February 6, 2021 Picks:

College Basketball:

Iowa State at #9 Oklahoma (-14.5) - Oklahoma gets a break in its schedule after facing four straight teams that were ranked in the top 15. Now they face an Iowa State team that has lost six games in a row. In the Cyclones last game they were competitive against West Virginia. We think 14 points is too much, but Oklahoma will still win. Pick: Oklahoma 77 Iowa State 68

#10 Alabama (-2.5) at #18 Missouri - This is a chance for Missouri to prove to us that they are the real deal. This is a showdown between the top teams in the SEC . Alabama is still undefeated in conference play, and that won’t change after this game. Pick: Alabama 81 Missouri 74

#16 Virginia Tech (-5.5) at Miami - Miami had lost four games in a row until they beat Duke in their last contest. Virginia Tech was upset by Pittsburgh in their last game. These two teams face off once already and it was an 80-78 win for the Hokies. We don’t think it will be that close this time around. Pick: Virginia Tech 75 Miami 67

#23 Kansas at #17 West Virginia (-2.5) - Has anyone watched Kansas play the last three weeks? The have looked terrible. West Virginia hasn’t exactly set the world on fire lately, but we like the Mountaineers in this one. Kansas just has too many question marks on the offensive end for us. Pick: West Virginia 77 Kansas 71

#25 Drake (-13) at Valparaiso - Two teams we haven’t picked yet here at Sports Predictions! Drake is undefeated at 17-0, and is beating opponents by an average of 21 points per game. This is the first of two games in two days between these two teams. We like Drake to continue beating everyone by twenty plus points. Pick: Drake 88 Valparaiso 64

#19 Wisconsin at #12 Illinois (-4) - Another ranked matchup in the Big 10 sends us to Champaign, where Illinois and Wisconsin are ready to go. Illinois wins games with offense. Wisconsin wins games with defense. Which team will blink? We are saying Wisconsin will and Illinois will get the big win in the first matchup between these teams in the month of February. Pick: Illinois 79 Wisconsin 71

Our Lady at #5 Houston (No line) - This game has no line because Our Lady of the Lake is just a patsy the Cougars put on their schedule after their original game was cancelled due to Covid concerns. With no line we can’t get this right or wrong, but we are still making a pick. Pick: Houston 104 Our Lady 56

#6 Texas (-2) at Oklahoma State - Texas has lost two games in a row against top ten foes Baylor and Oklahoma, and things don’t get much easier as they face the Cowboys in Stillwater. Give us the Longhorns to bounce back and cover the two points, but it won’t be by much more than that. Pick: Texas 76 Oklahoma State 72

#13 Texas Tech (-16) at Kansas State - We learned our lesson in picking Kansas State to cover big spreads after they lost to Kansas by 23 in their last game. The Wildcats have lost nine games in a row and might be the worst team in any Power Five conference. We are going with the Red Raiders. Pick: Texas Tech 87 Kansas State 61

Pittsburgh at #14 Virginia (-10.5) - Pittsburgh is still getting no respect. They just beat Virginia Tech by double digits and now face another ranked foe in the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia will win this game, but it won’t be by double digits. Pick: Virginia 68 Pittsburgh 63

Northwestern at #24 Purdue (-7.5) - Northwestern had high hopes entering this season. They were even ranked in mid-December. Now that have lost eight games in a row. Purdue lost their last game, a one point heartbreaker to Maryland, but the Terrapins are far better than the Wildcats. Purude will bounce back with a big win here. Pick: Purdue 78 Northwestern 65

#15 Creighton (-4.5) at Marquette - These two teams face off in December and the Golden Eagles pulled off an 89-84 upset. Now Creighton gets a chance for revenge in Milwaukee. We don’t think it will happen. Marquette just seems to have Creighton’s number, so they will get the season sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays. Pick: Marquette 79 Creighton 74

#11 Tennessee (-4) at Kentucky - Four points? That is all this line is? If gambling were legal in the state we lived in, we would bet every penny we have on the Volunteers to cover. That is how confident we are that Kentucky just isn’t a good team. Give us the Volunteers to win by double digits. Pick: Tennessee 81 Kentucky 67

#21 UCLA at USC (-3.5) - This is tough. We like USC better than UCLA, but this line is perfect. It has us thinking on both sides, which is exactly what it should do. The Los Angeles rivals are the top two teams in the Pac-12, and we hope this game shows that. In the end, we are going with the Bruins to win a one point game. Pick: UCLA 77 USC 76

NBA:

Portland (-1) at New York - The Blazers are coming off a big win against the 76ers despite not having Damian Lillard in that contest. Lillard should return in this one and give Portland a nice boost. The Knicks are playing well, and we know how good they are defensively, but they won’t have enough offense in this one to carry them to victory. Pick: Portland 114 New York 107

Denver (-3.5) at Sacramento - The Kings defense has gotten better in the last few games, but they haven’t faced a test as tough as Nikola Jokic. Expect Jokic to have another big game and the Kings revert back to their bad defensive ways. Pick: Denver 126 Sacramento 118

Chicago (-1) at Orlando - These two teams are playing the second night of consecutive games. The Magic got the victory in the first game with a 123-119 victory. Today the script will be flipped, as the Bulls will bounce back and win a tight one. Pick: Chicago 118 Orlando 115

Brooklyn at Philadelphia (-4) - Kevin Durant looks to be out of this game for Covid concerns, and that will be a real problem for the Nets. Philadelphia should have everyone back for this game, and that is a big reason why we are taking the 76ers to cover. The other reason, of course, is that the Nets can’t play a lick of defense. Pick: Philadelphia 129 Brooklyn 121

Toronto (-4.5) at Atlanta - These teams are pretty evenly matched. Their stats and records are all similar. The biggest difference is that the Raptors have won three in a row while the Hawks have lost three in a row. Toronto is starting to get us to believe again. Don’t blow it here. Pick: Toronto 117 Atlanta 110

Milwaukee (-10.5) at Cleveland - Another game featuring teams that played the previous night, the Cavaliers got beat up by the Bucks 123-105 on Friday night. We expect more of the same in this one. In fact, we are going to pick the Bucks to win by the same margin. Pick: Milwaukee 126 Cleveland 108

San Antonio (-1) at Houston - With the way the Rockets have been playing since the Harden trade, this line is surprising to us. Victor Oladipo will be back in this one, and it sounds like Christian Wood will be able to play. With those two going, it will be tough for the Spurs to get the win. In fact, they won’t. Pick: Houston 116 San Antonio 109

Minnesota at Oklahoma City (-1) - The Timberwolves picked up a 106-103 victory over the Thunder on Friday night, and now face them again today. Both of these teams will be playing their third game in four days, but we don’t think Minnesota has the fortitude to put together two strong performances in a row. Pick: Oklahoma City 107 Minnesota 101

Golden State at Dallas (-4) - These two teams played two nights ago and the Warriors won by 31 points. Now they are a four point underdog? We think the wrong team is favored here and will happily take the Warriors plus the points. In fact, give us Golden State to win outright. Pick: Golden State 119 Dallas 113

Memphis at New Orleans (-1.5) - Memphis has crashed back to Earth a bit with consecutive losses, and now face a Pelicans team coming off back to back wins. Memphis has had an extra day of rest, and we think that will help them get the win. We are just excited to watch the top two picks of the 2019 draft, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, go head to head. Those games are always entertaining. Pick: Memphis 112 New Orleans 108

Detroit at Los Angeles Lakers (-14) - You have probably the best team in the NBA facing probably the worst team in the NBA. What could go wrong? A lot for the Pistons is the answer. Los Angeles keeps the train rolling and gets a nice comfortable win here. Pick: Los Angeles Lakers 125 Detroit 103

Happy picking everyone!