid. Keep in mind that skid came with Durant on the floor. All I am saying is just watch how everyone steps and gives a huge effort tonight with KD absent. I am expecting an outright upset but will bet this one at plus the points for the added insurance. Look for a valiant effort from the hungry home dog in this one as they get some payback against a Jazz team that has held the upper hand in recent meetings between these two non-conference foes. When Utah has won a game this season and scored at least 110 points in that victory they are 0-2 SU and ATS in their next game. The Nets won the only time they entered a game off B2B losses this season. Look for them to again respond in that situation as they once again avoid a 3-game SU losing streak. 10* BROOKLYN

Big Ten Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #869 Monday 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) @ Indiana Hoosiers @ 8 ET - The Terrapins are off a double digit home loss to Michigan and have had to wait 3 full days for this chance to atone for that defeat. Maryland has held the upper hand in this series and has beaten Indiana 3 straight times. The Hoosiers are priced this way today because they are at home but this situation should favor the hungry road dog. Indiana comes into this game quite content after finally getting a W in their most recent game, albeit by only a bucket versus Penn State. That, however, was preceded by B2B losses for the Hoosiers and, overall, they have failed to cover in 3 straight games. I look for that trend to reach 4 straight games with another ATS loss here. The Terps were off B2B covers before the loss to the Wolverines who continue a surprisingly impressive start to the season. That said, lets not put too much weight into that loss and I look for the hungry Terrapins to bounce right back here. 10* MARYLAND

Philly Dominator - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #573 Monday 10* Top Play Charlotte Hornets (+) @ Philadelphia 76ers @ 7:05 ET - The Hornets are off back to back losses by a double digit margin which included getting beaten badly at Philly on Saturday. However, that was the 2nd night of a back to back for Charlotte and, after getting down huge in the first quarter, the Hornets actually played even with the Sixers the rest of the way. That said, the value is with the big dog here as now Charlotte comes into this game rested and they were 2-2 SU in their first two games this season with each loss by 7 or less points. As for Philadelphia, they have gone 5-1 SU this season but 2 of their first 3 wins came by a margin of 7 or less points. Now, after back to back blowout wins for the 76ers but back to back blowout losses for Charlotte, I look for the Hornets to prove to be the hungrier team in this one tonight. That does not mean an outright win but it does mean, unlike Saturday's loss, they should stay within single digits throughout this one. 10* CHARLOTTE

Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #102 Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (+) vs Washington @ 8:20 ET - This line is simply an over-reaction to the fact the Redskins need to win and the fact that the Eagles looked like garbage at Dallas last week. Head coach Doug Pederson is supposedly staying with the team but a meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. However, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is contemplating retirement and, at the very least, going to take a year off from the game in his estimation. Either way, Philadelphia is likely to now give more of an effort than you would have otherwise anticipated here. Yes it is a rivalry game and, yes, the Eagles can play the role of spoiler. However, the Eagles might have "mailed it in" were it not for the coaching situation noted above. Additionally, Philly is continuing to develop rookie QB Jalen Hurts and would like to close the season with a win. The fact we're getting 4 points here, after this line opened up around a pick'em, means even more value with the home dog in this one and Philly does tend to play better at home. The Eagles are 3-1 SU in their last 4 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. Washington expected to have QB Alex Smith for this one but he is not 100% healthy and, overall, Washington is 2-4 ATS in true road games this season (7th game was on a neutral field). All the pressure is on the road team and the relaxed home team with nothing to lose is also catching sizable points in this one. The situation is too good to pass up on as an outright upset actually is quite likely here given the circumstances but grab the points for added insurance. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Big Ten Punisher - Michigan has my respect but they are a little overvalued here based on their hot start to the season. Keep in mind, the Wolverines finished in the lower half of the Big Ten and were projected to again finish there this season. In the early going this season they are 8-0 and they are off a big win at Maryland. That is helping lead to line value here because Northwestern is improved this season but coming off a loss to a very strong Iowa team. Look for the Wildcats to bounce back here and they have been the better 3-point shooting team in comparison with Michigan early this season and also have defended the arc better as well so far in this campaign. That said, the Wolverines might still win this but only by a bucket or two and I like the value with the hungry road dog coming off a loss. Michigan also has another big game, Minnesota, on deck. 10* NORTHWESTERN

Contrarian Crusher - Memphis already adjusting to life with out Ja Morant - at least for a bit - and I expect the Lakers to be a bit disinterested here. Los Angeles is off back to back wins over San Antonio and also they know Morant is not playing here. Could Le Bron Jams skip this game or be limited with his ankle injury? Either way I do expect LA to get the win here but not to cover this enormous spread on the road. The fact that the Grizzlies are off a win in their most recent game also helps their confidence levels heading into this one. 10* MEMPHIS

Game of the Year - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #131 Sunday 10* Top Play Arizona Cardinals (-) @ Los Angeles Rams @ 4:25 ET - Long-time followers know I am a contrarian so it would make perfect sense that I would have a contrarian play as my Game of the Year. The fact is that the Rams are on a perfect 7-0 SU/ATS run in games against the Cardinals. So my play in this all important must-win game is, of course, on Arizona and laying the points even though Los Angeles has had the upper hand in this series with Sean McVay as head coach. The key here is not only that Rams QB Jared Goff is out with a broken thumb and John Wolford will be making his first ever NFL start. It is also that the Rams are without other numerous starters and key players for this one. That means QB Kyler Murray and the Cardinals should have the upper hand (finally!) in this match-up and I look for Arizona to pull away as this one goes on. They are off a disappointing loss to the 49ers but the Cardinals entered that game off back to back victories and will respond here with a big win. They got themselves back into the playoff race and now want to make sure their divisional nemesis does not get into the post-season plus Arizona themselves can get in with a win here and a Chicago loss. So there is plenty at stake in this game and the Cardinals are the much healthier team and the Rams enter this one off back to back losses and have truly let their season sleep away and they know it. This will be tough for Los Angeles to bounce back from and they are short-handed here plus dealing with covid issues. It all adds up to a blowout win for the road favorite in this one. The Cardinals Murray will have a huge game and I know this may seem like a very contrarian play but the road team is favored for a reason over a team they have lost to 7 straight times. That streak ends here in convincing fashion. Lay the small number. 10* ARIZONA

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NFL Rotation #108 Sunday 8* New York Giants (+) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 1 ET - Did the Cowboys beat the Eagles last week or was it more that the Eagles beat themselves? It truly was more the latter than the former and I feel Dallas is being vastly over-valued in this spot. This game still matters to the Giants. With a win here and an Eagles home win over the Redskins tonight, New York is in the playoffs as the NFC East divisional champs. Dallas is favored on the road here but this is a team that was 1-5 SU and ATS in road games this season before destroying a Cincinnati team that was a mess when they faced them. I am well aware the Giants have lost 3 straight games but they also faced 3 tough teams that all have a winning record and are currently a combined 28-17 on the season. Prior to this tough stretch, New York had won 4 straight games SU and also was on a 7-2 ATS run. With all that is at stake here I look for a huge game from the home dog in this one. 8* NEW YORK GIANTS

Bowl Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #496 Saturday 10* Top Play Iowa State Cyclones (-) vs Oregon Ducks @ 4 ET - The Cyclones have all the edges here in my opinion. They are the stronger team in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Iowa State also has the coaching edge with Campbell over Cristobal. The Cyclones are stronger at skill positions like QB and WR and also have the better overall defense. Iowa State allowed an average of only 13.3 points per game over their final 4 games of the season and just 18.1 points per game over their final 8 games of the season. As for the Ducks, they only played in 6 games this season and they allowed an average of 30 points per game over their final 5 games of the season. The Cyclones also faced a tougher overall schedule than Oregon did. Battle-tested Iowa State is also happy to be making their first- ever trip to the Fiesta Bowl while the Ducks have been here often plus, being a Pac-12 team, already play in plenty of games in Arizona on an annual basis. The situation here simply creates a hungrier team on the Cyclones sideline and given that plus the edges they have all over the field, I expect them to cover this number rather easily as they establish their ground game with Breece Hall leading the way. The fact the Ducks have to give a lot of respect to Iowa State's potent ground game of course means that things will be open for some solid opportunities through the air for veteran QB Brock Purdy. The result is a blowout win here as the Cyclones defense will also hold the Ducks in check here and that allows the favorite to pull away as this game goes on. 10* IOWA STATE

ESPN Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #634 Saturday 10* Top Play Rutgers Scarlet Knights (+) vs Iowa Hawkeyes @ 2 ET - I don't expect Ron Harper Jr to miss another game. I am well aware of his ankle injury situation. Even if Harper does miss this one note that Mathis really stepped up in his absence in the win over Purdue a few days ago. Overall this Rutgers team has great depth in the backcourt so they can get the job done here even without Harper but I am expecting him back here. This is a scrappy Scarlet Knights team that hung it's hat on defense and playing hard last season. This season they have been more about the offensive production but still their defensive numbers are more impressive than that of Iowa. Of course the Hawkeyes offensive production has been incredible again this season but this is still a team that is allowing opponents to hit 35.3% from beyond the arc plus that lost 2 of 3 games preceding the home win versus Northwestern a few days ago. Rutgers has revenge from losing a tight one at Iowa in their most recent meeting. Speaking of tight ones, the Scarlet Knights have a 6-2 ATS record against the Hawkeyes because they have historically played them tough and I look for that to continue here. Not only that, this is the best Rutgers team we have seen in many seasons and they are at home and, after the line move toward Iowa, the Scarlet Knights are now catching 3.5 points in this one. This looks like a great spot for the scrappy underdog! I'll take it! 10* RUTGERS

Game of the Month Primetime Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #333 Friday 10* Top Play Ohio State Buckeyes (+) vs Clemson Tigers @ 8 ET - Of course I am well aware of the fact that Ohio State played only a half dozen games this season while Clemson will reach the dozen mark in games by playing in this one. While some look at that as a disadvantage for the Buckeyes or that they don't belong here, the fact is it actually may be a big edge. Ohio State could prove to be the fresher team plus they also are heavily playing the revenge angle and underdog mentality and the disrespect card heading into this one. That disrespect card comes, in part, from Tigers coach Swinney ranking Ohio State 11th in the nation because they only played 6 games. Look for Ohio State to use this as additional motivation here and I expect a valiant effort from the revenge-minded underdogs in this one. Of course Clemson is a fantastic team but the fact they barely beat Boston College and lost to Notre Dame (when the Tigers were without Lawrence) shows that if the Buckeyes do a decent job limiting big opportunities for QB Lawrence in this one, they will be more successful than most are expecting. I love all the revenge and motivational edges here plus the fact we are getting more than TD with the underdog Ohio State in this one. Prior to being held to 22 points by a very strong Northwestern defense, the Buckeyes averaged 46.6 points per game in their first 5 games this season. QB Fields and company can give this solid Clemson defense trouble and I am expecting an upset win here which means I certainly am comfortable grabbing the points. If the Buckeyes do fall short I expect it to be by only a single score. 10* OHIO STATE

Earliest Cash - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NBA Rotation #529 Friday 10* Top Play Memphis Grizzlies (+) @ Charlotte Hornets @ 7 ET - Of course this is a contrarian play as Ja Morant is out for the Grizzlies. The odds makers were aware of this when they set this line with Charlotte favored by only a bucket. Of course the betting markets though are all over the Hornets here and the line is now up to a 4.5 which is offering great value on the underdog in my opinion. Keep in mind, after an ugly first half at Boston on Wednesday the Grizzlies did outplay the Celtics in the 2nd half as they started to adjust to being without Morant. I like backing Memphis here, hungry off a loss, while Charlotte comes into this game perhaps feeling a little too good about themselves. The Hornets enter this one off back to back wins plus this is a front end of a back to back as they are at Philly tomorrow. The only other time this season that Charlotte was in the front end of a back to back they suffered a home loss. This could be another one here and, if the Grizzlies do fall short look for it to be by only a bucket in a game that is likely to be a tight one and has potential for an upset. 10* MEMPHIS

Contrarian Crusher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Rotation #873 Friday 10* Top Play Old Dominion Monarchs (+) @ Florida International Golden Panthers @ 7 ET - This line opened up with Old Dominion favored by about a bucket and now they are an underdog by about a bucket. Long time followers know I love fading the moves in situations like this and this one certainly fits the bill nicely. Florida International beat Old Dominion when these teams last met about a year ago and that makes this a revenge spot. Also, the Monarchs have played the tougher schedule so far this season so, in my opinion, they are more battle tested and proven than the Golden Panthers. I also like the fact that FIU is off a huge win over an overmatched opponent (Carver Bible!) but that followed losses in 2 of their 3 immediately preceding games. Also, the Golden Panthers allowed 84 points per game in those 3 games. Note that Old Dominion has allowed 66 points or less in 3 of their last 4 games and their only loss during that stretch was to a tough VCU team. Fade the line move here and grab the road dog. 10* OLD DOMINION

Earliest Punisher - Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CFB Rotation #328 Friday 8* Georgia Bulldogs (-) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ Noon ET - This one should get ugly. Why is a 2-loss Georgia team favored over an undefeated Cincinnati team? Exactly! I have been patiently waiting for this one and now look forward to the onslaught. The Bearcats played such a weak schedule that is laughable. Even with that they only won their last two games by 3 points apiece but again my point is they might have won half their games if they played the same schedule Georgia did. The key word there is might! As I noticed in some of my prior write-ups in successfully going against the Bearcats, they were actually outstatted in a couple of their big wins but most don't look at that, most just look at the scoreboard finals. That is what is also helping to give us line value here in going against the Cats. I know Georgia has to win this by more than a TD for us to cash this ticket but I do fully expect that. They are the better team in all facets of the game and in their true road games this season they allowed 16 points or less in 4 of 5 games. The Bearcats had more defensive struggles in some of their bigger games than what showed up on the scoreboard but even just looking at their final two games they did allow 28.5 points per game to Tulsa and Central Florida. That said, Georgia would be a double digit favorite if facing either one of those teams. Given all of the above, I do expect the Bulldogs to take this one by double digits as well. 8* GEORGIA