February 10, 2021 Picks:

College Basketball:

#8 Houston (-11.5) at South Florida - Houston is looking to bounce back after dropping their last conference game, and now head on the road to face South Florida. These two teams were supposed to play back in January but that game was postposed due to Covid concerns, so this is the Bulls first look at this Houston team. We like the Cougars to get back to their winning ways in conference play, and win this one big. Pick: Houston 78 South Florida 60

#9 Virginia (-4) at Georgia Tech - This is a rematch of a game played last month, when the Cavaliers beat the Yellow Jackets 64-42. Both of these teams pride themselves as being good defensive teams, so don’t be surprised if this game is another low scoring affair. We like Virginia’s defense better than Georgia Tech’s, so give us the Cavaliers minus the points. Pick: Virginia 67 Georgia Tech 59

#25 Rutgers at #15 Iowa (-6.5) - Rutgers has won four games in a row to get back in the top 25, and now they face off against an Iowa team that has lost two straight and four out of five. Iowa has not been good against ranked teams this year, as the one ranked win they have against a conference foe is a two point win against these same Scarlet Knights. We expect another close game between these two, with Iowa coming out on top once again. Pick: Iowa 78 Rutgers 75

Georgia at #12 Tennessee (-12.5) - Georgia has won three games in a row, albeit against not the strongest competition the SEC has to offer. Enter Tennessee, coming off an emotional win at Kentucky in their last game. We think the Volunteers will win, but it will be by single digits. Pick: Tennessee 73 Georgia 66

Marquette at #5 Villanova (-11) - We know Villanova has had a couple of pauses this season due to Covid, but we still don’t like the way this team is playing right now. They are very talented, but don’t seem to play with the same tenacity you usually see from a Jay Wright coached team. We like the Wildcats to get the win here, but not to cover the eleven point spread. Pick: Villanova 76 Marquette 71

#10 Missouri (-1) at Ole Miss - Missouri proved a lot of doubters (including us) wrong with their big win against Alabama last Saturday. Now they are only a one point favorite against an Ole Miss team that is under .500 in SEC play. Give us the Tigers. Pick: Missouri 75 Ole Miss 68

#21 Wisconsin (-11.5) at Nebraska - Nebraska is the worst team in the Big Ten. They have lost all seven of their conference games, and their closest game in that seven was an eight point loss to Indiana. Wisconsin has already beaten the Cornhuskers by 14 points this season. We see no reason why they can’t do it again. Pick: Wisconsin 73 Nebraska 59

NBA:

Toronto (-5.5) at Washington - Bradley Beal still leads the NBA in scoring at 33.5 points per game. Despite that, the Wizards still have the second worst record in the Eastern Conference. We expect more of the same today, with Beal scoring a lot of points, but Washington losing to Toronto. Pick: Toronto 118 Washington 109

Atlanta at Dallas (-4) - Round two of Trae Young vs Luca Doncic brings us to Dallas, after the Mavericks won the first game between these two on the Hawks home floor. Dallas is still underperforming at 11-14, but has won two games in a row. We expect them to make it three with a win here. Pick: Dallas 114 Atlanta 108

Indiana at Brooklyn (-2) - When Brooklyn plays the second game of back to backs, you have to expect that at least one of the big three will be sitting. We already know that Kevin Durant will miss this game, but we don’t know the status of James Harden or Kyrie Irving. Since that is the case, give us the Pacers to hand the Nets their fourth loss in a row. Pick: Indiana 117 Brooklyn 111

Charlotte at Memphis (-4) - Memphis has dropped four straight games and now faces a Hornets team that is flying high after a big win against the Rockets on Monday night. These two teams are evenly matched, so we believe it will be a close game, with the Hornets handing the Grizzlies their fifth straight loss. Pick: Charlotte 112 Memphis 110

Los Angeles Clippers (-10.5) at Minnesota - This is the second matchup this season between these two teams. The first one was back in December and resulted in a 124-101 Clippers win. The biggest strength for the Clippers is their offense. The biggest weakness for the Timberwolves is their defense. See where we are going with this? Pick: Los Angeles Clippers 125 Minnesota 107

New Orleans (-3) at Chicago - New Orleans is coming off a big win against the Rockets, but Zion Williamson on back to back nights scares us a little bit. We think he will be less effective today because he will run out of gas, and that will help the Bulls get the win. Pick: Chicago 108 New Orleans 104

Cleveland at Denver (-9.5) - Both of these teams come in on losing streaks, with the Cavaliers having lost four in a row and the Nuggets having dropped three straight. One of those will end tonight and we think it will be the Nuggets, who will win this game by double digits. Pick: Denver 119 Cleveland 106

Milwaukee (-4.5) at Phoenix - Milwaukee has won five straight games, and their lowest scoring output in those five games has been 123 points. This team is firing on all cylinders right now, and this game won’t change that. Give us the Bucks by double digits in this one. Pick: Milwaukee 126 Phoenix 112

Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Lakers (-11) - These two teams played two days ago, which resulted in an overtime win for the Lakers. The Lakers have won five in a row, but the last two have gone into overtime. With Anthony Davis still nursing an Achilles injury, the pressure is on LeBron James more than usual. We like the Lakers to get their sixth win in a row, but by less than the eleven point spread. Pick: Los Angeles Lakers 116 Oklahoma City 109

Happy picking everyone!