Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #710 Thursday 8* Cincinnati Bearcats (-) vs Xavier Musketeers @ 7 ET - The Bearcats are fired up even more than usual for this year's Crosstown Shootout as the big battle for bragging rights in Cincy takes place Thursday. Xavier has won three straight meetings and Cincinnati's senior class certainly doesn't want to go down in history as the first Bearcats class ever to not defeat the Musketeers in their 4-year careers! This is a quality Cats team this season with a 17-2 record (including 11-0 at home) and, even though Xavier has held the upper hand in this series in recent years, this is Cincy coach Mick Cronin's best team in his 11 years here. The Musketeers are off of a win but had previously lost three straight and that included a home loss to Creighton in the game where the Bluejays lost their star guard in the first half. We are now seeing just how bad Creighton has been without Maurice Watson and that makes that Xavier home loss even more "inexcusable". The fact is the Musketeers just aren't as strong this season as they've been in prior years and, as their schedule has toughened up, the losses have mounted. I expect another on here. Xavier is an ugly 1-4 (both SU and ATS) in road games this season. The Musketeers also 0-3 SU and ATS as an underdog this season. Statistically, Cincinnati is allowing a field goal percentage of only 36.8% while the Musketeers allow 43.6%. Also, the Bearcats are shooting a solid 48% from the field compared to 45% for Xavier. Indeed Cincy has "shooters" this season and they've also gotten bigger inside. They're going to be tough in a setting where it is a home game they view as a "must win". 8* CINCINNATI

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #724 Thursday - 10* Top Play Marshall Thundering Herd (-) vs UTSA Roadrunners @ 7 ET - The Thundering Herd have been getting off to slow starts in their games and so they aim to come out strong from the opening tip in the middle game of a 3-game homestand. Marshall also has revenge against UTSA as the Roadrunners handed the Thundering Herd a loss in Huntington in their only trip here. I see this spot as a great spot for Marshall to not only get revenge but to get it in blowout fashion. They are motivated to start out strong, as noted above, and their #1 C-USA ranked offense is simply going to be too much for the Runners to keep up with. Marshall is averaging 92 points per home game while UTSA is averaging only 61 points per road game this season. As you can see that is a 31-point differential but, what is keeping this line in check is the fact that the Roadrunners have some solid defensive numbers on the season. However, that has been helped by facing a weak schedule thus far (including the C-USA opponents that UTSA has faced). In other words, the Runners defense, although improved, is simply over-rated right now and their offense is too anemic to keep up with the high-powered Herd in this one. The Roadrunners are 2-10 SU (and 2-7 ATS) when off of a game where they allowed 60 points or less. Also, the Runners are 2-8 SU (and 2-5 ATS) in their games against teams averaging 77 points or more per game. The Thundering Herd are on a long-term 24-9 ATS run as a favorite and Marshall is on a long-term 26-12 ATS run when they are off of a game where they scored 80 points or more. Look for the Thundering Herd to stay hot and add to their fantastic mark of 10-0 SU (and 7-0 ATS) in home games this season! 10* MARSHALL

Contrarian Game of the Month - Rickenbach NBA Game #507 Wednesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76'ers (+) @ Milwaukee Bucks @ 8:05 ET - The Bucks will be a popular play here since they are at home, seeking revenge, and catching the Sixers in a back to back. However, the 76'ers are on the top of roll right now that, no matter the situation, they are going to be a tough out for anyone. Philadelphia has now won 9 of its last 12 games and they've gone 10-2 ATS during this stretch. Also, Philly has covered 3 of its last 4 match-ups with the Bucks including winning in Milwaukee earlier this month. Though Joel Embiid is expected to miss again tonight, the Sixers got huge frontcourt production from Noel and Holmes last night and Okafor may be available tonight. Even though this a back to back spot for the Sixers they did have have a pair of off days prior to this and they have a non-conference game on deck. Even though the Sixers are off of a big upset win last night (over the Clippers) they have gone 9-5 ATS this season when off of an upset win as an underdog. Also, the 76'ers are 12-6 ATS this season when playing against teams with a losing record. Philadelphia is 6-1 ATS against Central Division opponents this season and Milwaukee is 1-7 ATS against Atlantic Division opponents this season. The Bucks also are a long-term 19-37 ATS as a home favorite of 9.5 to 12 points. Milwaukee is only 8-15 ATS this season against teams with a losing record and, off of a big win over Houston and with a tough match-up at Toronto on deck, the Bucks may struggle to fully focus on the Sixers in this one. Milwaukee was 2-8 ATS before their win and cover over the Rockets and this pointspread tonight is heavily inflated considering the way the 76'ers are playing right now. Also, only one player logged more than 29 minutes for Philly in last night's win over the Clippers. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Game #501 Wednesday 8* Sacramento Kings (+) @ Cleveland Cavaliers @ 7:05 ET - Everyone will be lining up on Cleveland here but, as is typical for my contrarian style, I like to be on the other side of what looks like a "must play" on the Cavaliers. The fact is that the Cavaliers are having struggles, as many teams do, when they are off of a championship season. It's just had to find that motivation or extra added edginess when you've already reached the top of the mountain. That said, I don't expect the Cavaliers to be too excited about facing a non-conference team with a 17-30 record that they already beat earlier this season and whom they swept last season. The Cavs are on a 2-9 ATS run and I expect them to get the win here but look for the margin to be single digits. The Kings are off of a road win, will be motivated by revenge here, have won 4 of their last 7 road games and gone 5-2 ATS in the process. The Cavs are 6-13 ATS against teams with a losing record this season. Cleveland is also 4-12 ATS when they are off of a non-conference game. It's just difficult for a team like the Cavs to "get up" for a game unless they are facing a team like the Warriors or Spurs or a top tier Eastern Conference foe. The Kings are 4-1 ATS in road games with a posted total of 210 points or more this season. 8* SACRAMENTO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #522 Wednesday 8* Temple Owls (-) vs Memphis Tigers @ 6 ET - Temple has had a full week off after losing at #20 Cincinnati (a game which the Owls led at halftime). A week off can be problematic but not only did Temple need it (due to their tough start in conference action), they also have thrived in recent seasons when playing with extra rest. When the Owls enter a game with 5 or 6 days of rest between games they have gone 6-1 ATS. The 6 days off since playing last Wednesday allowed Temple to focus on its most glaring weakness, defense, and they'll be ready to put forth a strong defensive effort here. The key guys in the Owls rotation include two guys who are at least 6'10 and three guys who are at least 6'7 and this size and length on defense will slow down a Memphis team that has been playing well. The problem for the Tigers is a match-up issue and Temple has covered 4 straight in this series. The Owls are fired up after letting the game against the Bearcats slip away and Temple is 5-1 ATS when they are off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more. Also, the Owls have a long-term mark of 17-5 (both SU and ATS!) when they are at home with a line ranging from pick'em to a -3. That said, the line on today's game is certainly in their sweet spot. Memphis is 8-21 SU (and 10-19 ATS) when they are an underdog and, as usual, the odds makers don't give away free money. Many will look at this game with the Tigers hot and the Owls not and they'll jump all over the road team. I look for the rejuvenated, refreshed, and refocused Owls to get the job done on their home floor. 8* TEMPLE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #713 Tuesday 8* Auburn Tigers (+) @ South Carolina Gamecocks @ 6:30 ET - Auburn is making great strides in their 3rd year under head coach Bruce Pearl. Often it is the 3rd season where things start to click under a new coach and the veteran Pearl has this team playing quite well even though they rely heavily on freshmen. One of those is Danjel Purifoy who should be even stronger in his 2nd game back after returning from an ankle injury. Speaking of injuries, even though I do expect South Carolina's PJ Dozier to return for this one, he is unlikely to be 100% as he is recovering from back spasms that have hindered him. That means the Gamecocks will rely too heavily on Sindarius Thornwell. Even though he is off of a huge 34 point performance against Kentucky, South Carolina still lost by 16 points. The Gamecocks beat the Tigers by a dozen points at Auburn last season so this is a revenge game. The Tigers certainly have a good recent history here as Auburn has won 8 of the last 9 meetings (both SU and ATS) in South Carolina! Auburn is 3-2 SU (and 4-1 ATS) on the road this season. Also, the Tigers are 5-2 ATS as an underdog and 5-2 ATS after scoring 80 points or more this season. Off of back to back home wins (and having won 3 of their last 4 games overall), Auburn is a young team is quickly growing with confidence and is well-coach. Add those factors together and you have a revenge-seeking Tigers team that is going to give the Gamecocks all they can handle in this one. Grab the big points. 8* AUBURN

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Game #506 Monday 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) vs San Antonio Spurs @ 7:35 ET - The Nets are hell-bent on turning things around and I like what I have been seeing from them. Brooklyn is coming off of a pair of road games where they won big at New Orleans (143-114) and then showed a lot of heart in their next game even though it was a back to back situation. After the big win over the Pelicans, the Nets visited Charlotte the next night and they got down huge early (not surprising given the rare road win the night before) but they battled all the way back to eventually take a lead in the 4th quarter. Granted the lead was brief but the resilience and mettle that Brooklyn showed in that game was something to take note of. I expect another huge effort from the Nets here and they are a big home dog to the Spurs so it is a perfect spot to take Brooklyn. While the Nets will be fully focused on this "opportunity" against one of the best teams in the NBA, it is a tough situational spot for the Spurs. They are off of their big OT win at Cleveland Saturday night and Kawhi Leonard logged a career-high 46 minutes in that game. In terms of team depth San Antonio is still without Pau Gasol and Tony Parker. The poor scheduling spot for the Spurs is because, not only did they beat the Cavs in OT Saturday, they have a trip to Toronto on deck to face the Raptors tomorrow. These are the types of games where coach Gregg Popovich will alter his playing rotations and minutes to make sure the Spurs have a lot left in the tank for the tough match-up with Toronto that is immediately on deck. San Antonio is likely to win this but only by single digits. 10* BROOKLYN

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #865 Sunday 10* Top Play Arizona State Sun Devils (+) @ USC Trojans @ 8:30 ET - While this looks like a bounce back spot for Southern Cal, keep in mind two key factors. One is that USC has now lost 4 of 6 games after starting the season 14-0. In other words, reality is setting in that the Trojans were a little over-hyped. The second factor is that Southern Cal has a huge game on deck as they are hosting UCLA on Wednesday. That makes this spot a lookahead spot for USC. Though the Trojans played very well in non-conference action, the concern from them in Pac-12 action is they've been held under 42.2% in 6 of their 7 games. In 5 of those 6 the percentage was under 39.5%. Their home loss to Arizona Thursday was the 4th time in their last 7 games that they've been held under 37.4% from the field. USC is known for their defense but, in Pac-12 action, looking at their last 6 games they've allowed 45.5% or better in 4 of the 6 games. The Sun Devils have a dangerous offense that, prior to their Thursday loss at UCLA, had shot at least 45.7% from the field in 6 of their last 7 games. Arizona State is going to challenge USC here because this is a classic case of two teams heading in opposite directions when it comes to scoring capabilities. The Sun Devils are averaging 80 points per game in conference games while the Trojans are averaging 68 points per game in Pac-12 action. Again, USC does have the better defense but the ASU offense is going to test them early and often and the Trojans will be in a dogfight just to try to win this game let alone cover the big spread. The Sun Devils are a long-term 26-13 ATS as a road dog of 6.5 to 9 points. The Trojans are on an overall 2-9 ATS run their last 11 games. 10* ARIZONA STATE

PA Insider Top Play - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (+) @ New England Patriots @ 6:40 ET Sunday - New England knocked off Pittsburgh earlier this season but the Steelers were without QB Ben Roethlisberger in that game. I know it is difficult to knock the Patriots but, one thing I will say is that they sure got a fortunate match-up last week. The only reason Houston was in New England is because Oakland fell apart once they lost their QB. That is what allowed a Texas team with a nightmare (Osweiler) at QB to venture up to Foxboro. Finally, this week, New England will be tested and it could be tough on them as they have had so many easy match-ups since Tom Brady returned early this season after his 4-game suspension. The Pats rarely have been challenged and arguably, their toughest match-ups did not end up impressing. The Patriots, in addition to facing the Steelers at Pittsburgh when Roethlisberger was on the shelf, had only two other truly tough games that were home games this season. In those, they lost to Seattle and they snuck by Baltimore by 7 points as a 6 point favorite. As usual, the Patriots are a public team and very few people will want to bet against Brady and coach Belichick in Foxboro in January. However, if any team can knock them off there, it is this Steelers team and they are healthy again at the skill positions and come into this game having won 9 straight games! Pittsburgh's defense has been phenomenal in their last 6 road games as they've allowed 310 yards or less in all 6 games. Of course the Steelers want revenge badly against the "mighty Pats" who always seem to find their way to the top and that only intensifies the defensive effort here. Keep in mind too that New England was okay without Rob Gronkowski for getting past a team like the Texans but facing the Steelers is a much tougher task! Pittsburgh has faced the tougher strength of schedule this season and the Patriots are in for a war in this one. I do expect the Steelers to win this one outright but I will, of course, grab all the available points as that is where the huge value is in this one, the generous points. 10* PITTSBURGH STEELERS plus the points Sunday evening

Shotgun Shellacking - Rickenbach NBA Sunday 10* Top Play Phoenix Suns (+) @ Toronto Raptors @ 6:05 ET - Many are likely to back the Raptors here as they look for the bounce back from Toronto after back to back ugly losses at Philly and Charlotte. However, the Raptors actually don't have a good history in spots like this. In fact, when off of a game where they scored 85 points or less, Toronto has gone 1-9 ATS the past 3 seasons. Also, the Raptors are hosting a Suns team that has been tough on them in recent meetings. Phoenix has won 3 of the last 5 meetings and they have gone a perfect 5-0 ATS in those games. The last 3 games have all been decided by 8 points or less. That said, there is significant line value with the large spread posted on this game. The Suns will be fired up for this game as they enter off of a double digit loss at Cleveland. Prior to that loss to the Cavs, Phoenix was on a 7-2 ATS run and had been playing some of their best basketball of the season with a 3-3 SU run where all 3 losses came by 5 points or less. The point is that the Suns have been playing ultra-competitive basketball and I don't foresee them getting blown out here. Phoenix is actually a solid 10-4 ATS in non-conference games this season. The Raptors are only 6-8 ATS in their last 14 games and only had 2 SU wins by more than 10 points during this stretch. In other words, laying points in the price range they are in today would have had Toronto on a 2-12 ATS run. Look for this game to be much closer than most are expecting. 10* PHOENIX

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NBA Sunday 8* Dallas Mavericks (-) vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 3:35 ET - Dallas has a long winning streak going against the Lakers and that includes a perfect 2-0 already this season with both wins coming by a dozen points. Those games were both in LA and now the Mavericks will get the last two match-ups of the regular season series in Dallas. The set up here is perfect as the Lakers are off of an upset win versus Indiana while the Mavs are off of back to back losses. The Lakers have not won consecutive games in over 2 months so another win here is unlikely, especially given the Mavericks domination in this series. Also, Dallas will have extra hunger off of back to back losses as they had started to turn the corner with three straight victories. The Mavericks had been getting a little healthier and the loss of back-up point guard Jose Barea won't be nearly as impacting to the Mavs as what the Lakers are dealing with right now. They just lost starting point guard D'Angelo Russell to injury and they are 3-10 this season in games that he misses. He did not travel with the team for this game. The Mavericks are 5-0 ATS (and 20-10 ATS long-term) in Sunday games while the Lakers are 13-35 SU (and 19-29 ATS) long-term in Sunday games. Grab the hungry home team in this one as LA drops to 1-4 ATS this season as a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points. 8* DALLAS

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #840 Sunday 8* Seton Hall Pirates (-) vs St John's Red Storm @ Noon ET - Nice set-up here as St John's is off of a rare win (followed 4 straight losses) and Seton Hall is off of 3 straight road losses (all against quality competition) and happy to be back home where they are a perfect 7-0 this season. Both teams are well rested as they haven't played since Monday and the Pirates are 7-1 ATS the past three seasons when they enter a game off of 5 or 6 days of rest between games. Seton Hall is also 3-0 ATS the past three seasons when they are a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points. The Red Storm are just 1-3 ATS so far this month and are now 6-13 ATS in January games the past three seasons combined. The Pirates are outscoring teams by 18 points per game at home this season and playing well on both ends of the floor - knocking down 51.4% of their shots and holding opponents to 39.1%. In a spot where Seton Hall is desperate for a complete game with strong play on both ends of the floor, the Pirates should take this one by double digits. 8* SETON HALL

National TV Blowout - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Cleveland Cavaliers (-) vs San Antonio Spurs @ 8:35 ET Saturday - The Cavaliers have won 2 of their last 3 games but those wins came against weak competition - the Suns and the Kings. The only game that really mattered to Cleveland was their game at Golden State and they got blown out in that game. The Cavaliers shot just 35% in that game while the Warriors knocked down 50.5% of their shots. On deck after this game for the Cavs is trio of three straight weak foes. The point is that Cleveland is absolutely going to go "all out" in this game against the Spurs after getting thoroughly embarrassed by Golden State earlier this week. The Cavs need an opponent against whom they can get a "statement win" and into Cleveland comes the 33-9 Spurs. The Cavaliers covered both meetings with San Antonio last season and the Spurs are without big man Pau Gasol (hand injury). Tony Parker is also dealing with an ankle injury. This game means A LOT to Cleveland given the recent circumstances and they were able to "rest up" in their blowout win over the Suns Thursday. The Cavs have gone 9-4 ATS when off of a win by a double digit margin. The Spurs are off of a "miracle cover" against the short-handed Nuggets Thursday as the way the last few minutes played out was rather "miraculous" for Spurs backers. Now they face a tough test on the road and San Antonio had failed to cover 3 of their last 4 before sneaking out a cover versus Denver. This game means more to the Cavs who are out to redeem themselves against a Western Conference power after the embarrassment at Golden State. 10* CLEVELAND

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #659 Saturday - 10* Top Play Wyoming Cowboys (+) @ New Mexico Lobos @ 8 ET - The road team has gotten the cash in 6 of the Lobos last 7 games so certainly home court has meant very little. New Mexico is off of back to back road wins but they shot the ball extremely well in those games (including from three point land) and they can't maintain that type of clip long-term. The Lobos now face a team that plays much better defense than they do. The Cowboys are allowing just 39.5% from the field and 29.8% from beyond the arc while New Mexico is allowing 43.5% and 38.2%, respectively. Wyoming also heads into this game with confidence off of a big road win and their match-ups with the Lobos have been tight as the Cowboys are known for giving them tough games. Overall, the last 3 match-ups between these teams have been decided by a TOTAL of only 6 points so that's an average of just 2 points per game and yet this line currently sits at an 8. Also, New Mexico is only 1-5 ATS at home this season and also only 1-5 ATS in games with a posted total in the 150s. Conversely, the Cowboys have thrived in games projected to be high-scoring as they are 6-3 ATS this season in games where the posted total is in the 150s. Wyoming is also 6-3 ATS in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Cowboys have been better on the boards this season than the Lobos with a 39-34 edge in rebounding. Look for another close game between these rivals and that means excellent line value with the big points. 10* WYOMING plus the big points Saturday evening

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach CBB Game #572 Saturday 8* Creighton Bluejays (-) vs Marquette Golden Eagles @ 2:30 ET - The big news for Creighton was, of course, the tragic loss of star guard Maurice Watson to a season-ending injury in their win over Xavier earlier this week. However, I fully expect the Bluejays to respond in a big way today just like they did in the 2nd half of the game against Musketeers knowing that Watson was not available. So often, in the first game after a team loses a star player, that team becomes a "play on" team. That's because everyone else "ups their game" to try and make up for the absence and I expect that to be the case again here with Creighton and the Watson situation. The Bluejays really showed a lot in the way they "hung tough" against Xavier after Watson got hurt. Keep in mind that game was on the road too. Now Creighton is at home and their hosting a Golden Eagles team that is only 2-5 away from home this season. The Bluejays are still an 18-1 team and I feel this is a very reasonable number to lay with Creighton on their home floor. Marquette has allowed teams to hit 51% against them in road games this season and, keep in mind, the Bluejays are shooting 53% in home games this season! The Creighton defense is also much better at defending the 3-ball than the Golden Eagles are and this one could get ugly in a hurry. The Bluejays, when knocking down shots at home, really get a huge crowd edge going and teams just collapse against a Creighton team just lighting up the scoreboard. That is the type of game I expect here as the Bluejays rally after the Watson injury. Marquette is 3-7 ATS against teams with a winning record this season and the Golden Eagles are 6-14 ATS the past 3 seasons combined when they are off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more. The Bluejays are 11-3 ATS this season in their games against teams with a winning record and they owe the Eagles some payback after a home loss to Marquette last season. 8* CREIGHTON minus the points Saturday afternoon

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #533 Saturday - 8* Georgia Bulldogs (+) @ Texas A & M Aggies @ Noon ET - This line has gone from an opener as low as -1.5 on the Aggies to now having Texas A & M favored by 4.5 points as of 9:30 AM ET. I'll take the value! A & M has gone 1-5 SU and ATS in conference action. Also, the Aggies are 3-8 SU (and 2-8 ATS) in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Bulldogs are on a 6-2 ATS run as a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points and also are 36-20 ATS against teams with a winning record. Georgia will be looking to avenge an ugly home loss last season (lost by 34 to the Aggies) and I expect them to come out fired up and ready to demoralize an Aggies team that has scored 68 points or less in 5 of its last 6 games. This A & M team is fragile right now while the Bulldogs have covered 3 straight games and have scored 69 points or more in 6 of their last 7 games. 8* GEORGIA plus the points early Saturday

CBS Sports Network Smash - Rickenbach CBB Game #885 Friday 10* Eastern Michigan Eagles (+) @ Akron Zips @ 6:30 ET - Akron has a long home winning streak going with 26 straight wins at Rhodes Arena. Not surprisingly, after opening up at a -5, this line has jumped up to a -6 on the Zips and certainly could move higher. This is offering tremendous line value to a revenge-seeking Eastern Michigan team. The Eagles were knocked out of the MAC Tourney by Akron last spring and the perfect revenge would be to put an end to the Zips 26-game home winning streak. This is a veteran Eastern Michigan team that also has a solid backcourt. With strong guard play and, the fact that the Eagles play better defense than the Zips, an upset here would certainly not be a complete surprise. Eastern Michigan is holding opponents to 40.9% from the field and 32.8% from three point land. Akron has allowed 44.0% and 35.6%, respectively, in those same categories. The Eagles are averaging 82 points per game compared to 79 points per game for the Zips. Talk around Akron is already about where the Zips would fit into the Big Dance seedings, etc. I am not saying it is too early for that but I am saying that Eastern Michigan is likely to prove to be the hungrier team here after being knocked out of the conference tourney in March by these Zips. Also, Akron comes into this one a little over-confident because of their lengthy home winning streak. Note that the Zips are an ugly 2-6 ATS this season when off of a game where they scored 80 points or more. Eastern Michigan is on a solid 5-2 ATS run when off of a game where they scored 80 points or more. Also, the Eagles are a perfect 4-0 (SU and ATS) in their games against teams averaging 77 points or more per game this season. I am looking for an upset but certainly grabbing all the points I can get here. 10* Top Play EASTERN MICHIGAN plus the points very early Friday evening

Western Conference Game of the Month - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Denver Nuggets (+) @ San Antonio Spurs @ 8:35 ET Thursday - Good spot for an upset here and the fact is that if the Nuggets do fall short of the big upset win, they should keep this one to single digits. Denver is seeking revenge for one of their most embarrassing home losses of the season as they got drilled 127-99 in Colorado exactly two weeks ago. In that game, San Antonio had their best shooting night of the season with 56.7% from the field including 50% (12 of 24) from three point land. The Spurs are just 2-2 in their last 4 games and their most recent win came by just 8 points as they were definitely challenged by Minnesota Tuesday. San Antonio has now failed to cover 3 of its last 4 games and they have a huge game on deck as Saturday they are in Cleveland for their first shot of the season at the World Champion Cavaliers. It will be hard for the Spurs, as disciplined as they are, to be able to avoid at least peeking ahead to the Cavs. The Nuggets will be the hungrier and more focused team tonight and Denver didn't have power forward Kenneth Faried in the meeting two weeks ago. He's scored 15 points or more in 3 straight games and the Nuggets have won and covered all 3 games. Denver is full of confidence coming into this game having knocked down 57% of their shots in their last 3 games. The Nuggets also have dominated the glass over their last four games. Denver is 8-4 ATS as a road dog of 12.5 or more points. The Nuggets are also 8-4 ATS when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 games or more. Ride the revenging dog in this one as they will surprise the Spurs with how far they've come in the 2 weeks since these teams last met. 10* DENVER plus the big points Thursday

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #715 Thursday - 10* Top Play Maryland Terrapins (+) @ Iowa Hawkeyes @ 7 ET - The very first lines to come out on this game had the Terps as a 1.5 point favorite. From that point forward the line has now moved a full 4 points as the Terrapins are now a 2.5 point underdog in this match-up. I love to fade moves like this where the game swings strongly and I see great line value here with a solid 16-2 Maryland team. The only two losses the Terps have this season came against Pittsburgh and a 2-point defeat versus Nebraska. The point is that at +2.5 in all game this season the Terrapins would have a 16-1 ATS record. Couple that with the fact that the Hawkeyes are being a bit over-rated here, and you have fantastic line value. Iowa has managed to 'rise up' on a couple of occasions and get big home wins over Iowa State and Purdue. However, this Hawkeyes team is, overall, certainly not at the level of prior Iowa teams. The Hawkeyes are coming off of an 89-54 demolishing defeat at Northwestern. Though many will look for the bounce back here, the fact is that it was the 5th time in the last 6 games that Iowa has allowed 78 points or more! This is in stark contrast with a Maryland team that has only allowed more than 75 points a single time in 18 games this season! The Terrapins are allowing just 65 points per game this season while the Hawkeyes are giving up 78 points per game this season. Maryland is a perfect 6-0 away from home this season. The Terrapins are also a perfect 6-0 SU and ATS in their games as an underdog this season. The Hawkeyes are 3-9 ATS when off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more and Iowa is also an ugly 1-5 ATS when off of a game where they scored 60 points or less. I'll gladly challenge this over-rated team to try and bounce back here because they've proven unable to do just that time and time again in recent seasons as you can see from those ATS numbers. 10* MARYLAND plus the points Thursday

Texas Insider - Rickenbach CBB Game #540 Wednesday 8* Texas Tech Red Raiders (-) vs TCU Horned Frogs @ 7:30 ET - It is very hard to beat a team 3 times in one season and the Red Raiders found that out the hard way last season and now it's time for some payback. Texas Tech won both regular season meetings with Texas Christian University last season but then got knocked out of the Big 12 conference tourney in March when the Horned Frogs prevailed in their 3rd (and, of course, most important) meeting of the season. The Red Raiders had 63 shots from the field compared to just 47 for the Horned Frogs but TCU hit a ridiculous 10 of 21 from three point land and that was the difference in the victory which came by a margin of only 5 points. A repeat here is unlikely as TCU has not shot the ball particularly well from beyond the arc in its last 4 games. What strengthens this situation though is the fact that the Horned Frogs are off of back to back wins but one was at home and one was at downtrodden Texas. The Red Raiders will prove to be the hungrier team here as they are off of a loss (albeit on the road) and they haven't forgotten what happened in their meeting with TCU last March. Before the Red Raiders loss at Oklahoma Saturday, Texas Tech had won 13 of 16 games this season. The Red Raiders are 38-9 at home the past three seasons including a perfect 11-0 this season. The Horned Frogs are only 2-2 on the road this season and have lost 20 of 25 road games the past three seasons combined. As a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points, TCU has gone 1-3 ATS while, as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points, Texas Tech has gone 5-1 ATS. The Red Raiders are averaging 82.5 points per game at home this season while the Horned Frogs are averaging only 69.8 points per game on the road so far this season. Home court makes a big difference in this particular match-up and, from a situational perspective, it doesn't get much better than this! 8* TEXAS TECH

Earliest Cash Top Play - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Memphis Grizzlies (+) @ Washington Wizards @ 7:05 ET Wednesday - The Wizards have won 12 straight home games and yet they're only laying 3 points in this one in Washington. It is "interesting" to say the least and I am calling for the upset here. The Wizards were simply on fire with their shooting from the opening tip in their big MLK day victory over Portland. Washington knocked down a ridiculous 9 of 13 three pointers to begin the game. The Wizards have been hot from three point land but they now face a Memphis team that is known for its defense and is coming off of a loss. The Grizzlies will be hungry here after catching an earful from their head coach due to poor defense both in the 2nd and 4th quarters of their most recent game - a home loss to Chicago. Prior to that defeat, Memphis had won 3 of their last 4 games and that included road wins at Houston and Golden State! If the Grizzlies can get road wins against the Rockets and Warriors, they certainly can knock off the Wizards. In fact, Washington is 1-5 ATS (and 0-6 SU!) in their games against Southwest Division opponents this season. Memphis is allowing only 99 points per game this season while the Wizards are allowing 106 points per game. The Grizzlies are holding opponents to 43.5% from the field while Washington is allowing 46.5% from the field. The Grizz have gone 39-25 (SU and ATS) when off of a game where they allowed 105 points or more. 10* MEMPHIS

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (-) @ Brooklyn Nets @ 7:35 Tuesday - Normally the only concern in a game like this is that Toronto would not be motivated and may overlook Brooklyn. However, that is unlikely to happen for two reasons. For one thing, tomorrow's Raptors opponent is the 76'ers so certainly there is no concern about Toronto looking ahead to a match-up with another team near the bottom of their division. Secondly, the Raptors lost their most recent road game and, in fact, have lost 4 of their last 5 road games. This ensures the proper focus from Toronto here and this is a Raptors team that is a perfect 8-0 in divisional games this season and has produced a 7-1 ATS mark in those games. Toronto is an overall 19-7 in their last 26 games and their average margin of victory in those 19 wins is 16 points! The Raptors are well known for their blowout wins and I just don't see the Nets being able to hang around in this one. Recently Brooklyn has had some winnable home games against teams like the Sixers and Pelicans and yet they've still ended up getting crushed in those games. They are struggling from three point land, their defense has been pathetic, and they have also been losing the battle of the boards. This will continue to be an issue tonight as they are clearly out-classed in this match-up and the Raptors have added focus on the road due to recent losses away from home. Toronto is 11-3 ATS when off of a win by a double digit margin. The Raptors also are 4-2 ATS when on the road and favored in a range of 9.5 to 12 points. The Nets are 0-7 in divisional games this season and have covered only 2 of those games. After being obliterated by Houston in their most recent game, note that Brooklyn is 3-11 ATS when off of a non-conference game. 10* TORONTO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #729 Tuesday - 8* Arkansas Razorbacks (+) @ Texas A & M Aggies @ 7 ET - The Aggies most recent home game was a ridiculous result. They blew out LSU by 30 points as everything they threw up seemed to go in while the Tigers couldn't seem to hit the broad side of a barn in that game. That did bring Texas A & M to 7-2 at home this season. However, if you look closely at the Aggies, they have lost almost every single game where more of a challenge is presented and tonight they are hosting a 13-4 Arkansas team. Note that A & M's wins this season have, all but one, come when they were a big favorite or facing an opponent that was so overmatched it wasn't even a lined game. The Aggies have 9 wins this season. 4 of them were non-lined games, 4 were when they were favored by 12 points or more. Only "impressive" win was a 3-point win over Virginia Tech as a 2 point favorite. With the Hokies game included that makes the Aggies 1-7 straight-up in games where they are either a dog or a favorite of less than 12 points! Now you can see why I like the Razorbacks here. Every time but one this season, when the Aggies take a step up in level of competition, they lose. They are off of a loss at Mississippi State Saturday and now host an Arkansas team that is off of a big win over Missouri Saturday and that has gone 3-1 SU and ATS in their last 4 games where the line was single digits. The Aggies simply lost too much from last season's team but with this line already moving up from a -3 on A & M to now a -4.5 as of gameday morning, it is evident that the betting markets still like this Texas A & M team. I don't and I look for them to drop to 2-8 ATS this season against teams with a winning record. 8* ARKANSAS

Early ATS Blowout - Rickenbach CBB Game #726 Tuesday 10* Top Play Toledo Rockets (-) vs Bowling Green Falcons @ 7 ET - Oftentimes in rivalry games I like to side with the dogs but this one sets up much differently than most and, as a result, I expect the favorite to win this one in an absolute blowout. The I-75 rivalry in Northeast Ohio between Toledo and Bowling Green resumes tonight and both the Rockets and Falcons are off of back to back losses. However, that is where the similarities between these teams end! The Falcons were at home for both of their games and yet they got completely obliterated by a combined 45 points in those games. The Bowling Green coach is trying to blame it on poor defense because they emphasized offense too much but the fact is their offense only averaged 52.5 points per game so I think he's a little out of touch with his own team here. The problem for BG is they are 1-6 on the road this season and now take on a Toledo team that is 7-1 at home on the season and whose back to back losses entering this match-up both came on the road. Unlike the Falcons, the Rockets did score well in their two defeats (81 points per game!) but they were done in by some hot shooting from their opponents. Look for Toledo (averaging 82.6 points per game on the season) to bounce back in a big way here at home. It is much easier to play at home coming off B2B road losses than to be on the road after B2B home losses. The place will be rocking in Toledo tonight and the Rockets haven't lost here against Bowling Green in 5 years! The Falcons are 9-19 ATS the past 3 seasons combined when, past the midway point of the season, they are facing a team with a winning record. The Rockets are 21-5 SU and 12-9 ATS against teams with a losing record the past 3 seasons combined and everyone is talking about how important this home game is in this rivalry series. 10* Top Play TOLEDO

Primetime TV Top Game - Rickenbach CBB Game #543 Monday - 10* Top Play Providence Friars (+) @ Georgetown Hoyas @ 9 ET - Georgetown has won two straight games but it certainly is nothing to be too excited about as Hoyas fans know all too well. These two wins came against St John's (one of the worst teams in their conference) and then against UConn (a non-conference win). Georgetown was not impressive in their win by a slim margin over the Huskies and now they certainly face a much tougher challenge today and yet many have backed the Hoyas here. The line jumped from an opener of -5 up to a -6.5 and I'll gladly grab the added value here on the underdog in a game where I don't even expect I'll need the points. Keep in mind, Georgetown is only 1-4 in Big East action this season and Providence has won 5 straight games in this series. The Friars recorded the 2-0 sweep each of the past two seasons over the Hoyas and then already beat them in Providence early this month to get this year's season series started off on the right foot. The Friars are 8-4 ATS against teams with a winning record this season while Georgetown is the polar opposite at 4-8 ATS this season against teams with a winning record. The Hoyas are 0-3 ATS in games with a posted total in the 130s this season and also are 0-4 ATS when playing with road loss revenge. With their poor performance at the betting window against winning teams, I don't see any reason for things to change here as the Friars come into this one fired up about losing their last road game by a single point. That hunger will show on the floor here as they seek  back to back wins in Big East action which they know is critical to moving back up the standings. 10* PROVIDENCE

TNT Top Game - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Golden State Warriors (-) vs Cleveland Cavaliers @ 8:05 ET Monday - Revenge spots don't get much better than this. Not only did the Cavs when 3 straight to rally back from a 3-1 series deficit and take the NBA Championship from the Warriors last June, they then snuck out a 1-point win on Christmas Day about 3 weeks ago in Cleveland. Now the Cavaliers are in Golden State to face a fired up Warriors team that his its sight set on big-time revenge on their home court. Even though the Cavs are off of a win at Sacramento, they came into that game having lost 3 of their last 5 games. The only two wins for Cleveland in that stretch came against Brooklyn (worst team in NBA) and Phoenix (least wins in the Western Conference). That said, the Cavaliers aren't exactly playing impressive ball of late and, in fact, enter tonight's game on a 2-8 ATS run. Off of that win over the Kings, note that Cleveland is an ugly 3-9 ATS this season when off of a non-conference game. The Warriors are 34-6 on the season and 11 of their last 12 wins have come by 8 points or more. Golden State is also 32-17 ATS their last 49 games when playing with revenge. The Warriors also are a stellar 16-7 ATS in home games where they are favored in a range of 6.5 to 9 points. Indeed, the "price is right" here with the home fave and I'll gladly lay the points Monday evening. 10* GOLDEN STATE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA 8* Portland Trail Blazers (+) @ Washington Wizards @ 2:05 ET Monday - The Wizards are off of an easy win over Philly where they caught the Sixers in a tough scheduling spot and Philly's best player, Joel Embiid sat out because it was a back to back spot. Prior to this win Washington had failed to cover 4 of its last 6 games. They now host a rested Trail Blazers team that has been off since Friday. The Blazers failed to cover in a tight home loss against Orlando and they've had this 4-game road trip (begins today) circled as an opportunity to get back on track and build a winning streak. Prior to the loss to the Magic, the Trail Blazers had been playing better and were on a 7-2 ATS run. Coming off of a loss, Portland will prove to be the hungrier team here. The Wizards are only 5-7 ATS in non-conference games this season and also 1-3 ATS when off of a win by a double digit margin. The Blazers have a long-term mark of 183-111 SU when off of a SU loss as a favorite and they'll be in bounce back mode here plus catching a handful of points. Also, the Trail Blazers are 21-14 SU and ATS the past 3 seasons when they enter a game with two days of rest between games. The Blazers are also 3-1 SU and ATS in their last 4 games against the Wizards. More of the same early Monday afternoon. 8* PORTLAND

Daytime Dominator FS-1 - Rickenbach CBB Game #521 Monday - 8* Creighton Bluejays (+) @ Xavier Musketeers @ 2 ET - The Bluejays are 17-1 this season.  Xavier is now 13-4 this season and off of back to back losses. Those two defeats came as they had to "step up" in terms of level of competition and, on Monday afternoon they are certainly doing that again as the Musketeers take on a "stacked" Creighton team with revenge on its mind. Even though the Bluejays have covered 4 straight meetings with the Musketeers, they have suffered a straight-up loss in 2 of their last 3 meetings. Xavier's Edmond Sumner is expected to play here but his shoulder is not 100% and that could be a factor here. The Musketeers are hosting a Bluejays team that is hitting a ridiculous 53.5% of their shots this season including 41% from three point land. A ton of points expected in this one (as you can tell from the big total posted on this game) and Creighton is 7-2 ATS this season (and 20-7 ATS the past 3 seasons combined) in games with a posted total in the 150s! Xavier's defense has not been impressive of late as they've allowed their last 4 opponents to average about 50% from the field and the Musketeers are off of a 2nd straight loss (83-78 at Butler). Xaviers is 5-11 ATS when off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more. Everyone is lining up on the home team here and I'll gladly take the contrarian side with this 17-1 team Monday afternoon. 8* CREIGHTON

AFC Playoff Game of the Year - Rickenbach 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:20 ET Sunday - Of course one has to respect the Chiefs and their 12-4 record but Kansas City benefited greatly from a positive turnover margin and because their special teams play is very strong. However, Pittsburgh is the stronger overall team and that should punch the Steelers ticket to the AFC Championship Game by the time this one is in the books. The Steelers, based on yardage, rank 7th in the league on offense and 12th in the league on defense. By comparison, the Chiefs rank 20th on offense and 24th on defense. Now you can see why the special teams and turnover margin have been such huge keys for the Chiefs this season. Now look for KC to be exposed by a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Steelers already hammered the Chiefs 43 to 14 in the regular season and Pittsburgh enters this game having won 8 straight games. The Steelers offensive weaponry finally has "all hands on deck" and, in the 2nd straight game with everyone available (all skilled position starters) it is probable that Pittsburgh will prove to be even tougher to stop than they were last week against Miami. The Chiefs get a lot of "line shading" here because of their history at Arrowhead Stadium but note that Kansas City went an ugly 1-4 ATS in their home games against non-divisional foes this season! Also, the Chiefs are a long-term 2-11 ATS in playoff games. I am also well-aware of Andy Reid's long-term history of success when off of a bye week but the Steelers are the superior team on both sides of the ball and the Chiefs truly got here with some "smoke and mirrors" this season. 10* Top Play PITTSBURGH Sunday night

Texas Insider - Rickenbach NFL Sunday 10* Top Play Green Bay Packers (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 4:40 ET - Most people aren't giving the Packers a chance here and I realize they do have some injury issues, particularly in the secondary, that are impacting here. However, what many people don't realize is that the "anointed one" with the Cowboys is really Ezekiel Elliott rather than Dak Prescott. Dallas is where they are today because they have a powerful running game and because certainly the ball bounced their way on a number of occasions (particularly early this season) that helped give them the momentum and confidence to get this point. The fact is that all the success that came from those two factors has masked the fact that their passing attack ranks just 23rd in the league. For comparison sake, note that the Packers passing attack ranks 7th in the league. Also, the Green Bay run defense ranks 9th so that matches up well with the Cowboys ground attack which ranks 2nd in the league. As for the Cowboys the concern on defense is their pass defense which ranks 26th in the league. The way I am approaching this game is have a veteran QB (Aaron Rodgers) who has plenty of weapons even with WR Jordy Nelson out, and he's attack a weak pass defense. I have a strong ground defense (Packers) that can focus on slowing down Elliott. I'll challenge the rookie QB (Prescott) to beat Green Bay through the air because, let's not forget, this is his first ever playoff game and he is facing a team that already saw him earlier this season and certainly is fired up about the rematch. The Packers have won 7 straight games and covered 6 of their last 7. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Cowboys have failed to cover 5 of their last 6 games and yet they are the popular choice here as this line is now all the way up to a 6 as of the night before the game. The Packers are on an 8-3 ATS run when playing with revenge. The Cowboys aren't exactly a "covering machine" at home and, in fact, are on an 11-21 ATS run in games played on turf. 10* GREEN BAY plus the points Sunday afternoon

Saturday Night Special - Rickenbach NFL 8* Houston Texans (+) @ New England Patriots @ 8:15 ET - No one will give the Texans a chance here and I completely understand that, and yet, it has given us very strong line value on Houston in this match-up. Even though hosting a wounded Oakland team last week is nothing like facing a powerful Patriots team in New England, last week's win did quite a lot for Houston. It gives the Texans added confidence in QB Brock Osweiler and it allowed the defense to stay "in the zone" as Houston's D continues to be among the most dominating units in the league. That said, and especially with consideration to the factor that Rob Gronkowski is out, I don't buy into the Pats being more than two TD's better than the Texans. I am certainly well aware of the fact that the Texans go ripped by New England earlier this season and that Tom Brady didn't even play in that game. However, that was a turnover-fueled victory for the Patriots. Houston turned the ball over 3 times (compared to 0 for the Pats) and that was a key factor in why New England won 27-0 at Houston despite the yardage being very nearly equal! In fact, the Texans have now held the Patriots to 313 yards or less in each of the last 2 meetings and it helps that this will be their third time seeing New England in the past 13 months. The Pats, as a result of being 13-3 ATS this season, are simply over-priced here. The Texans defense is fired up about this chance at redemption against the Patriots and the offense is rejuvenated thanks to 4 wins in their last 5 games and Osweiler looking like he definitely learned a few things after being relegated to back-up duty. In the divisional round, #1 seeds have gone just 7-19 ATS the last 13 years. The Pats, of course, are the #1 seed in the AFC, and they have no reason to try and "run up the score" here and against a solid Texans defense I doubt they'll even have the chance. Grab the huge points as this Texans team come into this one with some newfound confidence and a defense that, deservedly, has a swagger in its step! 8* HOUSTON plus the big points Saturday evening

Saturday Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NFL 8* Seattle Seahawks (+) @ Atlanta Falcons @ 4:35 ET - I have a ton of respect for the Falcons offense but they're facing a red hot Seattle defense and, make no bones about it, the Atlanta defense is a major weakness. That said, the Seahawks have been moving the ball very well and I just don't see the porous defense of the Falcons as being capable of stopping them. Based on yardage allowed, the Falcons rank 25th in the NFL on defense while the Seahawks rank 5th in the league! Another concern for Atlanta here is that they haven't tough competition since their very first game of December. That was against the Chiefs and Atlanta lost even though they were at home. Since the, the Falcons played 4 games against the two worst teams in their division and the two worst teams in the Seahawks division. The combined record of those 4 teams was 19-45. That certainly didn't help Atlanta in terms of being "game ready" for this one and sometimes the week off can actually hurt a teams rhythm on offense. As for Seattle, they've had to face the top two teams in the NFC North in the past few weeks. The Packers (an ugly loss but an aberration for the Seahawks) and the Lions combined to go 19-13 in the regular season. Seattle did beat the Patriots in New England earlier this season and they are 3-0 ATS as an underdog this season! The Seahawks also won all 4 games this season when facing a team with a winning record and Seattle is 10-2 SU on turf this season! Surprisingly, the Falcons are only 1-4 ATS this season in home games with a posted total of 49.5 points or more. Atlanta has trouble "putting teams away" and has gone 8-18 ATS as a favorite the last 3 seasons and 2-8 ATS when off of a win against a division rival and the Falcons are a long-term 3-11 ATS in playoff games. It's hard to argue against the better defense here and a more "proven team" in terms of playoff experience. The Hawks are hungry! 8* SEATTLE plus the points Saturday afternoon

#1 Top Play - Rickenbach CBB Game #607 Saturday 10* Top Play Baylor Bears (+) @ Kansas State Wildcats @ 4:30 ET - The Bears got thoroughly embarrassed in their ugly loss at West Virginia Tuesday. After allowing 63 points or less in 14 of their 15 games on the way to a 15-0 start this season, the Bears allowed 89 to the Mountaineers. We don't have to tell you that Baylor may be in "response mode" here as the ATS stats back that fact up. The past two seasons the Bears have gone 7-0 SU and 6-0 ATS when they are off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more! Baylor has won three straight games against the Wildcats and their last loss came by just 2 points at Kansas State. That said, with the line move here to a +2.5, we are getting even more line value with the Bears in this one. Baylor has played a tougher schedule than the Wildcats so far this season and, when Kansas State has stepped up (in terms of level of competition) they have failed this season. All the Cats straight-up wins have come in either non-lined games or games where their line was at least -6. The Wildcats have been a dog OR fave of 3 points or less 3 times and they went 0-3 SU in those games. Here Kansas State is catching Baylor at quite possibly the worst time as you know the Bears are going to bring their "A game" after what just happened in Morgantown earlier this week. The past two seasons Kansas State went 3-8 ATS when facing a team with a winning record in a game that was past the midway point (15 game mark) of the season. The Cats get exposed again here. 10* BAYLOR

Afternoon Blowout - Rickenbach CBB Game #559 Saturday 8* Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+) @ Virginia Tech Hokies @ 2 ET - The Fighting Irish are rolling and one of the most amazing aspects of their streak has been their play in the clutch. This Notre Dame team, no matter the score, never seems out of game. Of course being able to win games like this is huge and it is particularly important in conference play where so many games tend to be close. ND is a fantastic 15-2 on the season and their only two losses were to solid Purdue and Villanova teams. They catch Virginia Tech at the right time as the Hokies are off of a big double digit win over Syracuse but had lost each of their two prior games. In those previous games Virginia Tech allowed 98.5 points per game as teams shot about 57% against them from the field. Notre Dame is the much better team on the defensive end of the floor and we are getting line value because of the Hokies 10-0 record at home so far this season. Grab the line value with the road dog here as the Fighting Irish are 4-0 ATS in road games with a posted total between 155 and 159.5 points and Virginia Tech is 0-3 ATS in home games with that same range of points as the posted total. As you can see, a lot of points expect here and in a shootout I'll take the team that is more likely to raise there level of play on the defensive end in crunch time. The Irish are allowing just 39.6% from the field while the Hokies are allowing 42.8% from the field this season. 8* NOTRE DAME

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB #525 Saturday 8* Minnesota Golden Gophers (+) @ Penn State Nittany Lions @ Noon ET - Flat spot for the Nittany Lions. They have been sitting around for a week waiting to play again and this is after a huge victory at a "neutral site" game played in Philly versus Michigan State last Saturday. That was a massive win for Penn State in a historic venue in Philadelphia and the Nittany Lions are likely to get caught feeling a little too good about themselves as they head into this match-up with the Golden Gophers. Minnesota drew the misfortune of facing an angry Spartans team Wednesday and Sparty took out their frustrations from the PSU loss on the unsuspecting Gophers. Prior to that ugly loss to Michigan State, Minny had won 15 of their first 17 games this season and they'll be ready to respond in a big way here early on Saturday. Minnesota has lost three straight to Penn State so a little payback is on order here as well. The Golden Gophers are 3-1 ATS on the road this season and the Nittany Lions are 2-5 SU (and 2-4 ATS) when playing with 5 or 6 days of rest between games. Penn State will be rusty here after the layoff. 8* MINNESOTA

Eastern Conference Game of the Month - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76'ers (+) vs Charlotte Hornets @ 7:05 ET Friday - The Sixers are "feeling it" right now with wins in 4 of their last 5 games and, on Friday, they are hosting a Hornets team that has lost 5 of its last 6 games! The 76'ers enter this game on an overall 5-0 ATS run and Charlotte is just 1-7 ATS against Atlantic Division opponents this season. In a road game where the posted total is in a range of 205 to 209.5 points, the Hornets have gone 6-14 SU and 6-13-1 ATS the past 3 seasons combined. Even though Philadelphia is off of an outright win as a dog (beat Knicks and New York was the small fave), don't look for Philly to fall flat here. In fact, the 76'ers are 6-3 ATS when coming off of an upset win as an underdog this season. The Sixers, off of many consecutive rough seasons, still "have a ways to go" of course but, with each win, their confidence is growing. Also, Philly is playing this game with revenge on their minds as they lost at Charlotte earlier this season and the 76'ers are hungry to get some payback as the Hornets have won 7 of the last 8 meetings between these teams. At home and playing loose and confident, the Sixers are going to be tough for the slumping Hornets to get past. 10* Top Play PHILADELPHIA plus the points early Friday evening

Rickenbach CBB Game #553 Thursday 10* Top Play SMU Mustangs (+) @ Cincinnati Bearcats @ 9 ET - Great line value here with the underdog. The Mustangs have revenge from losing to the Bearcats when these teams last met in March. Both teams have been strong early this season but SMU is 6-2 ATS in their games against teams with a winning record while Cincinnati has gone only 3-4 ATS in their games against teams with a winning record. Also, as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points, the Bearcats have an ugly long-term mark of 10-22 ATS! The last 4 games between these teams have been decided by an average of 5.8 points per game. This game is projected to be a hard-fought low-scoring battle and Cincy is an ugly 18-29 ATS in home games with a posted total in the 120s. The Mustangs are a solid 30-18 ATS in road games with a posted total in the 120s. Overall, in all games with a total posted between 120 and 129.5 points the last 3 seasons, SMU has gone an incredible 19-1 SU and 14-6 ATS! The Bearcats are ranked and they are at home so they are they popular choice here but the Mustangs have a great shot at the upset here and I'll gladly grab the generous points being offered. SMU has won 10 straight games and allowed only 54.8 points per game in those 10 games. 10* SMU

Rickenbach CBB Game #544 Thursday 8* UTSA Roadrunners (-) vs Florida Atlantic Owls @ 8 ET - Triple revenge spot for UTSA and the Roadrunners are surging with confidence right now. Not only are they off of a much-needed road win at Louisiana Tech - as a double digit dog no less - UTSA is a perfect 6-0 in home games this season. That said, I'll gladly lay the small number here with the Runners on their home floor as they also seek revenge for losing all 3 match-ups with the Owls last season. Florida Atlantic took both regular season meetings with the Roadrunners and then also knocked them out of the Conference USA tournament on March 8th by an ugly 82-58 final. UTSA shot horribly in that game so, despite 61 field goal attempts (compared to just 53 for FAU), the Roadrunners lost by two dozen points. That ended a tough season for UTSA and was also the final game for coach Brooks Thompson who was fired two days later. Tragically, he passed away only three months later at the age of only 45. The team hasn't forgotten Thompson nor the way their season ended against this same Owls team in what ended up being Thompson's last game. They will play extremely hard tonight there is no doubt and I look for them to improve to 7-0 at home this season. Florida Atlantic is 2-6 ATS when off of a win in conference action and also 7-14 ATS in their games against teams with a losing record. The Roadrunners have won just as many games in the past 5 weeks as they won all of last season and they are playing like a new team under coach Steven Henson. The markets just haven't caught up to them yet and that means line value here against a 5-9 Owls team. 8* UTSA 

Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) vs New Orleans Pelicans @ 7:35 ET Thursday - Pelicans star center Anthony Davis hurt his hip late in the win at New York Monday. Even if he plays tonight (didn't do much at all in practice yesterday), Davis is not likely to be as effective as he has been. Also, his history against the Nets is not that impressive anyway with only 18 points per game in his 6 games. While New Orleans has a definite health concern here, Brooklyn is expected to get healthier as Trevor Booker (the Nets leading rebounder) is expected back tonight. The Nets have been a disappointment this season but this is a good spot for them to get back on track with the Pelicans off of a big road win and with Davis now hurting. The Pelicans had lost 3 straight prior to that win and that was just their 5th win in 18 road games this season! Even though New Orleans comes into this game off of two days rest, they are only 2-6 SU in that situation this season. The Nets had won 3 of 4 home games (with the lone loss to Golden State) in a stretch from December 7th to the 26th. Since then they have lost 4 straight at home but the losses included defeats against Utah, Atlanta, and Cleveland. Here they are facing a much less formidable foe and they were 7-8 at home this season before losing 4 straight. With road wins few and far between for the Pelicans and with the Nets ultra hungry to get back into the win column, this is the perfect spot to back the home dog getting generous points. 10* BROOKLYN

Rickenbach CBB Game #517 Thursday 8* Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+) @ Miami Hurricanes @ 7 ET - This line opened up at a -2 on Miami and is now up to a -4 as of very early gameday morning. I am grabbing the value on the other side of the move. Many are likely backing the Hurricanes expecting them to bounce back at home after their ugly 70-55 road loss at Syracuse. However, Miami is actually a very ugly 2-10 ATS the past 3 seasons combined when they are off of a game where they were held to 60 points or less. Also, Notre Dame is playing this game with double revenge as they lost both games versus the Canes last season. Miami is just 2-5 ATS at home this season and the Fighting Irish have gone 13-7 SU in their last 20 road games and I'll back the revenging road dog getting the extra line value here. 8* NOTRE DAME

SEC Game of the Month - Rickenbach CBB Game #751 Wednesday - 10* Top Play LSU Tigers (+) @ Texas A & M Aggies @ 8:30 PM ET - Not only is this a revenge game for LSU, it certainly is anything but "normal" revenge. The Tigers lost to Texas A & M in the SEC Tourney by a final score of 71 to 38 last spring. The Aggies, in that game, held LSU to a season-low in points and also  a season-low in field goals made (13). Not only that but it also marked the fewest points scored by a team in any major conference for the entire season. You can bet that LSU got caught looking ahead to this revenge game in their poor effort at home against Mississippi State Saturday. The Tigers are only 9-5 this season but they will bring a much stronger effort on defense here after what happened against the Bulldogs Saturday and also after the way they played against the Aggies in the SEC Tourney. Keep in mind that the Tigers did beat A & M when they faced them at LSU last season and now it's time for a little "road payback". Of course a big key here is that the Aggies certainly aren't the level of team they were last season. Texas A & M is winless so far in the SEC and all 3 losses have come by double digits. Now they're being asked to win by double digits against a hungry, revenge-minded underdog and I just don't see that happening here. The Aggies are only 2-6 SU (and 1-6 ATS) in their games against teams with a winning record this season. Also, the Tigers are 12-4 SU (and 10-5 ATS) the past 3 seasons combined when they are off of a loss in SEC action. LSU is also 4-1 SU and ATS this season when they are off of a game where they allowed 80 points or more. Look for the Tigers to get back on track in a big way here and, if they do fall short, it will be single digits. They are highly motivated for this one. 10* Top Play LSU

Big Ten Network Smash - Rickenbach CBB Game #727 Wednesday 8* Minnesota Golden Gophers (+) @ Michigan State Spartans @ 7 ET - This line opened up at -2.5 on Sparty and quickly jumped up to -4.5 and I am not surprised since they have the home court edge here. However, what this has done has set up some nice line value on the other side as Minnesota, in comparison with Michigan State, has been playing the better basketball this season. The Golden Gophers one exception to being superior to the Spartans is that they suffered a tough, 1 point home loss to Michigan State in overtime two weeks ago. The only other loss that Minnesota has this season came at Florida State. Minny is holding opponents to just 28.6% from three point land. The Spartans are allowing 34.2% from beyond the arc. The Golden Gophers are 3-0 ATS on the road this season and 3-0 ATS as an underdog. Minnesota was up 39-26 at halftime in their home loss to Michigan State earlier this season and they have now lost back to back games to the Spartans but they did win in their last visit to East Lansing and I expect another "upset" in this one as well. Grab the generous points here. 8* MINNESOTA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) vs Atlanta Hawks @ 7:35 ET Tuesday - With the Hawks having won six straight and the Nets having lost six straight, this is definitely a contrarian choice. Of course we are already getting extra line value here as a result. Atlanta was a low as a 6-point favorite and the line is already up to a 7.5 as of early Tuesday morning. The Nets are coached by Kenny Atkinson and he was an assistant with the Hawks for 4 seasons before coming to Brooklyn this season. As a result, he certainly knows a thing or two about the Xs and Os that Atlanta will employ in this match-up. This game means a lot more to the Nets than the Hawks. It is difficult for Atlanta not to look past the 8-28 Nets as they have a much bigger game (home versus Boston) on deck. That said, the Nets are likely to step up and surprise some people in this one! Brooklyn has been playing better on the defensive end as they have held their opponents to 41.5% field goal shooting in their last 3 home games. Opponents did include Utah and Cleveland! Even though Atlanta has won 6 straight, 4 of the 6 wins have come by 7 points or less. The Hawks have stayed under the total in 3 straight games and, when that has been the case this season, they have gone 2-5 ATS (and 1-6 SU) in their next game! In other words don't be surprised if the Nets gets the upset. However, I am certainly grabbing the points. The Nets are 3-1 ATS this season as a home dog of 6.5 to 9 points. 10* Top Play BROOKLYN

National Championship Game - Rickenbach CFB 10* Top Play Clemson Tigers (+) vs Alabama Crimson Tide @ Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Monday @ 8:30 PM ET - Alabama, it goes without saying, is a phenomenal football program. There is no doubt about that fact. However, that doesn't mean that value can't be had in going against them. The Crimson Tide are here because they got by Washington last weekend. I want to remind everyone though that the Huskies come from the Pac-12 and that conference went 0-6 ATS in the bowls! In other words, one could argue that Alabama certainly should have done a lot more damage than they did against Washington last week. Yes, the Crimson Tide did get enough for the cover in the 24-7 win but their offense only gained 326 yards in that game. Believe it or not, that was the 4th time in their last 6 games that Alabama has been held to less than 373 yards of offense! That said, is the firing of offensive coordinator Kiffin and his replacement with Sarkisian really going to be a good thing before a huge match-up with a high-quality foe? I highly doubt that! The Clemson D just stepped up HUGE against the Buckeyes last week in their 31-0 win as the Tigers held Ohio State to just 215 yards. In fact, in 4 of their last 6 games, Clemson held their opponents under 278 yards of offense! I expect the Tigers, playing with revenge and playing their best defense of the season, to bring their "A game" again in this one. As for their offense, it is one of the most dynamic in the country and Clemson has also been amazingly consistent. They have averaged 502.9 yards per game this season and, they have gained over 441 yards per game in each of their last 12 games. While one could argue that Alabama faced the tougher schedule this season, the SEC overall was not nearly as strong as it was in past seasons. The "playing field" here has truly leveled out and the value is with the revenging dog getting a full TD in this one. The Tigers are on a 6-1 ATS run as an underdog and a long-term run of 31-14 ATS as an underdog in a range of 3.5 to 10 points. The Crimson Tide had just 18 first downs in last year's Championship game while allowing 31. The Tigers had to get in the backdoor for that cover but the stats do tell a better story here. This year I would not be surprised to see the outright upset and will gladly grab the big points here. 10* Top Play CLEMSON on Monday Night

NFL Playoff Game of the Year Sunday - 10* Top Play New York Giants (+) @ Green Bay Packers @ 4:40 ET - The Packers secondary is banged up. Yes it will be cold in Green Bay Sunday but no precipitation is expected and winds are not expected to be significant enough to impact the aerial attack. In other words, look for the Pack to struggle to stop Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. and company in this one. The Packers do enter the post-season on a 6-game winning streak but they've certainly had some good fortune on their side during the streak and they have allowed over 1,000 passing yards in their last 3 games! Of course Aaron Rodgers has been the key as he's seemingly willed this Packers team to victories throughout this winning streak. I have plenty of respect for Rodgers and his weapons in the receiving game as well but this Giants defense is going to give them some problems. New York is one of the top defenses in the league against the run and they also came on strong against the pass as the season went on. In their last 4 games of the regular season, the Giants allowed only 834 passing yards total! I am well aware of the fact that Green Bay beat the Giants earlier this season but, keep in mind, New York had a lot of new faces on defense early this season and it took this unit quite some time to jell. The Giants loss at Green Bay earlier this season dropped New York to 2-3 on the season. Since then, the Giants have gone 9-2. Also, the Giants have allowed only 15.3 points per game in their last 10 games. Green Bay has allowed an average of 25.3 points per game in their last 3 games. Also, the Giants have allowed more than 24 points only one time this entire season. The Packers have allowed 24 points or more in 7 of their last 10 games. Green Bay's average points per game allowed during this stretch was 26.5 points in the 10 games. Now for some history that is hard not to ignore here. Eli Manning and the Giants have been a machine in the playoffs as long as they've avoided their nemesis (division rival Eagles). Philadelphia knocked New York out of the post-season in 2006 and 2008. Prior to that, way back in 2005, Eli Manning made his playoff debut and he had an ugly game. So chalking up 1 game to the rookie experience and 2 games to facing a hated division rival that always gives them trouble, how have the Giants fared in all their other post-season experiences with Manning? 8-0 SU and 8-0 ATS. 7 of the games saw the Giants as a dog and, as you can see, they won all 7 outright. The lone time they were a small fave they won by 22 points! Green Bay lost to the Giants for two of those post-season New York victories and they would love to get revenge here. However, the defense (including the cluster of injuries that have hurt the secondary so badly) is going to prove to be the Packers downfall here. Green Bay is 3-5 in their last 8 playoff games and, in their last 5 home playoff games, the Pack covered the spread just once, that's 20% ATS! The Giants are 5-1 ATS when off of a win against a division rival and look for them to add another cover to that mark here. 10* Top Play NEW YORK GIANTS late afternoon Sunday

Earliest Cash Sunday - Rickenbach NFL 8* Pittsburgh Steelers (-) vs Miami Dolphins @ 1:05 ET - The biggest favorite on the board for Wild Card weekend and I am laying the points here. This huge line is absolutely justified. This is a revenge spot for the Steelers as they lost at Miami earlier this season and Ben Roethlisberger got hurt in that game and certainly wasn't himself. Look for Big Ben and Pittsburgh to get revenge here as they have won 7 straight games and they were on a 5-1 ATS run before the meaningless season finale where they did beat Cleveland but, of course, were resting starters. The Dolphins, other than their win over the Steelers, did not beat a single team this season that had more than 7 wins! Also, Miami's last 4 losses all came by 13 points or more. They're more than capable of getting blown out, especially when facing  revenging opponent that now has the huge edge at QB. While Ryan Tannehill is out for Miami, Big Ben is fired up for this rematch. The Steelers have the superior weapons all over the field in looking at this match-up. Miami head coach Adam Gase certainly deserves some credit for getting this Dolphins team to the playoffs but this is not a good match-up for them at all and, again, their only win against a team that didn't end up with a losing record this season was when they beat Pittsburgh with Roethlisberger basically playing the 2nd half on one leg! It's payback time in a big way here. Miami is 2-6 ATS when off of a loss against a division rival and also 0-3 ATS as a road dog of 7.5 to 10 points. The Steelers are 2-0 ATS in recent seasons and 23-12 ATS long-term when they are a home favorite of 7.5 to 10 points. 8* PITTSBURGH early Sunday afternoon

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA 8* Philadelphia 76'ers (+) @ Brooklyn Nets @ 12:05 ET Sunday - Scheduling situation favors the Sixers in a big way. This is one of only 2 games the 76'ers have scheduled in a span of 7 days. That means full availability of all their players and Philadelphia's big men are going to give the Nets trouble. Embiid, Noel, and Okafor are all expected to be available here. The Sixers have won 3 of the last 4 meetings between these teams and have been playing well since TJ McConnell took over at the point after Sergio Rodriguez hurt his ankle. Philly has covered 3 straight and 4 of their last 5 games. The Nets have the league's worst scoring defense. Also, Brooklyn is still without Jeremy Lin. Brooklyn has won just 1 game in their last 11 and that victory came by just 2 points. That means that at the -2.5 that this game opened up at for the Nets, had they laid that number in their last 11 games they'd be 0-11 ATS. Look for the Sixers to win this one outright but I'll gladly grab the small number being offered here as Philly has been playing the better basketball of these two clubs and, also, this is the 3rd game in 4 days for the Nets. 8* PHILADELPHIA very early Sunday

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #517 Sunday 8* Richmond Spiders (+) @ George Washington Colonials @ Noon ET - The Colonials lost a ton of talent from last year's team that won the NIT Championship and certainly it has shown. George Washington is only 6-6 in their last 12 games and 4 of the 6 wins have come by 4 points or less. That makes the points very attractive here as does the fact that the road team has covered 3 of the last 4 meetings between these teams. The Spiders did win in overtime here last season but they also enter this game with revenge because the Colonials returned the favor at Richmond in their final match-up of the season. The Spiders and George Washington are both allowing just 42.2% from the field this season but the Colonials are allowing 37% from three point land. Also, on the season, George Washington is only shooting 40.6% from the field while Richmond is shooting 45.7% from the field. The Colonials are only 15-27 ATS in conference games the past 3 seasons and have gone just 1-6 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points. This season, in games with a posted total in the 140s, George Washington is 1-4 ATS. The Spiders are a long-term 9-5 ATS in road games with a posted total between 140 and 144.5 points. The Colonials are off of a win versus Davidson where, seemingly, everything was falling. After hitting 61% from three point land (uncharacteristic!) and still only winning the game by 4 points, look for things to return to normal for George Washington here. The Spiders could pull the upset but certainly I'll grab the points here. 8* RICHMOND very early Sunday

NFL Value Game of the Week Saturday - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Detroit Lions (+) @ Seattle Seahawks @ 8:15 ET - No one will want the Lions here and you know what that means at this time of year. Yes, I am being a contrarian and grabbing Detroit plus the big points. Of course it is certainly not without support! One of the biggest keys is that if you look at who Seattle has played this year you become much less impressed with them. The Seahawks certainly benefited in their own division because the Rams and 49'ers were awful this season. Those teams combined for a 6-26 record this season. Of course the other divisional foe was Arizona and Seattle did not defeat the Cardinals in either game. The Seahawks lost at home to the Cards just a few weeks ago and they tied the Cardinals at Arizona much earlier this season in a game where Seattle didn't even deserve to get the tie. The point is that Seattle ended up 3-2-1 in a division where the other teams were a combined 13-34-1. That is NOT impressive. Outside of their division the Seahawks lost to New Orleans and Tampa Bay (non-playoff teams with combined 16-16 record). Seattle did get to face a couple playoffs team and most of the results were not overly impressive when you try to justify laying big points here with the Seahawks. They beat Houston by 2 points, beat Atlanta by 2 points and lost at Green Bay by 28 points! Their only impressive win was of course the revenging win they got at New England in a primetime game where they played their best game of the season and managed to hang on for the win. While Detroit struggled to finish out the season those defeats against 3 straight playoff teams truly "swung" on big plays that shifted the momentum in each game. The playoffs are here, the Lions are battle-tested, and they'll hang in this one all the way. Detroit does have a solid defense and they only lost 2 games by more than 7 points this entire season. The Lions have some playoff experience under coach Jim Caldwell (lost by just 4 at Dallas two years ago) and the Seahawks are getting priced here as if they're the powerhouse they were two and three seasons ago when they made the Super Bowl each year. This team is not as that level. Grab the value here with the big dog. 10* Top Play DETROIT LIONS Saturday night

Daytime Dominator Saturday - Rickenbach NFL 8* Oakland Raiders (+) @ Houston Texans @ 4:35 ET - Both teams have issues at QB and I'll gladly take the points here. Houston is expected to go with Brock Osweiler because of Tom Savage's concussion. Oakland is expected to go with Connor Cook because back-up QB Matt McGloin injured his shoulder. Of course regular starting QB Derek Carr is out with a broken fibula. Everyone is likely to flock to Houston here because of having the home field edge and because of the Raiders being down to their 3rd string QB. However, the Texans offense is such a weakness (especially with Osweiler running the show) that I would not be surprised to see Oakland hang around throughout this game and then spring the upset late. Even if Houston does hang on for a win here I expect it to be by 3 points or less. Remember Oakland got the comeback win over the Texans in the Mexico City game not too long ago. Houston is only 7-7 in their last 14 games and every single win was decided by just a single possession. The average margin of victory in the 7 Texans wins was just 4 points. Houston's last 6 wins have seen 4 decided by a field goal or less. Look for everyone on the Raiders to "step up" and bring a huge effort because they know they have a rookie QB to support. Sometimes that brings the best of efforts out of an entire team and that is what I expect here as Cook makes his first-ever NFL start. The Raiders are a long-term 35-15 ATS as a road dog of 3.5 to 7 points. They are also 7-1 ATS the past 3 seasons when off of a loss to a division rival. The Texas are 0-5 ATS this season when off of a game against a divisional foe. 8* OAKLAND Saturday afternoon

Big East Game of the Month - Rickenbach CBB Game #763 Saturday 10* Top Play St John's Red Storm (+) @ Xavier Musketeers @ 2:30 ET - The Red Storm are coming off of an awful season and, as a result, we're still getting line value with them early this season. They've added some size and length inside which certainly has improved the interior defense. In fact, on the season, the Johnnies are allowing the same field goal percentage (42%) as the Musketeers so this shows how far they've come. Xavier lost some of their "length" from last year's team and this has impacted their defense. Don't get me wrong, the Musketeers are certainly still the superior team in comparison with St John's but, what we're seeing here is that the gap between these teams has truly narrowed. That said, the Red Storm also have toughened up thanks to some tough early season road games and tournament battles with teams like Michigan State and Virginia Commonwealth. The Red Storm already have an impressive win over Syracuse and upset win over Butler on their resume this season. The fact that St John's just lost their most recent game (hosting Creighton) by 13 points is helping lead to additional line value here. Even as bad as the Johnnies were last year they lost their two games with Xavier by 8 points or less. The prior year St John's actually won both games with the Musketeers. They are undervalued here and Xavier is on a 1-5 ATS run as a home fave in a range of 12.5 to 15 points. The Red Storm have gone 4-0 ATS on the road this season and are a long term 16-6 ATS in road games where the total is between 145 and 149.5 points. More of the same Saturday. 10* ST JOHN'S plus the big points

Earliest Cash Saturday - Rickenbach CBB Game #723 Saturday 8* DePaul Blue Demons (+) @ Seton Hall Pirates @ Noon ET - Too many points here. Sure, the Pirates are 11-3 on the season and the Blue Demons are 7-8 on the season thus far. However, DePaul has only lost 1 game (out of 15 games this season) by more than 14 points. Also, 5 of the Blue Demons 8 losses have come by a single digit margin. DePaul also has revenge on their minds here as they lost by 14 at home versus the Pirates last season. The Blue Demons only lost by 4 points in the game at Seton Hall last season and, the prior year, DePaul actually won both games with Seton Hall to earn the 2-0 season sweep. Certainly the Pirates are the better team this season but this line is inflated and, as most of the Big East coaches have been openly discussing, it's going to be a "black and blue" season where no wins are coming easy. The talent level is that closely matched across all programs. That is why right now, in the Big East standings - even though so few games have been played - there is only one undefeated team and only two winless teams out of all 10 teams. It's going to be a "dogfight" season in the Big East and thanks to the scoring punch of Eli Cain, Billy Garrett, and TreDarius McCallum the Blue Demons can hang tough in this one all the way. Look at Seton Hall's last 12 games, they only have 1 win by more than a 13 points margin. The Pirates are 2-6 ATS as a favorite this season. The Blue Demons are 6-2 ATS the past 3 seasons combined when they are a road dog of 12.5 points or more. 8* DE PAUL plus the big points very early Saturday

CUSA Game of the Month - Rickenbach CBB Game #741 Thursday - 10* Top Play UTSA Roadrunners (-) @ Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles @ 8 ET - Most will look at this game and just say it's plain ugly and want to stay away. However, I see great opportunity here with a low number on an improving team that is building up in confidence under a new coach with a new system. Steven Henson, a Lon Kruger protege, has done a great job already with the Roadrunners and his team is now going to be playing their 15th game of the season and they are at the point where they have bought into his systems and defense has improved as a result. UTSA has won 3 straight games and 4 of its last 5. Winning, especially notching victory in their conference opener against UTEP, has done wonders for the confidence of this Roadrunners team and they are ready to go and get an elusive road win. I am well aware of the fact that UTSA hasn't won on the road yet this season but they are facing a Southern Mississippi program that is still trying to find its footing after the scandal that has left them on probation until 2020. This team has only won 3 games this season and those were all non-lined games (which shows you how weak the opposition was). The Golden Eagles are 0-9 SU in lined games this season and here we have a very small line on this game so the SU winner is likely to get the cash and I look for UTSA to get the big road win they are so hungry for. Coach Henson has won this team over and they head to Hattiesburg, Miss. with plenty of confidence in tow. The Runners have held their last 3 opponents to 38.4% from the field and just 63.3 points per game. The Golden Eagles have averaged just 56.6 points per game in their last 12 games and they come into this game having lost 9 straight. UTSA's Gino Littles has combined with Giovanni De Nicolao to give the Roadrunners a solid 1-2 punch at point guard because both players have proved very capable of running the offense with precision. I am well aware of the fact that the Runners 2nd leading scorer, Nick Billingsley, did not make this road trip (academics) but senior guard JR Harris is about to return from a leg injury. Harris could be back as soon as tonight and just the fact that UTSA's leading returning scorer from last year is almost back and the team has won three straight has got the Roadrunners believing they can go and take down this road win. The Golden Eagles were projected by most to finish dead last in CUSA this season and Southern Miss is certainly the perfect spot for the Runners to notch that highly sought-after road win. Look for the Eagles to drop to 0-4 SU and ATS in home lined games this season. 10* UTSA Roadrunners Thursday

Non-Conf Game of the Month - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Toronto Raptors (-) vs Utah Jazz @ 7:35 ET Thursday - With both teams off of losses, this may not seem like such a strong situation (on the surface!) for Toronto. However, when you dig a little deeper there is plenty of reason to be very "bullish" on the Raptors for Thursday night! Utah is off of a loss where they allowed 55.4% shooting from the field and 115 points. This season, when the Jazz are off of a loss where they allowed 111 points or more, they've actually gone 0-3 ATS in their next game. When Utah has allowed an opponent to shoot over 51.1% from the field, the Jazz have also gone 0-3 ATS in their next game. Also, Utah is 2-8 ATS as an underdog this season and that includes 0-3 ATS this season as a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points. The Raptors are fully focused on this home game after struggling on their recent road trip. Toronto has another road game coming up before finally settling in for a 4-game homestand so they want to make the most of this game versus the Jazz. The Raptors are 5-1 ATS this season when they are off of a game where they allowed their opponent to connect at a rate of 51.1% or better from the field. After getting thoroughly embarrassed by the hot shooting of the Spurs in San Antonio Tuesday, the Raptors are going to "bring it" on Thursday night. The Raptors are still 8-4 ATS this season against teams with a winning record while the Jazz are only 6-9 ATS this season. Toronto has won 7 of its last 9 home games. The Jazz had a 4-game losing streak before losing at Boston Tuesday but note that the wins came against Brookyn, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and the Lakers. Those are 4 of the worst teams in the league. Even if George Hill is back for the Jazz tonight, they are running into an angry Raptors team here that will take advantage of their home court edge to get back on track. 10* TORONTO Thursday evening

Wednesday Winner - Rickenbach CBB Game #563 - 8* Virginia Cavaliers (-) @ Pittsburgh Panthers @ 9 ET - Both teams are off of losses so each team is looking to bounce back. Look for the Cavaliers stellar defense to be the difference in this one. Virginia is allowing an average of only 48.6 points per game this season while holding opponents to 35.2% from the field. Contrast this with the Panthers who allow 75.8 points per game! Pittsburgh gets a lot of hype for their home court but the result of the "too much hype" has been a 14-25 ATS mark the past three seasons. The Panthers have a solid frontcourt but are not that strong defensively or at the point. That's why their top leaders in assists are actually their top tandem of forwards - Michael Young and Jamel Artis. The Panthers will be looking to respond off of their loss but are only 9-12 ATS when off of a loss in conference action. Conversely, the Cavaliers are a rock solid 8-1 SU (and 6-3 ATS) when off of a loss in ACC action. Also, the Panthers are just 1-6 ATS as a home dog in a range of 3.5 to 6 points. Versus strong defensive teams (allowing 64 points or less per game), Pittsburgh is on a 3-17 ATS run. The Panthers have lost 4 straight games to the Cavs and each of the last two defeats have come by at least a dozen points. Combining the top trends above (6-3 on Cavs, 6-1 against Pitt and 17-3 against Pitt) this is a 29-7 (81%) spot favoring the Cavaliers. The Cavs have are a perfect 6-0 the last 6 times they have lost a game and most of the victories have been blowouts and only one win came by less than 7 points. Look for another road rout here! 8* VIRGINIA Wednesday

SEC Rivalry Rout - Rickenbach CBB Game #720 Tuesday - 10* Top Play Tennessee Volunteers (-) vs Arkansas Razorbacks @ 6:30 ET - As I wrote in my write-up last Thursday when I rode the Vols to victory over the Aggies, head coach Rick Barnes is in his 2nd season at Tennessee but, though the Volunteers are certainly still rebuilding, they did notch a few victories over SEC rivals like Florida, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt last season. Though not a traditional SEC rival like those, Arkansas has been in the SEC long enough to get under the skin of Tennessee fans and this is especially true considering that the Razorbacks have won 4 straight meetings with the Volunteers. Those wins included knocking the Vols out of the SEC Tourney 2 years ago. As for coach Barnes experience against the Hogs, he is certainly not happy about dropping both match-ups with them last season. That said, the Razorbacks absolutely have the full attention of coach Barnes. Keep in mind, this is their SEC home opener and after an embarrassing loss to open up the season (against Chattanooga), coach Barnes has the Vols settled in. They have gone 8-4 since then and the only 4 losses were to teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation. While the Vols have been battle-tested this season, Arkansas only has one win against a major conference foe and most of their early season wins have come against weak competition. In their first SEC game of the season Arkansas already found out just how tough it's going to be as they step up in competition and Florida handled them rather easily and Arky was home for that game! Now they're on the road and facing a hungry team that is looking for revenge and that has been playing well. The "cherry on top" here is that Arkansas has a game at highly ranked Kentucky on deck and just lost to a ranked Florida team that also knocked the Razorbacks out of the SEC Tourney last spring. That said, this could easily be an emotional letdown game for Arky and the Vols will gladly take advantage. The Volunteers are 5-1 ATS this season in their games against teams with a winning record. The Razorbacks are 1-4 ATS this season in games with a posted total in the 150s. Look for plenty of points here as the Vols pull away and win this in a blowout. 10* TENNESSEE

Sun Belt Conf Game of the Month - Rickenbach CBB Game #533 Monday - 10* Top Play UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (-) @ Arkansas Little Rock Trojans @ 9 ET Monday - The set-up here is fantastic. The Ragin Cajuns are highly motivated as they have revenge from the Trojans knocking them out of Sun Belt Conference tourney spring. Also, UL-Lafayette comes into this game off of a tight 3-point loss at Arkansas State but previously had won 10 of their last 11 games. They now visit Little Rock looking for revenge and they catch the Trojans off of an OT win @ UL-Monroe. That was the same Warhawks team that Arkansas-Little Rock had beaten last spring in the SBC tourney to make it to the Big Dance. Make no mistake that was an intense hard-fought win for the Trojans Saturday and now they won't be able to match the intensity of the hungry, revenge-minded Ragin Cajuns Monday night. Louisiana is 3-0 ATS as a favorite this season while the Trojans are a long-term 1-7 ATS in home games with a posted total between 145 and 149.5 points. Both teams lost some key personnel from last year's squads but the Ragin' Cajuns are a pleasant surprise so far this season and they are fired up for this revenge game. The set up is perfect. I'll take it! 10* UL-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

Bowl Game of the Year - Rickenbach 10* Top Play Penn State Nittany Lions (+) vs USC Trojans in Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA @ 5 ET Monday - The Nittany Lions, as usual, are getting no respect. The Buckeyes got invited to the CFB Playoffs, instead of Penn State who beat them head to head and then also won the Big Ten Championship over Wisconsin. Regardless of the "ugly" win over Ohio State and the fact that they had some "luck" in the rally over the Badgers for the conference championship, this is a strong Nittany Lions team. They are confident, their defense is solid, their offense is surging, AND perhaps most important of all, they're playing with a chip on their shoulder here. They feel disrespected and are out to make a statement in this game by knocking off USC. The Trojans certainly got hot this season and I have plenty of respect for them. However, the Pac-12 has looked weaker and weaker the more the bowl performances have come in. Washington couldn't move the ball in their bowl game. Colorado got crushed by Oklahoma State in their bowl game. Washington State lost to Minnesota in their bowl game. Utah won their bowl game by only 2 points and Stanford won their bowl game by just 2 points. The point is that these are the types of teams that USC played all season long and yet now they're supposed to beat the Big Ten Champion Nittany Lions by more than a TD. I feel the Trojans are being over-rated here. They built up their stats with games against Pac-12 weaklings like UCLA, Oregon, Cal, Arizona, and Arizona State. Those teams had a combined record of 21-39 this season. In tougher games away from home, the Trojans lost at Utah and at Stanford and got absolutely crushed in a neutral site game versus Alabama. Does that sound like a team a that is a full TD better than the Big Ten champs? I say no way. Another thing that is hard to put a measurement on is momentum and confidence and moxie. Penn State has all 3 as they have rallied from huge deficits to win the biggest of games and they've won 9 straight games after a 2-2 start. As you can see, the Nittany Lions have momentum, confidence and they "never say never" as shown in the Big Ten Championship Game. Look for USC to drop to 0-5 in their last 5 neutral field games. As for the Nittany Lions, I look for them to improve to 5-1 SU in neutral site games but I'll definitely grab all the points I can get with this dangerous dog. They have averaged 328 passing yards per game in their last 4 games and look for RB Saquon Barkley to have a huge game as he is refreshed after the break. 10* PENN STATE

Outback Bowl - Rickenbach 8* Iowa Hawkeyes (+) vs Florida Gators @ Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL @ 1 ET Monday - The Hawkeyes defense (17.9 points per game) is just as good as the Gators. In fact, Iowa allowed a total of just 23 points in their last 3 games of the regular season. Florida has allowed 31 points or more in 3 of their last 5 games. While the Gators wrapped up the season with back to back losses, the Hawkeyes come into the bowl game riding the momentum of 3 straight wins and they scored 34 points per game in their final two games of the season. The Gators offense has been held to 16 points or less in 4 of their last 5 games. Florida's injury list is also a much longer one than that of Iowa. The Gators are banged up and the Hawkeyes are hot at the right time. Iowa is on a 6-3 ATS run in games where the line is in a range of +3 to -3 and Florida is on a 2-4 ATS run in games where the line is anywhere from +3 to -3. Big value with the defensive dog in this one. 8* IOWA

Cotton Bowl - Rickenbach 8* Wisconsin Badgers (-) vs Western Michigan @ AT & T Stadium in Arlington, TX @ 1 ET Monday - Western Michigan is 13-0...and yet they've played no one. Seriously. With all due respect to the Broncos for not faltering and coming up with an amazing undefeated record, let's keep in mind that they play in the MAC which is one of the weakest conferences in CFB. The Broncos toughest games this season were as a 3 point dog versus Northwestern and a 3 point favorite with Illinois. They did dominate an Illini team that went on to go 3-9 on the season but they only snuck by the Wildcats by a single point and that Northwestern team is a far cry from the strength of the Big Ten team their facing Monday. Wisconsin is absolutely one of the best Big Ten teams and they have a tremendous defense that is in a foul mood after the way they failed to close the door on Penn State in the Big Ten Championship. That means a huge effort is coming from the Badgers D here and they often dominate teams (allowed 17 points or less in 10 of their first 12 games this season). The Badger offense can pound the ball on the ground and the Broncos D line is going to have trouble with the powerful Badgers O line. Wiscy ran the ball extremely well to wrap up the season. Western Michigan's D did allow 200+ rushing yards in 5 of their last 10 games despite facing a weak schedule. To put that in perspective, the Badgers D (even with facing a tough schedule) never allowed more than 185 rushing yards this entire season. Look for the Badgers to dominate this one in the trenches and that should lead to a victory by a double digit margin. 8* WISCONSIN

Primetime Punisher Top - Rickenbach NFL Sunday Night 10* Top Play Detroit Lions (+) vs Green Bay Packers @ 8:30 ET - No matter what happens earlier in the day Sunday this game will of course decided who wins the NFC North. However, it is also quite likely that this game will end up resulting in the loser staying home for the post-season! That said, this is a huge game no matter what and I expect it to be a huge battle. That is all the more reason that there is tremendous line value with being able to grab the Lions at +3.5 in this game. Getting the home dog in that price range is a huge edge. Green Bay enters this game on a 5-game winning streak but 3 of the games were against teams that will not end the season with a winning record. Also the Packers have benefited greatly from turnovers in many of their recent wins. That is why they keep on winning despite their biggest overall yardage edge in any of their last 4 games being just 2 yards (twice). The Packers actually were outgained in the other two games! A high total is posted on this game and the Lions are 7-0 (ATS and SU) in games with a posted total of 49.5 or more points the past 3 seasons. Detroit has lost the past two weeks but they were on the wrong end of the turnovers (2-0) in each game. Green Bay rates the better offense but is Aaron Rodgers really healthy? Also, the Lions do rate the edge on defense and special teams. Don't be surprised if the Lions get revenge for their loss at Green Bay earlier this season. However, I am certainly grabbing all the points I can get here in case the Lions fall just short. Home dog value! 10* DETROIT

Big Ten Network Smash - Rickenbach CBB Game #714 Sunday - 8* Illinois Illini (-) vs Ohio State Buckeyes @ 7 ET - This situation favors the Illini in many ways. Illinois is coming off of an embarrassing loss on Tuesday that saw them score only 59 points at Maryland. Of course that means extra motivation for the Illini here, not that they needed it. These teams have met 3 times in the past 2 seasons (once at OSU and once in Illinois) and the Buckeyes have taken all 3 meetings. This is the ideal spot for the Illini to put an end to that streak as, not only do they have home court, not only are they off of an embarrassing loss, Illinois is catching Ohio State after a 9-day break! The Buckeyes have a lot of rust to work off and, additionally, they have a huge game on deck with the Boilermakers. Ohio State lost at Purdue last season so they're looking for revenge in that game and, of course, the Boilermakers have the attention of all of the Big Ten right now as they are highly ranked. Even though OSU won both games with Illinois last season won came by just 2 points and the other one came in overtime. Those tight losses certainly show just how "close" the Illini were and this is the perfect spot for them to get over the hump. Illinois has a SU record of 29-12 in home games the past three seasons (including 7-1 this season) while Ohio State is only 8-13-1 ATS (9=13 SU) in road games the past three seasons. All the extra rest heading into this game is not something the Buckeyes are use to and they lost and failed to cover the only such game like this the past two seasons. This season they are 0-3 ATS in games with a posted total in the 130s. The Illini are on a 3-year run of 35-6 SU (and 25-14 ATS) in games in which they are a favorite. Look for the hungry revenging home team to get the job done here. 8* ILLINOIS Sunday

Rickenbach NFL 8* Washington Redskins (-) vs New York Giants @ 4:25 ET Sunday - Yes this line is a little bit high (considering it has moved above a 7) but is absolutely justified. The Redskins don't completely control their destiny but they're about as close as you can get truly. Washington simply needs to win this game and they should absolutely be in the playoffs because the only way they wouldn't make it is if Detroit and Green Bay finished in a tie Sunday night and, of course, that is highly unlikely. That said, the Redskins actually catch a break by matching up with the Giants here. New York is already locked into the #5 seed in the NFC and it would be foolish for New York to risk injuring guys when this game can do nothing for their playoff position. That means a hungry Redskins team with an ultra-dangerous offense should hold the upper hand in this one. Washington's offense ranks as one of the tops in the league thanks to QB Cousins and the Giants strength is their defense but I can't see them being ultra-intense in this game considering their playoff position is already set and they need to stay healthy for next week. The Redskins are on an 8-3 ATS run in divisional action. The Giants are off of a loss at Philadelphia last week and are actually a surprising 1-6 SU (and 1-5-1 ATS) when off of a loss against a division rival. 8* WASHINGTON

Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play San Diego Chargers (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 4:25 ET Sunday - This is another one of those "danger spots" for a playoff bound team. Even though the Chiefs have locked in a playoff spot they still know that a win coupled with a Raiders loss would give them the AFC West Division. That said, Kansas City has all the pressure on them here while the Chargers would love nothing more than to make sure that they're hated division rival does not win the division. San Diego also has revenge from a loss at KC very early this season where the Chargers blew a big lead and then lost in OT. Look for San Diego to be amped up for this opportunity as it's the best way to finish their season (by making sure the Chiefs don't win the division) after the disappointment of losing at Cleveland last week. As ugly as San Diego's overall season record is, they've been "in" virtually every game this season and 5 of their last 9 losses all have come by 4 points or less. All but one of their 10 losses has been decided by 8 points or less. The Chargers will bring their A game this week and the Chiefs are one of the most over-rated 11-5 teams in league history as, based on yardage, they rank 20th on offense and 24th on defense in the league! San Diego actually ranks higher in both categories and the Chiefs special teams edge isn't enough to warrant them being this sizable of a favorite on the road. Ugly home dog likely to get the job done once again in a season finale (they beat Miami by 16 in LY's season finale). 10* SAN DIEGO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NFL Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles (-) vs Dallas Cowboys @ 1 ET - This rivalry means a ton to the Eagles and especially the Philadelphia fans. The Eagles players, coaching staff, and upper management are certainly all well aware of this as well. What that means is that, even though Dallas is the team going to the playoffs and they have already locked up the #1 seed in the NFC, you'd better believe that Philly is going to "Bring It" on Sunday. For the Eagles, this is their Super Bowl. For the Cowboys, this is the one game where they walk the fine line of trying to keep starters "game ready" before the two week layoff while also getting the back-ups some work. Long story short, the Eagles want to win and are highly amped up about finishing this season on a high note for rookie QB Carson Wentz, first year head coach Doug Pederson, and the entire organization and it's rabid fan base. Remember this is a big revenge game for the Eagles too because they never should have lost the game in Dallas earlier this season. They had a huge lead but then relinquished it and lost in overtime. It is time for payback here. That payback means a lot to the Eagles while the Cowboys have "bigger and better things" to look ahead too. Dallas could care or less about this game! 8* PHILADELPHIA

Playoff Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach CFB 10* Top Play Clemson Tigers (+) vs Ohio State Buckeyes in Fiesta Bowl @ University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ @ 7 ET - I am not going to waver from my pre-season prediction which did have Clemson in the national championship game. That said, I do expect them to grab the outright victory in this match-up but will certainly take any and all available points here! Both the Buckeyes and the Tigers lost a lot of key talent from last season's teams and yet all the younger players certainly gained valuable experience this season as the year went on and each team is here after losing only 1 game apiece this entire season. The key for Clemson is their dynamic offense as they did return 8 starters on that side of the ball and QB Deshaun Watson has delivered another huge season. The Tigers have the much better passing attack in this game (they average 333 passing yards per game whereas the Buckeyes average only 221 passing yards a game). Certainly I have a ton of respect for coach Urban Meyer and his long-term success (including bowl games) in his career. However, the Buckeyes loss to Penn State (coupled with the fact that the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten Championship) means Ohio State truly shouldn't even be here. Trust me I understand how the system works but a team that won the conference (PSU) and also beat the Buckeyes head to head is the team that should represent in the playoffs. I am not saying that this is on the minds of OSU, not in the least. I am just saying that "turnabout is fair play" and the Buckeyes didn't deserve to get their ticket punched to the playoffs and I look for the bounces of the ball to go Clemson's way in this one. The Tigers can certainly "make their own breaks" in this one as the speed of their offense all over the field is going to give the vaunted defense of OSU plenty of trouble in this one. Also, don't underestimate the strength of the defensive line of of the Tigers. Their rush defense is arguably just as good as that of the Buckeyes and, in terms of QB pressure, Clemson had 46 sacks this season while Ohio State only had 26 sacks. Looking at their final 7 games of the season, the Buckeyes did have 2 blowout wins but the other 5 games included a pair of overtime victories, a pair of wins by a combined total of only 5 points, and the loss to the Nittany Lions. This Ohio State team is clearly not the dominant team of old and I like Clemson (only loss was by a single point in a game they out-yarded Pitt by 166 yards) to be in this one all the way and to get the W thanks to their potent offense leading the way. The Tigers are on a 5-1 ATS run as an underdog and long-term it is a 58-35 ATS run in the underdog role. 10* CLEMSON plus the points Saturday night

Divisional Dominator Top - Rickenbach NBA 10* Chicago Bulls (-) vs Milwaukee Bucks @ 7:05 ET - Both teams were in action yesterday but this back to back spot is offering multiple edges for the Bulls. For one thing, Chicago's game started 4 hours earlier than the Bucks game yesterday. Also, the Bulls are now back home where they've won 10 of 16 games this season while Milwaukee is still on the road where they've lost 9 of 14 this season. The Bulls also have revenge on their minds here and it is "significant" revenge. What I mean by that is that Chicago was thoroughly embarrassed by the Bucks in a home and home set two weeks ago. Not only did the Bulls lose by double digits at Milwaukee but they then lost the rematch in Chicago by an embarrassing score of 95-69. The Bulls attempted 10 more shots from the field than did the Bucks in that game but Chicago "couldn't hit the broad side of a barn" in that game as they shot a ridiculous 30.4% from the field. You can bet (literally!) that the Bulls will respond in a big way Saturday. Chicago is 3-0 ATS this season (and 12-5 ATS the past 3 seasons) when they are a home favorite of 3 points or less! The Bucks are 1-5 (SU and ATS) when playing the 2nd game of a back to back this season. Also, the past three seasons combined, Milwaukee is just 16-31 SU when playing the 2nd game of a back to back. That said, laying the small number with the revenge-minded Bulls is absolutely the way to go here. 10* CHICAGO

Philly's Finest Top - Rickenbach CBB Game #575 Saturday - 10* Top Play Temple Owls (+) @ Central Florida Knights @ 4 ET - Central Florida is currently playing with only six scholarship players because they have a number of transfers having to sit out and then they're also dealing with a couple of key injuries. The Knights are currently without Chance McSpadden and leading scorer BJ Taylor. While UCF is off of a win in their AAC opener, they had the benefit of facing a Tulane team that is now 3-10 on the season and easily the worst team in the conference. Temple is 0-1 in conference action after their loss to open up the AAC schedule so they'll be fired up to get back on track here. They shot horribly in that game but, keep in mind, they played Cincinnati and the Bearcats are one of the top teams in the conference. Overall, the Knights have the better record so far this season but the Owls have played the tougher schedule. Also, Temple has gone 4-0 the last 2 seasons against Central Florida. When off of a game where they scored 60 points or less, the Owls have gone 14-5 SU the past three seasons. This line is right around a pick'em so that trend certainly fits here and Temple is fired up after the ugly loss at Cincinnati. This game is expected to be a grind it out, low-scoring affair and UCF is only 2-5 SU in games with a posted total in the 120s while Temple has gone 18-8 SU the past three seasons in such games. Also, in home games with a total in the 120s, Central Florida is 0-3 ATS the past 3 seasons. More of the same here and the hungry Owls get the W over the short-handed Knights. 10* TEMPLE

Playoff Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB 8* Washington Huskies (+) vs Alabama Crimson Tide in Peach Bowl @ Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA @ 3 ET - Similar to Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder, Washington head coach Chris Peterson has always enjoyed special success (and almost seems to relish) when in the role of an underdog. Peterson certainly has his wish here as he and the Huskies are huge underdogs against Alabama and are basically being given "no chance" to upset the Crimson Tide by most prognosticators. While I am certainly not calling for the outright upset here I am saying that the 2 TD spread should prove to be far too generous. Peterson, who of course was with Boise State before coming to Washington, has gone 6-3 SU (and ATS) in bowls. This includes a perfect 3-0 ATS mark for Peterson as a dog and 2 of those bowl ATS victories as dogs were outright upsets! After the Huskies lone loss this season, they responded by winning their final 3 games of the season by a combined score of 130 to 45. Two of those teams had combined records of 18-5 at the time Washington played them and those opponents were certainly two of the top teams in the PAC-12 this season. Now much is being made of the strength of the SEC and that the Huskies have no chance against an SEC foe. However, the SEC teams have gone just 3-4 so far in these bowls and the only win that came by double digits was Tennessee yesterday and they played a Nebraska team without their star QB (and others) so the big Vols win was not a shock. Certainly the Crimson Tide are not just "any" SEC team but, keep in mind, these teams that have under-performed in the bowls include the same type of SEC teams that Alabama beat to get to their 13-0 record. The Crimson Tide did allow 400+ yards of passing to Arkansas and Ole Miss in the regular season and Huskies QB Jake Browning has had a tremendous season. Washington had 300+ yards of passing in 5 of its last 7 games before it simply relied on its ground game to dispatch Colorado in the PAC-12 Championship Game. The Huskies aerial attack can absolutely keep them in this game and the Washington defense allowed just 17.2 points per game and 316.2 yards per game this season. Most everyone is expecting a complete thrashing here but they are underestimating the coaching ability of Peterson and the talent level that this veteran group (returned 15 starters this year) of Huskies has fired up and ready to for this big game opportunity. 8* WASHINGTON

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #552 Saturday - 8* Delaware Blue Hens (+) vs Hofstra Pride @ 2 ET Saturday - This line opened up with Hofstra -3 but is now all the way up to a -6 in some spots this morning. I completely understand the move as Delaware is coming off of a 7-23 season and Hofstra has been hammering the Blue Hens in recent meetings. However, the Pride could be a little "rusty" here as they haven't played since the 22nd. Conversely, Delaware got back in action, after the Christmas break, by crushing Iona on Wednesday. The Blue Hens were a double digit dog in that game and won the game outright...very nearly by double digits as it ended up a 19 points cover for Delaware. Certainly the Blue Hens have a ways to go but they are still under-valued at this point so far this season. Keep in mind they are 7-6 on the  year so they've already equaled last season's win total. A big key has been a couple of key contributors that were not expected to be as "ready" as they have been. Freshman guard Ryan Daly is their leading scorer and Chivarsky Corbett has returned from an ACL injury and been a solid contributor as well. These players have joined returning starters Cazmon Hayes and Anthony Mosley and George Washington transfer Darian Bryant to give Delaware a strong core group of 5 players all capable of scoring double digits in each game. Corbett did miss Wednesday's game but is probable for this afternoon's game. The Blue Hens are 5-0 SU at home this season and also 3-0 ATS in games against teams with a winning record. The Pride are on a 7-14 ATS run in games with posted total in the 140s. Also, Hofstra is 1-4 SU their last 5 when playing with 7 or more days of rest between games. 8* DELAWARE

#1 Bowl Top Side - Rickenbach CFB 10* Top Play Michigan Wolverines (-) vs Florida State Seminoles in Orange Bowl @ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL @ 8 ET Friday - Many seem surprised to see Michigan as a TD favorite over Florida State in this match-up. As a result, it also seems that the Seminoles are an extremely popular choice in this game. Certainly the dogs have dominated the bowls thusfar but what I see in this match-up is a game that will be dominated by the defense of the Wolverines. Michigan allowed just 12.5 points per game and only 252.7 yards per game this season. The Wolverines allowed only 280 yards per game in their two losses this season. Compare this with Florida State's three losses where their porous defense allowed over 500 yards in every single game! The Noles also are the much more banged up team heading into this bowl game as one can plainly see by comparing the two injury reports of these teams. All of Michigan's wins this season came by a double digit margin and fiery head coach Harbaugh is hungry (and has his team hungry) after that tough OT loss to Ohio State that prevented "bigger things" for the Wolverines. Can you imagine the pent up anger and frustration that this Wolverines defense is about to unleash on the Seminoles in this game? This is a fired up team and I also expect a big game from a much healthier Wilton Speight (QB) in this game for Michigan. It's amazing he even tried to play against Ohio State with the shoulder injury. He's had 5 weeks since then to heal up and a solid Wolverines ground game will also keep the FSU defense off balance. Don't be fooled by the solid season-ending performance of FSU as they faced 3 weak offenses. This is an FSU defense that, prior to that 3-0 ATS run had given up 450 yards or more in 5 of their 7 prior games and the two games they didn't were one played in a hurricane and one played against the weak offense of Wake Forest. Make no mistake, the Seminoles defense is vulnerable here and the Wolverines defense is anything but! Look for the Michigan D, their solid edges in the trenches, their special teams advantage, and their high level of motivation to prove to be the big keys in this one. FSU is on a 1-4 ATS run in games played on a neutral field. The Wolverines are 5-2 SU and ATS in games played after a loss to a conference rival. 10* MICHIGAN

The Game of the Month - Rickenbach 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) @ Washington Wizards @ 7:05 ET Friday - The Wizards Bradley Beal injured his ankle in Washington's most recent game and he's listed as doubtful for tonight's game. The Wizards also are in a "flat spot" here as they are off of a back to back wins and have a tough team (Houston) on deck and could easily overlook the Nets here. That is particularly true because Washington has won each of the past 4 meetings between these teams. A flat Wizards team could be upset here as Brooklyn very nearly upset Chicago in their most recent game and the Nets did upset Charlotte in their prior game. Since Christmas, Brooklyn has come out with extra energy and motivation and they're surely going to again be highly motivated here after they "let one slip away" in their two point loss to the Bulls Wednesday plus the Nets have the revenge angle in their favor here. That is significant here because Brooklyn is 7-2 ATS this season when playing with home loss revenge. The Wizards, as a home fave of 6.5 to 9 points, are on a 7-11 ATS run. 10* BROOKLYN

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA 8* Indiana Pacers (-) vs Chicago Bulls @ 4:05 ET Friday - Revenge game for the Pacers as they lost at Chicago on Monday. Indiana has been mired in a losing slump but if you look closely at their recent schedule, most of their games have been on the road. The Pacers are a different team when they are at home and they've gone 11-5 on their home floor this season while the Bulls have only gone 6-10 on the road. Of course we need Indiana to not only win this game but also cover the point spread here. The odds are in our favor in that regard as the Bulls are only 1-4 ATS this season (and 8-18 ATS the past three seasons) as a road dog of 3.5 to 6 points. The Pacers are 24-13 ATS the past 3 seasons in divisional games and they get the job done in this revenge spot Friday afternoon. 8* INDIANA

ESPN2 Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CBB Game #723 Friday 8* West Virginia Mountaineers @ Oklahoma State Cowboys @ 4 ET - This is a significant revenge game for coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers. They were knocked out of the Big Dance by 14th seeded Stephen F Austin last spring. Why does that matter here? Because Oklahoma State is now coached by the former Lumberjacks coach, Brad Underwood. Certainly West Virginia (nor coach Huggins) have forgotten about the 70-56 dismantling they suffered at the hands of coach Underwood's team in March. It is time for a little payback here and the line (right around a pick'em) is certainly "ripe for the picking" in this one! Even though both teams are off to great starts this season (and I must say it is impressive what coach Underwood has done with a Cowboys team in rebuild mode) it gets "real" now as Big 12 conference play gets underway and this ranked Mountaineers team wants to make a statement and they have the depth and talent to do just that! The biggest difference between these teams is that West Virginia is allowing only 58.2 points per game while Oklahoma State is allowing 77.4 points per game! The Mountaineers have a long-term SU record of 19-2 in their games against teams allowing 77 points or more per game. West Virginia's offense has been strong this season and they are averaging 91.8 points per game. That is significant here because, even though the Cowboys offensive production has also been big early this season, OSU is 3-13 SU the past three seasons when facing teams averaging 77 points or more per game. So we have combined angles of 32-5 working in our favor but, truly with the revenge angle (coaches) and the more veteran and deeper team, we have all the key edges in this one. 8* WEST VIRGINIA

1st of 3 star rated Bowl Picks Friday. The other 2 are 10* Top Plays. Here is the 8*: Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB 8* North Carolina Tar Heels (+) vs Stanford Cardinal in Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX @ 2 ET - The Cardinal finished up the season winning 5 straight games so they certainly appear to be the "play on" team here based on momentum. However, those 5 wins came against a 5-7 team, a pair of 4-8 teams, and a pair of 3-9 teams. In fact, the only challenging opponents that Stanford has faced in their last 10 games were Washington and Washington State. The Cardinal got blasted by a combined 86-22 in those games. While the Tar Heels are without RB Elijah Hood in this game (medical reasons), the decision on the part of Stanford's Christian McCaffrey to "skip" this game because he is preparing for the NFL draft is the bigger blow! Not only does that hurt the Cardinal mentally, it truly crushes an offense that is otherwise "pedestrian" anyway! Stanford just does not move the ball well and QB Keller Chryst is more of a "game manager" QB who is just asked to not make mistakes while the Cardinal try to pound away with their ground game. I am well aware of the Tar Heels defense being a weakness but we've seen time and time again in this bowl season that lesser defenses have been able to rise to the occasion and shut down sub-par offensive units. North Carolina is not as impacted by losing Hood for this game because their offense revolves around QB Mitch Trubisky anyway and he has a 28-4 TD-INT ratio. He and the Tar Heels are very hungry for this bowl win and they went 8-3 this season after losing their season opener and one of their losses came by just a single point. After losing to NC State in their season finale, look for North Carolina to come up big in the Sun Bowl. The Heels went 4-1 SU against teams with a winning record this season and I look for them to drop the Cardinal to 0-3 SU and ATS in games against teams with a winning record this season. 8* NORTH CAROLINA

Bowl Insider Top Play Thursday - Rickenbach 10* Top Play Oklahoma State Cowboys (+) vs Colorado Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl @ the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX @ 9 ET Thursday - The Cowboys certainly have more bowl experience. This is the Buffaloes first bowl since 2007 whereas Oklahoma State is in its 11th straight bowl. Certainly OSU is looking to atone for last year's poor result in the Sugar Bowl as they lost 48 to 20 to Ole Miss. There are some key match-up edges here. Even though the Buffaloes pass defense was fantastic this season, they lost their defensive coordinator heading into this bowl game as Jim Leavitt took a job in Oregon. The Buffs defense is going to be kept off balance because the Oklahoma State offense is so well-balanced. On the ground they have the elusive speedster in Justice Hill and then the pounding punisher in senior Chris Carson. Their ground game will open things up for the aerial attack on the Colorado defense and OSU QB Mason Rudolph has thrown for 25 TD's and just 4 INT's this season. Overall, Oklahoma State averages nearly 500 yards of offense per game. Even though the Cowboys lost at Oklahoma to wrap up the regular season, they gained over 400 yards. Comparing that to Colorado' last game, the Buffaloes were held to just 163 yards of offense in the Pac-12 Championship game where they were blasted by Washington. The Cowboys have the edge not only on offense but also special teams and there are a lot of OSU fans in Texas...much more than Colorado and, as a result, the site edge here (in San Antonio) also goes to Oklahoma State. The Buffaloes are 0-3 ATS when off of a bye week and the Cowboys are 3-0 ATS this season in games where the line is between +3 and -3. Getting the +3 here with OSU is simply an added bonus as I do expect them to win outright. Grab the +3 here just in case though. 10* OKLAHOMA STATE

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #535 Thursday - 8* Evansville Purple Aces (+) @ Illinois State Redbirds @ 8 ET Thursday - The Purple Aces certainly lost a lot of key cogs from last year's roster. However, Evansville is still a quality team with a quality coach and they had some key replacements coming in including a transfer player that had sat out last season and now has been one of the Aces top contributors so far this season. What has impressed me about Evansville is that they've come out this season like a team with something to prove (due to all the roster turnover) and after an early adjustment phase they've certainly turned things up a notch. The Purple Aces are entering their conference opener on a 7-game winning streak. Also, two of the four losses that Evansville had earlier this season came by 4 points or less. Here we are getting a sizable amount of points considering that the Redbirds, though considered a top MVC team for this season, are only 6-4 so far on the young season. Illinois State did not shoot the ball well in the Hawaii tourney they just returned from and if they're shots aren't falling early in this game they could be in trouble here. The Purple Aces, thanks to a 7 game winning streak, are a very confident team and they've drained at least 46% of their shots from the field in 10 of their last 12 games! Also, the Aces were only held under 68 points twice in their last dozen games. Confident, scoring a lot of points, and out for revenge (Evansville lost at home to Illinois State last season plus the Redbirds knocked them out of the MVC tourney 2 years ago), the Purple Aces make for an ideal "dangerous" underdog! I am grabbing all the points I can get here! 8* EVANSVILLE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #539 Thursday - 8* Tennessee Volunteers (+) @ Texas A & M @ 7 ET Thursday - Head coach Rick Barnes is in his 2nd season at Tennessee. Though the Volunteers are certainly still rebuilding, they did notch a few victories over SEC rivals like Florida, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt last season. Though not a traditional SEC rival like those, Texas A & M is a team that absolutely has the full attention of coach Barnes. Keep in mind, he was at Texas for 15+ season before coming to Tennessee so he knows the Aggies very well as the Longhorns and Texas A & M are the biggest rivals in the state of Texas due to their many years together in the same conference. That said, even though a few things have changed, you can bet that this game, especially with it being the SEC opener, means an awful lot to coach Barnes and he's had a full week to prepare for this match-up. The Aggies have a slightly better record than the Vols so far this season but Tennessee has played the tougher schedule. Also, the Volunteers are 4-1 ATS as an underdog this season and 4-1 ATS in games against teams with a winning record. The Vols are also a perfect 3-0 ATS in road games this season. The Aggies are only 1-3 ATS this season in their games against teams with a winning record and they are 0-2 ATS this season when off of a game where they allowed 60 points or less. The Vols battled hard at home last season against Texas A & M but fell just short in the 4-point loss. Barnes almost got the W against his long-time rival in that match-up. Even if he does fall short again, look for the Volunteers to at least get the cover here. 8* TENNESSEE

Daytime Dominator Thursday - Rickenbach CFB 8* South Florida Bulls (-) vs South Carolina Gamecocks in Birmingham Bowl @ Legion Field in Birmingham, AL @ 2 ET Thursday - There is a tremendous energy around the South Florida football program right now. They have a new head coach, Charlie Strong, coming in from Texas. They have a true 2017 Heisman candidate in QB Quinton Flowers who is a tremendous dual-threat quarterback with his running ability. The Bulls have scored at least 30 points in 16 straight games for the longest streak in the nation. That is significant here because the Gamecocks where held to 14 points or less in more than half of their games this season. I certainly respect the fact that South Carolina is an SEC program but looking at strength of schedule on the season, their schedule was truly not much tougher than the one South Florida played. I also know that dogs have dominated these bowls but this is a game where I expect a large favorite with too much offensive firepower (as well as motivation) to simply run away on the scoreboard. USF is fired up about the opportunity to play an SEC team in this bowl game and they want to make up for last year's loss to Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl. The Bulls are on a 13-5 ATS run as a favorite. The Gamecocks went 1-3 ATS in non-conference action. South Carolina is a young team and this veteran Bulls team has a powerful enough offense (515 ypg) to be the difference maker here. The weakness of USF is on defense but they're fired up here, will be flying all over the field, and the young Gamecocks offense averaged a putrid 336 yards per game this season. 8* SOUTH FLORIDA

Rickenbach NBA 8* Phoenix Suns (+) @ San Antonio Spurs @ 8:35 ET - When you win the way the Spurs did on Christmas Day (down late in 3rd but then rally in 4th quarter to win big) it can mask other issues. The fact is that San Antonio shot the ball "lights out" in that game as they started out insanely hot from the field and then finished ultra hot from the field as well. The problem is that San Antonio did allow the Bulls to not only get back in that game but also take that lead rather late through the third quarter. Of course all is forgotten when you go on to win the game by 19 points but San Antonio has been quite "leaky" on defense and they just haven't had to "pay for it" yet because they've been so hot on offense. Though I don't expect the Suns to win this game outright I certainly feel the points are far too much. Yes, Phoenix is off of a loss at Houston but they have outrebounded 4 straight opponents and hustle play like that could play a key role in making the Suns a dangerous dog tonight. The Spurs aren't going to keep knocking down shots at the ridiculous clip they did against the Bulls and with being happy with a Christmas Day win and with having a tougher foe (Portland) on deck, this is a bit of a "sandwich spot" for San Antonio where I don't expect them to go all out nor to be fully focused. The Spurs have allowed their last 3 opponents to combine for over 45% from the field but they haven't felt the pain of that because their own offense has been ridiculously hot. Plain and simple, Phoenix is hungrier here and these points are way too big. The Suns are 8-4 ATS this season (and 38-23 ATS the past three seasons) when off of a loss by 10 points or more. 8* PHOENIX

Contrarian Crusher - CBB Game #755 Wednesday - Rickenbach 10* Top Play Iowa Hawkeyes (+) vs Purdue Boilermakers @ 8:30 ET - Many of you will recall that I used Iowa against Iowa State about 3 weeks ago in a game where nobody wanted the Hawkeyes as certainly it was the Cyclones that "made sense" in that match-up. The same key aspect in that game applies in this one as well. Even though Iowa is likely to have a "down year" and not be the team they've been in recent seasons, this is still an in-state rivalry game and there is no doubt that the Hawkeyes are going to bring their "A game" in this one. Iowa certainly has been playing solid defense of late and that has helped lead the way to a 5-game winning streak and 4-0-1 ATS run. The Hawkeyes have held 4 of their last 5 opponents (including Iowa State!) under 36% from the field. While I do expect Purdue to get revenge here (they lost both match-ups last season), I do not expect the Boilermakers to win by a sizable margin. With this line having jumped from 11.5 to 13.5 this morning, it has made this situation even stronger in favor of the big road dog. Purdue's only challenging games this season (where they weren't a double digit fave or it was not a non-lined game) have seen the Boilermakers go just 1-2 with a 5-point win over Notre Dame and losses to Louisville and Villanova. Now, of course, I am not saying that the Hawkeyes are on par with those teams but the point is that this is a quality Big Ten basketball program that is going to bring a huge effort and that will very likely lead to this one playing out to a similar margin (5 points) seen in the Fighting Irish game. By the way, the Boilermakers did allow at least 48% from the field in all 3 of those games. The Hawkeyes have really stepped up their defensive efforts recently (spurred on by the win over Cyclones) and I look for that trend to continue here. Purdue has a long-term 4-8 ATS mark in games with a posted total in the 150 to 159.5 range. The Hawkeyes enter on a 4-0-1 ATS run and stay hot at the cashiers window tonight! 10* IOWA

Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Brooklyn Nets (+) @ Chicago Bulls @ 8:05 ET Wednesday - Both teams are off of wins but look for the Nets to be the more motivated team here. After all, the Bulls beat a division rival (Indiana) and will be facing the Pacers again on Friday. That said, it is difficult for Chicago to get excited about this game. As for Brooklyn, you better believe they'll be ready. They were thoroughly embarrassed by 30 points AT HOME on Halloween night. When a team takes a beating like that in front of their home fans they don't forget about it. That was a "special" home loss to say the least but the Nets numbers are good even in "non-special" situations. Brooklyn is 6-2 ATS this season when playing with home loss revenge! As for the Bulls, they finally stepped up on defense (against Indiana) Monday and got the win. However, Chicago is 1-2 ATS (and 0-3 SU!) this season when off of a game where they held their opponent to 85 points or less. The Bulls are also known for "playing down" to the level of their competition and have gone 41-58 ATS their last 99 games against teams with a losing record. The Nets want this game. The Bulls are already looking ahead to another match-up with Indiana. Grab the generous points with the hungry big dog here. 10* BROOKLYN

Big Ten Network Smash - CBB Game #738 - Rickenbach 8* Indiana Hoosiers (-) vs Nebraska Cornhuskers @ 6:30 ET Wednesday - While the points look big here, keep in mind this is Indiana's Big Ten opener and they have a conference game on deck. In other words, there will be no let-up from the Hoosiers in this one and, that said, they have the talent level and depth to absolutely bury Nebraska. Indiana has 10 wins this season and 8 of those came by a margin of 22 points or more. The only two victories that the Hoosiers have had by smaller margins came against North Carolina and Kansas. Of course those are two of the top programs in the nation so smaller victory margins in those games was understandable. That said, the Cornhuskers should be another team to join Indiana's "22 point club" as the Hoosiers get another win by at least that margin here. Indiana averages 89 points per game this season and the Huskers average 69 points and just don't have the offensive firepower to keep up here with all the weapons that the Hoosiers have. Most concerning for Nebraska here is that their defense has regressed. Even though their last 4 games have included easy opponents like Southern U and Gardner Webb, the Huskers have allowed more than 50% from the field against their last four opponents combined. With depth and with this being a conference opener, the Hoosiers should win this one going away and will never really take their foot off of the gas here. By the way, Indiana's D (38% from the field) has also been fantastic this season. The Cornhuskers are on an 18-35 ATS run against teams with a winning record and 0-3 ATS when playing with 7 or more days of rest between games. The Hoosiers are 5-2 ATS at home this season and on a 13-7 ATS run in December games. They have also won and covered each of the last 3 meetings between the teams. 8* INDIANA

Russell Athletic Bowl ATS Blowout - Rickenbach CFB 8* Miami Hurricanes (-) vs West Virginia Mountaineers @ Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL @ 5:30 ET Wednesday - West Virginia is ranked. Miami is unranked. The Mountaineers went 10-2 on the season. The Hurricanes went 8-4 on the season. With that said, doesn't it look funny to see the Canes as the favorite in this one? Don't be fooled by the line as the fact is that Miami is the better team and when they win (8-4 SU) they also cover (8-4 ATS). Not only are did they go a perfect 8-0 ATS in their 8 SU wins this season, head coach Mark Richt has an incredible 94-45, 68% ATS mark in SU wins in his career. In this particular match-up, the Hurricanes have the edge on defense and special teams while truly the offenses are about equal. The Mountaineers gain more yards but the Canes score more points - a little more efficiency for Miami. As for the defense, West Virginia allowed nearly 500 yards per game in their last 5 games of the season. The Hurricanes only allowed 353.8 yards per game on the season. Miami also wrapped up the regular season allowing only 16 points per game in their last three games. West Virginia benefited greatly from turnovers late in the season. That helped keep points off the board but also masked the fact that the defense was constantly getting gouged for big yardage. The Hurricanes will be able to do plenty of damage here as they piled up yardage late in the season with plenty of big performances from QB Brad Kaaya during this stretch. He ended the season with a solid 23-7 TD-INT ratio. Miami has a long-term mark of 9-4 SU against Big 12 opponents while West Virginia is an ugly 10-22 ATS long-term against ACC opponents. The Mountaineers have lost 7 of their last 9 SU when they are an underdog while the Hurricanes are 19-6 SU the last 25 games in which they were a favorite and, as noted above, head coach Richt has a phenomenal ATS rate in games in which his teams get the SU win. Very low number here and I'll gladly lay it! 8* MIAMI

Game of the Month - Rickenbach CFB 10* Top Play Minnesota Golden Gophers (+) vs Washington State Cougars in Holiday Bowl @ Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA @ 7 ET - We're getting extreme line value here because of the Minnesota suspensions that were then followed by a potential boycott by the Golden Gophers team. All that has simmered down and yet we now have a team getting double digits that originally opened up as less than a TD underdog in this game. Of course the result of all this is some great line value with a team that brings the physicality of a Big Ten unit to this match-up with a Pac 12 team that stumbled down the stretch. I do have a lot of respect for the Cougars offense but the Washington State defense is a definite weakness. Look for Minnesota's offense to take advantage of that and this is a Golden Gophers team that, prior to their loss at Wisconsin in the regular season finale, had not lost a game by more than 7 points this entire season. The Cougars have played the tougher schedule of these two schools this season but Washington State finished the regular season with back to back disappointing losses. The Cougars also didn't travel all that great this season...at least not well enough to warrant this large point spread here. Washington State went 3-2 away from home with only 1 win by more than 5 points. The Cougars last 3 games away from home produced an 0-3 ATS mark. Look for the Golden Gophers to rally around the entire "distraction" and possibly even get the upset here but certainly they should at least get the cover. The Cougars were only 1-3 ATS this season against teams with a winning record and also are on a 1-4 ATS run the past 3 seasons as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. The Golden Gophers are on a 10-2 ATS run when off of a loss against a conference rival and they also went 4-0 ATS as an underdog this season. 10* Top Play MINNESOTA Tuesday

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CFB 8* Temple Owls (-) vs Wake Forest in the Military Bowl @ Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD @ 3:30 ET Tuesday - Many will be hesitant to lay the big points here because of the Wake Forest defense. However, the Demon Deacons simply are not a very good football team. Their offense is horrible and the only win they had this season against a team that finished the year with more than 4 wins was a victory over Indiana. In that game Wake Forest actually was outgained by the Hoosiers by a margin of 611 to 352! So that right there (outgained by 259 yards!) is actually the Demon Deacons "big win" this season. Now I am well aware of the fact, of course, that Temple has made a coaching change heading into this one but Owls interim head coach Ed Foley will do just fine against Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson as Foley has known him for many years. In fact that actually adds a bit of "spice" to this match-up and the better offense (Temple 35 points per game in their last 12 games) won't hesitate to put up big points to pull away as this game goes on. The Demon Deacons only went 1-3 ATS in non-conference action and the lone cover was the "bogus" one against Indiana. Temple is on an insane 12-0 ATS run and they also want to atone for finishing last season on a down note as they lost to Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. This Owls team finishes up a record-setting season the right way and has all the momentum here. 8* TEMPLE

Primetime Punisher Monday - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Detroit Lions (+) @ Dallas Cowboys @ 8:30 ET Monday - Certainly the Cowboys are "saying the right things" in terms of wanting to keep playing their starters and keep the momentum going even though they've now locked up the #1 seed in the NFC. However, I just don't see Dallas as being able to truly bring forth the high level of intensity necessary to knock off the Lions in convincing fashion on Monday Night Football. Detroit needs this win and will be the hungrier team. Also, the injuries to quarterbacks Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota Saturday have to heavily weigh on the minds of the Cowboys here. It is now that fine line between maintaining momentum but trying not to get anyone hurt that is in effect for Dallas here. The key value is not only in that plus the hunger of the Lions here, but also the fact that the Cowboys truly haven't been playing all that dominant of late. Dallas has failed to cover 4 straight games and their weakness is their pass defense while the strength of the Lions offense is their aerial attack. Detroit is on a 5-1 SU run and 4-2 ATS run and they did outgain their opponent in each of the two ATS losses but the problem was turnovers as they lost the TO battle 2-0 in each of those games. The Cowboys come into this game with 6 turnovers in their last 3 games and only twice in their last eight games have they won by a margin of more than 6 points. Detroit is 7-3 ATS in games played on turf, 3-0 ATS in Monday night football, and the Lions are 5-1 ATS versus the NFC East. The Cowboys are 7-12 ATS their last 19 games against teams with a winning record and also 10-21 ATS their last 31 games played on turf. The Lions were up 17-7 at halftime in a playoff game in January of 2015 in the most recent game between these teams. That match-up ended up being a 24-20 win for the Cowboys here in Dallas and the Lions have their sights set on payback in this one. 10* DETROIT LIONS Monday

Rickenbach NBA 8* Phoenix Suns (+) @ Houston Rockets @ 8:05 ET Monday - These teams just met last week in Phoenix and the Rockets won by 14 points. That is why it may seem a little surprising that the Rockets aren't favored by even more here in Houston as they now host the Suns. However, don't fall for the "trap" here. Houston is in a bad situational spot here. They have a big game with Dallas on deck tomorrow. Certainly it has been a tough season for the Mavericks but the Rockets and Mavs are divisional in-state rivals and so their games are always "big" for Houston. The Rockets come into this game having failed to cover 3 of their last 4 games and the field goal percentage they've allowed has gotten gradually worse in each of their last 4 games. In other words, lax Rockets defense is starting to cost them and it is showing no signs of improving. That said, I like the hungry "nothing to lose" underdog Suns here as Phoenix has shot progressively better from the floor in each of their last 4 games. Coming off of a win (albeit against Philadelphia) is a confidence booster for the Suns and the road team has gotten the cash in each of the last 4 meetings between these teams. In fact, Phoenix has recorded an outright win in 2 of its last 3 visits to Houston and the Rockets have won 3 straight at Phoenix. Houston is 1-3 SU (and 0-4 ATS!) this season when coming into a game with 2 days of rest. Look for the Rockets to again struggle to find their rhythm after a layoff and the result here will be a game in which the Suns should stay within single digits throughout. 8* PHOENIX SUNS Monday

Rickenbach NBA 8* Brooklyn Nets (+) vs Charlotte Hornets @ 7:35 ET Monday - Ugly home dog which is very attractive here in the first day after what was a Christmas break for most teams. Charlotte hasn't played since Friday and so I don't expect them to just hit the court "firing on all cylinders" on Monday after the lay-off. The Hornets are 0-5 ATS this season in games with a posted total of 210 points or more. Also, Charlotte has gone 1-6 ATS this season in their games against Atlantic Division opponents. Brooklyn is playing this game with home loss revenge as they lost here against the Hornets on November 4th and the Nets have gone 5-2 ATS this season when playing with home loss revenge. Brooklyn has covered 6 of the last 8 meetings between these teams and did get the cash in that early November meeting which also saw them installed as a sizable home dog. Charlotte is off of a big win over Chicago Friday and now has back to back divisional games on deck after this one. That makes this a true "sandwich spot" for the Hornets where they are off of a big game and have big games on deck and, therefore, could easily overlook a 7-22 Nets team. That is what I am counting on! 8* BROOKLYN

Monday Top Bowl Play - Rickenbach 10* Top Play N.C. State Wolfpack (-) vs Vanderbilt Commodores in the Independence Bowl @ Independence Stadium in Shreveport, LA @ 5 ET Monday - Vandy might fall into that category of "just happy to be here" considering this is their first bowl in 3 years. As for NC State, they are looking to atone for last year's 51-28 Belk Bowl loss to Mississippi State. The Wolfpack did face a tougher schedule than Vanderbilt this season and NC State has outperformed the Commodores even though both teams enter this game at 6-6. Vandy has one of the weaker offenses in the nation and getting hot in their last 2 games of the season doesn't erase the fact that the Commodores were held to 17 points or less in 7 of their first 10 games this season. Also, Vanderbilt is going up against a solid NC State defense that is very strong against the run. The Wolfpack held 9 of their 12 opponents to 24 points or less this season. On offense, though their point totals weren't that impressive as the season wore on, NC State did averaged 282 passing yards per game in their 11 games not played in a hurricane. The reason I say that is the 41 passing yards against Notre Dame in the game played during Hurricane Matthew certainly should be taken out of the equation when evaluating the strength of this NC State offense. The aerial attack as a strength is very significant here because the Commodores weakness on defense is against the pass. Vandy gives up a lot of yard through the air and they don't get many sacks. NC State's defense more than doubled Vanderbilt's sack total for the year. Vandy is on a 4-7 ATS run in non-conference games the past three seasons and also is 1-3 ATS when off of a win against a conference rival. NC State is 12-2 SU (and 10-4 ATS) in non-conference games and also the Wolfpack produced a 5-1 ATS mark when playing with 2 or more weeks of rest between games and they are 8-1 ATS in games played on turf. 10* Top Play NC STATE Monday

Tourney Top Play - Rickenbach CBB 10* Top Play San Francisco Dons (+) vs San Diego State Aztecs in Diamond Head Classic @ Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI @ 8 ET Sunday - The Dons have certainly exceed expectations early this season and the way they've won their two games in this Diamond Head Classic certainly says a lot about this team. They beat Utah with a strong offensive performance (shot 52.5% and won 89-86) and then beat Illinois State with a huge effort on defense (held Redbirds to 30.3% and won 66-58). San Francisco is now 10-2 on the season and their two losses have come by 6 points or less. That said, getting 5 points with the Dons in the Diamond Head Classic Championship Game is the way to go here. San Francisco has played a similar strength of schedule to that of San Diego State and they are only 7-4 on the season. The Aztecs faced weaker competition in this tourney however as they were a 20 point favorite in one game and also were favored in the other. The Dons were a sizable dog in both of their games in this tournament. The Aztecs were on a 1-5 ATS run before their win Friday and the losses of Winston Shepard and Skylar Spencer have been tougher to overcome than most expected. The Aztecs are on a 2-11 ATS run in December games the past three seasons and the Dons are on a 6-1 ATS run in neutral court games the past three seasons. Give me the points with the highly motivated underdog (lost 2 prior meetings with Aztecs) that is surging with confidence right now. 10* SAN FRANCISCO 

Primetimer Punisher 10* - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Kansas City Chiefs (-) vs Denver Broncos @ 8:30 ET Sunday - This is a revenge game for the Broncos as they lost a game to the Chiefs they never should have lost when Denver hosted Kansas City 4 weeks ago. However, even though the Broncos have revenge, they also are a team with a lot of issues. Those "issues" boiled over last week as there was some in-fighting on the team between offensive and defensive players after another pathetic effort for the Denver offense. The Broncos have now scored a total of just 13 points plus had 5 turnovers the past two weeks. The issue on Sunday night is that very windy conditions are expected in Kansas City and that means the running game will have some added importance in this one. Denver has run for a total of only 76 yards in their last two games and, overall, the Broncos have been held to 58 rushing yards or less in 4 of their last 7 games. The Chiefs are off of a 158 yard rushing performance against the Titans last week and that is the same Titans team against whom the Broncos could not run against and netted only 18 yards on the ground. With KC losing that game to Tennessee on a last second field goal, the Chiefs are fired up for their final home game of the regular season. Kansas City had won and covered 3 straight prior to that loss. The Chiefs are 3-0 ATS this season when off of a loss and also 4-0 SU (and 3-1 ATS) in divisional games this season. The Broncos are 1-4 SU and ATS in their games against teams with a winning record this season and also an ugly 1-3 SU and ATS in divisional games this season. Those trends continue here. 10* KANSAS CITY

Christmas Day Top Side - Rickenbach NBA 10* Top Play Chicago Bulls (+) @ San Antonio Spurs @ 5:05 ET - The Spurs have revenge here as they lost at Chicago earlier this month. However, this is a tough spot for San Antonio as they just got back from a West Coast road trip and will be playing their 3rd game in 4 days. Additionally, by virtue of being at home on Christmas Day they have a few more distractions with all the Christmas festivities taking place at this time of year and having had the ability to be home with their families by virtue of being a host on Christmas Day. The last three games between these teams have been decided by an average of 5 points per game with no game decided by more than 8 points. This spread is inflated because the Bulls have struggled recently but I expect them to step up here off of the disappointing loss at Charlotte Friday. Last year on Christmas Day 4 of the 5 dogs got the cash and the lone fave that covered barely got the cash. It is difficult for teams to blow each other out in the difficult setting that is a Christmas Day game. That said, the value is with the underdog again in this one. This will be the Spurs 4th straight Christmas Day game and they've lost each of the prior three while the Bulls have won on Christmas Day each of the last three years. 10* CHICAGO BULLS

Christmas PA Insider - Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play Pittsburgh Steelers (-) vs Baltimore Ravens @ 4:30 ET - The Steelers will ride the momentum of last week's comeback win over Cincinnati (trailed 20-6) to get some payback against the division rival Ravens. Baltimore got the win in the first match-up but that was QB Ben Roethlisberger's first game back after returning from injury and he clearly was not 100% yet. Big Ben did lead a late comeback in that game but it fell short as the Steelers had fallen into a 21-0 hole in that game. The Ravens have taken 4 straight meetings with the Steelers and overall have won 5 of the last 6 including a playoff game in Pittsburgh in January of 2015. Needless to say, the Steelers have plenty of pent up frustration they are going to unleash today as they look for payback and Pittsburgh comes into this game as the healthier team. After the loss to the Ravens earlier this season the Steelers then lost a heartbreaker to the Cowboys but they have since won and covered 5 straight games and are now one of the hottest teams in the league. The Ravens are off of a win over a fading Eagles team. Prior to barely notching that 1 point victory, Baltimore had allowed 294 passing yards per game in their previous 4 games. Look for Roethlisberger and company to attack the Ravens with great success early and often through the air Sunday. Baltimore is on an 0-3 ATS run as a dog of 3.5 to 9.5 points this season. The Steelers are on a 10-1 SU (and 9-1 ATS) run in December games. Mild weather for late December and light winds with no precipitation will combined to allow one of the top offenses in the league (Pittsburgh) to hold the upper hand in this one. 10* PITTSBURGH 

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach NFL 8* Cincinnati Bengals (+) @ Houston Texans @ 8:25 ET Saturday - I realize Texans backers deserved a better fate last week as they thoroughly dominated Jacksonville statistically but only won the game by a single point as a 3 point choice over the Jaguars. However, Houston certainly has issues - most prominently the QB position of course - and the Bengals come into this game with nothing to lose and that makes for a dangerous late-season dog. Keep in mind, Cincinnati led the Steelers 20-6 last week before losing while the Texans were down 20-8 last week before rallying for the win over the Jaguars. The point is that there is some value here with the way the latter portions of last week's games involving these teams played out. Also, you can bet that the Bengals paid particular attention to how QB Savage engineered the comeback win for Houston last week when he came on in relief of an ineffective Osweiler. The point is that Savage may not find it so easy this week against a Bengals defense that had allowed just 14.8 points per game in their 4 games prior to allowing 24 to Pittsburgh last week. Of course the Steelers offense is light years ahead of the Texans so that is another important point to consider when looking at this game. Houston does have a solid defense but they have allowed 21.1 points per game in their last 6 games. In other words, it's going to be an all out war for the Texans just to win this game and while I'd love to have +3 in this game I still have no trouble backing the better offense at +2.5 and going against a QB (Savage) whose only NFL regular season action since 2014 came last week against a 2-12 Jaguars team. The Bengals are ticked off of about the loss to the Steelers and are 4-2 SU and ATS when off of a loss against a division rival. The Texans are off of that tight win over the Jags and have gone 0-4 ATS this season when off of a win against a division rival. 8* CINCINNATI

Christmas Eve Bowl Special - Rickenbach CFB 8* Hawaii Warriors (+) vs Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders in Hawaii Bowl @ Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI @ 8 ET Saturday - This was the one bowl game that had to wait awhile for a line to come out because of the collarbone injury for QB Brent Stockstill. The fact the line opened up at a 4.5 and then shot up to 7 (a lot of hype around the fact Stockstill is probable now for this game) is giving us great line value with a highly motivated home dog here. The Warriors are playing in their first bowl game since 2010 and get to enjoy playing this game in their backyard. Of course, Middle Tennessee State has the superior record this season but Hawaii has played the tougher schedule. Keep in mind, not only do the Warriors play in a tougher conference than do the Blue Raiders, they also played Power 5 Conference teams California, Michigan, and Arizona earlier this season. I like the fact that after a slow start this season, the Warriors got things going and QB Dru Brown really stepped up once he was handed the starting reins. Keep in mind, Hawaii needed a win over UMass in their season finale to earn a spot in this bowl and they put up 46 points in the win over the Minutemen. Like I said above, the Warriors really wanted to get a bowl berth after missing out on the post-season activities for 5 straight years. That means you have a motivated underdog here and note that MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill is only 1-4 SU and ATS in bowl games. The Blue Raiders lost by 2 TDs in the Bahamas Bowl last year and I don't expect this even longer road trip for them to work out well either! While Hawaii's defense is a weakness they have a history of outscoring teams in situations like this. The Warriors are a long-term 9-5 ATS (and 13-1 SU!) in home games with posted total of 70 points or more. The Blue Raiders have a long-term mark of 2-7 ATS in December games and 1-4 SU (1-3 ATS) in games where MTSU enters with 2 or more weeks of rest. The hungry home dog gets the job done here. 8* HAWAII

Rickenbach NFL 8* Arizona Cardinals (+) @ Seattle Seahawks @ 4:25 ET Saturday - The Cardinals have had a disappointing season especially considering that expectations were high coming into this season. That said, they still hate the Seahawks and they know they let one get away earlier this season when they finished in a 6-6 tie with Seattle in Arizona. That said, it is time for a little payback Saturday and it doesn't matter what the records are when these teams match-up as the Cards are going to "bring it" when they face the Hawks. Arizona is on a 6-2 ATS run as a road dog in divisional action. Also, the Cardinals are 9-4 ATS long-term in Saturday games. They enter this game on a 2-game losing streak and have gone 2-0 ATS this season when they have entered a game on a losing streak of two or more games. Seattle's last two wins have come against teams that are a combined 10-18 but they've lost their other two games by a combined score of 52 to 15 in games where they were challenged by a quality opponent. I realize their tough record this season says otherwise but the Cardinals are a quality opponent and they'll fight all the way in this game at Seattle. Remember that when they matched up in Arizona earlier this season the Seahawks didn't even make it past mid-field until there were about 5 minutes to go in the game. The Cardinals give Seattle's offense headaches once again in this one as they look for the upset and that has me grabbing the big points in this one. 8* ARIZONA

Rickenbach NFL 10* Top Play New Orleans Saints (-) vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 4:25 ET Saturday - The Saints are an amazing team in dome games. With their huge win at Arizona last week they have averaged 33.1 points per game in their 8 games played in domes this season. That win over the Cardinals was a dome game and, of course, their first 7 home games are the other part of that equation. Saturday's game in the Superdome is the Saints home finale and I expect their high-octane offense to lead the way once again. The Buccaneers certainly are the better defense when comparing these two teams but they don't have the offense to keep up in this one. This is especially true with the Saints seeking revenge for an ugly 16-11 loss to the Bucs two weeks ago in Tampa Bay. New Orleans is looking to do anything they can to play "spoiler" here against a division rival and, having lost their most recent home game (to Detroit), the last thing the Saints want to have happen is to finish the season on a 2-game home losing streak. Tampa Bay is coming off of a grueling battle with Dallas last week and I expect them to be a little deflated from the loss to the Cowboys and they took a beating up front with the bruising offensive line of the Cowboys plus running back Ezekiel Elliott pounding away. The Saints will be the fresher team and certainly have the stronger offense. In road games with a posted total of 49.5 or more the Buccaneers have gone 1-4 SU and ATS long-term. Also, long-term mark on Saturdays for the Bucs is 3-10 SU and 2-11 ATS! The Saints are 8-3 ATS the past 3 seasons when playing with revenge. 10* NEW ORLEANS

Rickenbach NFL 8* Chicago Bears (+) vs Washington Redskins @ 1 ET Saturday - The Bears have been playing hard and I don't expect that to stop in what is their final home game of the season. With their big comeback (lost but got inside the number) against the Packers last week, Chicago is now on a 5-0 (or 4-0-1) ATS run. They have the rest edge here as teams playing today on Saturday are certainly on a short week but it's tougher for the Redskins than the Bears as Washington hosted Carolina on Monday Night! The Skins are on a 1-3 ATS run (and 9-19 ATS long-term) when off of a Monday night game. Also Washington has not fared well as a favorite with a 5-9 ATS mark the past 3 seasons and a 58-91 ATS mark long-term. As a road favorite of 3 points or less the Redskins have gone 6-13 ATS. The Bears are a 5-2 ATS at home this season and 4-1 ATS in their games against teams with a winning record. Chicago also is on an 11-6 ATS run when they enter a game off of 2 or more consecutive losses. The Bears are hungry to win their home finale and knowing they can't make the playoffs they would love nothing more than to ruin the Redskins hopes of making the post-season as well. In doing so, Chicago would avenge their loss to Washington last December. I do expect the Bears to win this outright but will grab all available points. 8* CHICAGO

Rickenbach NFL 8* Carolina Panthers (+) vs Atlanta Falcons @ 1 ET Saturday - Short week for both teams since this is a Saturday game and it is particularly short for the Panthers since they visited Washington on Monday Night. However, the fact that Carolina crushed the Redskins 26 to 15 and the fact that the Panthers have forced 8 turnovers has me backing the hungry and surging home dog in this one. The home team has covered 4 of the last 5 meetings between these teams. Each of the last two meetings have been in Atlanta and the Falcons won and covered both and that sets this up as a double revenge spot for the Panthers. The last time they hosted Atlanta they blasted them 38 to 0. I definitely respect the Falcons and their top ranked offense but this is a big division rivalry and Atlanta is going from facing the Rams and 49'ers the past two weeks (combined record of 5-23 this season) to facing a surging division rival that is playing "hungry" and has produced solid wins in back to back weeks. Keep in mind, the Falcons had lost 2 of their last 3 before those back to back wins against two of the worst teams in the league. Also, Atlanta is on a 7-17 ATS run as a favorite the past 3 seasons. The Panthers are on a 15-8 ATS run the past three seasons in games where their line ranges from -3 to +3. I am expecting the upset but grabbing the points here! 8* CAROLINA