January 6, 2021 Picks:

College Basketball:

#19 Virginia Tech at Louisville (-4) - The Hokies had to the Yum center to face a Cardinals team that is right on the precipice of being ranked. This is a game where we will find out exactly how good Virginia Tech is. The prediction here is they are a solid team but are not the cream of the crop in the ACC. Louisville wins and covers. Pick: Louisville 82 Virginia Tech 74

Arkansas at #9 Tennessee (-8) - Tennessee is back in action after their first loss of the season. Much like the Kansas Jayhawks, the Volunteers will have a bounce back win today against a Razorback team that is looking like their record might be an aberration. Pick: Tennessee 84 Arkansas 70

Wichita State at #11 Houston (-11.5) - Houston has won their last five games against the shockers, winning by an average of 14 points. That was with Houston teams that aren’t as good as this one and with Wichita State teams that are better than this one. We are going with history on this one. Pick: Houston 79 Wichita State 62

#16 Minnesota at #10 Michigan (-7.5) - Ranked Big Ten action! Michigan is still flying under the radar a bit at 10-0, while the Golden Gophers continue to hover around the middle of the top 25. This will be Minnesota’s sixth game against a ranked opponents, while it will be Michigan’s first. That experience against good competition will keep this game close, but the Wolverines still come out on top in a tight one. Pick: Michigan 75 Minnesota 72

Boston College at #21 Duke (-12.5) - Duke hasn’t played a game since December 16th. Their will be quite a bit of rust for the Blue Devils to overcome. Fortunately for them, Boston College is 2-7. While they haven’t lost to anyone bad, they haven’t been competitive in their losses either. Duke wins big and welcome back Coach K. Pick: Duke 82 Boston College 67

Oklahoma at #2 Baylor (-11.5) - Oklahoma already has one top ten upset this year, and their next two games will provide a couple of more opportunities. The Big 12 did the Sooners no favors, scheduling West Virginia, Baylor, and Kansas back to back to back. Oklahoma is in the middle of that three game gauntlet and while they won’t get the win here against the Bears, they will cover the spread. Pick: Baylor 84 Oklahoma 75

Seton Hall at #7 Creighton (-5.5) - Creighton is a mystery team to me. The #7 team in the country should be more than a 5.5 point favorite against a Seton Hall team that has lost to the only ranked team it played by 13 points. The Blue Jays are on thin ice here and if they don’t cover it will be tough for me to pick them moving forward. Pick: Creighton 81 Seton Hall 73

Wake Forest at #22 Virginia (-14.5) - This is a match up of two teams that haven’t played a lot of basketball this season. Wake Forest has only played four games so far, while Virginia is at seven. 14 points seems like a lot for Virginia to cover, especially with their offensive woes, but Wake Forest isn’t in game shape and playing a team as defensively stout as Virginia will be a tall order. Pick: Virginia 66 Wake Forest 48

NBA:

Houston at Indiana (-2) - Houston has not been playing much defense so far in this young season, allowing their opponents to score almost 116 points a game. The Pacers defense only allows opponents 108 points a game. What is truly surprising is the Pacers are also better offensively than the Rockets, outscoring them by over two points a game. Better offense. Better defense. We are rolling with the Pacers. Pick: Indiana 115 Houston 109

Cleveland at Orlando (-6) - These two teams played two days ago with the Magic pulling away with a 20 point win. Cleveland won’t lose by 20 this time, but they also won’t cover here. Magic continue their hot start. Pick: Orlando 109 Cleveland 100

Washington at Philadelphia (-6.5) - The Wizards are coming off their first two wins of the season, and now face a 76ers team that has only one loss. This line seems too low to me, as Philadelphia is rolling right now. Pick: Philadelphia 123 Washington 111

Charlotte at Atlanta (-6) - Charlotte has lost three in a row, while Atlanta has lost their last two. One of the streaks is going to come to an end and we believe it will be Atlanta. We have had good fortune picking against Charlotte, so why not continue that trend. Pick: Atlanta 116 Charlotte 104

Boston at Miami (-2.5) - A conference finals rematch from a year ago sees the Celtics and the Heat clash in Miami. Boston has won four of their last five games, while the heat have alternated wins and losses in the early season. That means that is time for Miami to lose. With Jayson Tatum playing out of his mind right now, we can definitely see that happening. Pick: Boston 108 Miami 103

Utah (-7) at New York - A day after a 34 point bludgeoning the Jazz head to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. The Knicks have been stingy on defense and below average on offense, so this will be a low scoring affair. Utah will win but not cover as the Knicks continue to play well. Pick: Utah 103 New York 99

Detroit at Milwaukee (-13.5) - Another game for the Bucks and another huge spread. These two teams played two days ago with the Bucks knocking off the Pistons by ten. This game Milwaukee will cover, after failing too on Monday. Pick: Milwaukee 128 Detroit 110

Oklahoma City at New Orleans (-8) - The Thunder are a bad offensive ball club. Like worst in the last few years bad. The Pelicans are a solid team looking for an identity. These two teams played last week in Oklahoma and the Pelicans won by 33. They will win at home by more than eight. Pick: New Orleans 107 Oklahoma City 93

Toronto at Phoenix (-3) - Toronto’s only win this year came against the Knicks. That is how bad they have been playing to start the season. Phoenix is 5-2, but coming off of a tough loss to the Clippers. Phoenix will get back to their winning ways and Toronto will continue to spiral. Pick: Phoenix 107 Toronto 101

Los Angeles Clippers (-4) at Golden State - After losing Klay Thompson this year, no one saw the Warriors doing much of anything. They have gotten out to a 4-3 start because Steph Curry is shooting the lights out. As for the Clippers, we know they are on a back to back and they are playing a team they should dominate. So they will. Pick: Los Angeles Clippers 120 Golden State 106

Chicago at Sacramento (-7) - Chicago is coming off of a back to bac, but why in the world are the Kings favored by so much here. This is the easiest line of the day. Even if the Bulls don’t win, they will cover. Pick: Chicago 116 Sacramento 113

Happy picking everyone!