February 14, 2021 Picks:

College Basketball:

#3 Michigan at #21 Wisconsin (-1) - Michigan returns from a three week layoff, and their first game back is a road tilt against the Badgers. Michigan seems like the type of team that will have a little bit of rust early, but will find it rather quickly. We like the Wolverines to get back in the win column after their hiatus. Pick: Michigan 77 Wisconsin 70

#22 Loyola Chicago (-5.5) at Drake - These two teams played yesterday and Loyola beat Drake 81-54. You can’t deny how good the Ramblers are playing right now. We don’t think this will be another 27 point win, but they will cover the 5.5 spread. Pick: Loyola Chicago 79 Drake 72

NBA:

Boston (-6.5) at Washington - The Celtics are coming off of a head scratching loss to the Pistons, while the Wizards weren’t competitive in their last game against the Knicks. This is the second matchup this season between Boston and Washington, with the Celtics coming out on top 116-107 in their previous meeting. We think Boston will make it 2-0 against Washington in 2021. Pick: Boston 119 Washington 108

Minnesota at Toronto (-8) - Minnesota heads to Toronto to try and break a four game losing streak today. Now that Karl-Anthony Towns is back the Timberwolves are missing D’Angelo Russell. They just can’t catch a break this season. Toronto usually beats up on bad teams. Today will be no different. Pick: Toronto 122 Minnesota 109

San Antonio (-2) at Charlotte - The Hornets have found something they inserted LaMelo Ball in the starting lineup. The rookie is averaging over 20 points in his last ten games, and Charlotte is 6-4 in those games. The Spurs have been playing good basketball as of late as well, as they are 7-3 in their last ten games. We think not having LaMarcus Aldrige is going to be big for the Spurs, so we are going with the Hornets. Pick: Charlotte 114 San Antonio 110

New Orleans (-4.5) at Detroit - New Orleans is coming off an embarrassing loss, where they allowed 143 points to the Mavericks. We know the NBA is more wide open than ever, but allowing 143 points will not win you any games. Detroit has been playing better basketball lately, but we still think the Pelicans will shore up their defensive woes for one game and come out on top. Pick: New Orleans 116 Detroit 107

Portland at Dallas (-5) - Both of these teams come in on winning streaks, with the Mavericks having won four games in a row and the Blazers having won their last three. Neither one of these teams plays much defense, so we could see some offensive fireworks in this one. This Portland team is resilient, and even without three players that were opening day starters we like them to get the win. Pick: Portland 127 Dallas 123

Milwaukee (-11.5) at Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this game. Losing your leading scorer in a game against the high flying Milwaukee offense is a huge deal. We like the Bucks to cover because the Thunder will not be able to keep pace with the Milwaukee offensive juggernaut. Pick: Milwaukee 126 Oklahoma City 108

Orlando at Phoenix (-10) - Phoenix has won five games in a row to climb to the fourth spot in the Western Conference. Orlando still has most of its roster on the injury report. The Magic got a big win over the Kings in their last game, but Phoenix is a better team than Sacramento. Give us the Suns in a rout. Pick: Phoenix 123 Orlando 105

Los Angeles Lakers (-3) at Denver - This is the second meeting in the last ten days between the two teams that made the Western Conference Finals last season. In the last matchup the Lakers got the 114-93 win as they held Nikola Jokic in check. Los Angeles is looking for its eighth win in a row and we think they will get it here. Pick: Los Angeles Lakers 116 Denver 111

Memphis (-1) at Sacramento - The Kings and their porous defense look to bounce back from consecutive losses as they host the Grizzlies today. Memphis has dropped five of its last six games, while Sacramento has dropped two straight. Give us the Grizzlies to get back in the win column, as we are still steaming over picking the Kings tow in by double figures in their last game. Pick: Memphis 113 Sacramento 109

Cleveland at Los Angeles Clippers (-11.5) - The Cavaliers have dropped six games in a row to fall towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Clippers will be playing this game without Paul George. We like the Clippers to get the win, but without George they won’t cover the spread. Pick: Los Angeles Clippers 112 Cleveland 106

Happy picking everyone!