January 10, 2021 Picks:

College Basketball:

#16 Minnesota at #5 Iowa (-10) - Ten points seems like a big spread between two ranked teams, but after the week these teams have had it isn’t surprising. Minnesota got blasted by Michigan earlier this week, while Iowa had a solid win against Maryland. These two teams played to open conference play, a game which Minnesota won in overtime. Expect another close one here with Iowa coming out on top but not covering the ten points. Pick: Iowa 87 Minnesota 82

Notre Dame at #19 Virginia Tech (-7) - The Irish are winless in ACC play, starting the year 0-3. Their last game was a one point defeat at the hands of North Carolina. The Hokies are also coming off of a loss, falling to Louisville in their last game. Virginia Tech is the one that will turn it around, sending Notre Dame to their fourth straight conference defeat. Pick: Virginia Tech 76 Notre Dame 65

Maryland at #12 Illinois (-9.5) - Maryland is 1-5 in Big Ten play. Their one conference win was against Wisconsin. Illinois is 5-1 in conference play. Their one loss was to Rutgers. Good luck figuring this league out. Something tells us that Maryland will be ready to play in this one. They won’t win but it will be a close game throughout. Pick: Illinois 81 Maryland 77

NBA:

Utah (-8.5) at Detroit - Utah is coming off their best game of the season, a 131-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Detroit is also coming off a win, an overtime battle with Phoenix. This game will be about if Detroit can stop the hot shooting of Utah. We are saying they won’t. Pick: Utah 122 Detroit 111

Chicago at Los Angeles Clippers (-11.5) - The Clippers are coming off a ten point loss to the Warriors. They should be pissed off for this game. Will they? No one knows. Each time after a loss they have responded well. That will continue today and they will cover the spread. Pick: Los Angeles Clippers 116 Chicago 102

Oklahoma City at Brooklyn (-8.5) - Kevin Durant is still listed as out and Kyrie is still listed as day to day due to personal reasons. This line seems too high for that much unknown. The guess here is that Kyrie will not play and the Thunder will not only cover, but win. Pick: Oklahoma City 113 Brooklyn 109

Denver (-5.5) at New York - The Knicks have been competitive in games this year because of their defense. They are allowing only 104 points a game. Denver is doing it with offense. They are scoring 117 points a game. One of these will have to give today and our guess is it will be the defense of the Knicks. Pick: Denver 114 New York 103

Miami (-7.5) at Boston - Jayson Tatum is out for the Celtics, who are already missing Kemba Walker from the starting lineup. Even though Miami is on the second night of back to back games here, without those players for Boston it will be tough to cover. The Heat have the players to defend Jaylen Brown, and no one else on Boston scares you. Pick: Miami 117 Boston 106

Los Angeles Lakers (-3) at Houston - The Lakers are looking for their fifth straight road win as they face the Rockets on Sunday. This game will feature a lot of offensive firepower, but the Lakers will get it done. Pick: Los Angeles Lakers 128 Houston 120

San Antonio (-3) at Minnesota - A rematch of a game on Saturday won by the Spurs in overtime. Minnesota’s losing streak has to end at some point, and they almost got it done yesterday. Two teams playing back to back days you usually favor the younger legs, which is the Timberwolves. Minnesota to win here. Pick: Minnesota 117 San Antonio 110

Toronto (-3) at Golden State - Was the Raptors last game an aberration or are they finally starting to turn the corner? That is what we will find out when these clash in California. The Raptors being favored here was a surprise to us, even after that last game. Steph Curry will have the Warriors ready to go in a rematch of the 2019 finals. He will be looking for a little revenge. Pick: Golden State 119 Toronto 112

NFL:

Baltimore (-3.5) at Tennessee - Baltimore has won five games in a row and will be looking for a little payback after Tennessee knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago. Tennessee needed a last second field goal to win their week 17 game against Houston, so they aren’t exactly coming in red hot. The question is can the Ravens keep Derrick Henry in check? That is a tall task and we don’t think they are up for it. A lot of the experts are picking the Ravens here, but we are leaning the other way. Pick: Tennessee 27 Baltimore 20

Chicago at New Orelans (-9) - New Orleans is looking to exercise some playoff demons in this game. The last decade has seen the Saints suffer some of the most excruciating losses in NFL playoff history. From the beastquake game in Seattle to the Minneapolis Miracle to not getting the call against the Rams, New Orleans is looking for some good karma. Their reward is playing the Bears. Chicago’s offense has actually been competent the last few games, but now they are playing a good defense. New Orleans will get the win here and it won’t be particularly close. Pick: New Orleans 34 Chicago 21

Cleveland at Pittsburgh (-6) - Congratulations on the Cleveland Browns for making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Their reward is to go up against a division rival while your head coach can’t be there because of Covid. We saw in College Football what can happen when you don’t have your play caller on site, as Clemson couldn’t muster much against Ohio State in the playoff semifinals. We are thinking that will be the same today for the Browns. Pick: Pittsburgh 31 Cleveland 17

Happy picking everyone!