12/21 VIP Picks
3-0 last night and that’s a step in the right direction but we are still chasing 2 on the week. Nothing that a strong finish to the week can’t take care of! I hope you guys enjoyed the We Are Marshall movie last night:
Friday picks please, LFG.
NCAAF:
Toledo / Florida International OVER (57) - Wake up! This one kicks off at noon est! LOVE the over in this one. The weather is going to be perfect for a high scoring shootout (73 and sunny at game time this game is being played in the Bahamas) and these two teams are the perfect match for a shootout. They both have shown all season that they can score the ball at will and they can’t stop a nose bleed. Toledo comes in averaging 41.1 points per game and FIU comes in averaging 34.6 points per game. Toledo is allowing 30.2 points per game and FIU is allowing 24.7 points per game. Look at some of the combined total scores that these teams had in a few of their games this season - 107, 90, 88, 87, 77, and 75. Can you say over? The over is listed at 57 for today’s game and these teams have covered that themselves 3 times this season (Toledo twice and FIU once.) 58% of the public is on the over in this one but I’m shocked it’s not 100%. This one should be an absolute track meet - I love the over!
NHL:
Blackhawks / Avalanche Over (6) - 4 of the last 5 Blackhawks game have gone over 6 with scores of 7, 10, 7, & 9. 3 of the last 5 Avalanche games have gone over 6 with scored of 10, 7, & 10. We know that this Blackhawks team has been allowing teams to put up goals on them and they have allowed their opponents to score an average of 4.26 goals per game over their last 20. This is one where the Avalanche might cover the over themselves if they get going early. The Avs have the advantage tonight because the Blackhawks are on the second night of a back to back. Real picky stat here that no one else on the planet will be talking about but the Blackhawks have allowed just under 5 goals per game on back to backs against teams who are ranked top 10 in goals per game. The Avs will be without their top defender Nikita Zadorov tonight due to a lower body injury so that should help the over out as well.
NBA:
Pacers (-145) - The Nets have themselves a 7 game winning streak going but the combined record for the teams that they have beat during that stretch is just 98-126 and if you take out the 1 point overtime win on 12/7 against the Raptors when there was 69% of the public money on the Raptors the combined records of those opponents is just 74-117. The Pacers come in 20-12 and they are currently in 4th place in the East. Of course I’m going to bring up the first time these two teams played this season back on Oct 20 when the Pacers beat the Nets by 20. The Pacers have won 3 of their last 5 and are coming off a game where they only lost by 3 to the Raptors on the second night of a back to back. They had a day off to rest and I think they will go into Brooklyn tonight and end the 7 game winning streak. You can take the -2.5 if you want a better payout but I’m rolling with the moneyline in this one to try and put together a strong finish to the week.