Ben Burns Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

I'm playing on VEGAS. While the price may seem steep, I see this one going only one way. Indeed, the Blackhawks are in the wrong place, at the wrong time. The Knights are 9-4 in their franchise history, when off three straight losses. The Knights have absolutely owned the Hawks, too. In fact, they're a perfect 7-0 in seven meetings. Before a 2-1 win earlier this season, Vegas had scored four or more goals in each of the previous six meetings. While the Hawks would obviously love to avenge the earlier loss, they're an ugly 40-65 (-20.4) in the revenge role the past couple of seasons. Vegas rolls. 

I'm playing on Portland/Toronto UNDER the total. The Raptors managed a mere 88 points last time out, a 98-88 loss at LA on Monday. Yesterday, the Blazers scored only 99 at Sacramento. This will be the third time this season that they played two games in two nights. The UNDER was 1-0-1 the first two times. The UNDER is now 16-12-1 when the Blazers have played the second of b2b games, the past two seasons. During that span, the Blazers have also seen the UNDER go 5-2 when off an upset loss on the road. Raptor road games are averaging only 209.8 points this season as the champs have been very stingy on the road. Look for this one to prove lower-scoring than many will be expecting. 

I'm playing on CHARLOTTE. Wins will be hard to come by for the Hornets this season so this is an opportunity which they can't afford to squander. True, the Grizzlies are off an upset win at San Antonio. However, they're still just 1-3 on the road, getting outscored by an average of 116.7 to 97.7. Perhaps more importantly, they're 0-8 SU the past 2+ seasons, when off an upset win over a division rival. The Hornets had the past couple of days off, after eking out a cover at Philadelphia, on the second of b2b nights. They're already 2-0 SU/ATS on the season, when playing with two day's rest and I look for them to take care of business once again this evening. 

I'm playing on Purdue/Marquette UNDER the total. While both are talented, these teams both lost a lot of scoring from last year. I expect that to be evident this evening. The Boiler Makers have seen the UNDER go 4-1 the past five times that they were listed as road underdogs, or at pick'em. Purdue scored just 66 last time out but also showed it can be stingy defensively, as per usual, by allowing 57 points in its first game. As for the Golden Eagles, with the Hauser brothers having departed for greener pastures, they know they need to get it done on the defensive end of the floor. Look for this one to prove lower-scoring than many will be expecting. 

I'm playing on Bowling Green/Miami Ohio OVER the total. When these teams met at Bowling Green last year, the O/U line was 55. They combined for 61. When they met here at Miami, the previous year, the O/U line was 51. They combined for 66. Tonight, thanks to some recent 'unders,' we're working with a lower O/U number. Once again, I feel that it'll prove to be too low. The Redhawks scored 24 and 23 their last two games. Both were on the road. In their last three home games, they've scored 27, 34 and 48. Thats an average of 36.3 ppg. The Falcons have played at some tough venues, which has led to their road scoring average being very low. However, they scored 35 points last time out. That'll provide confidence and I feel that they'll have more success this evening against a Miami defense which gave up 76 in a game this season. The OVER is 3-0 in Miami Ohio home games, every one of them exceeding tonight's line. Expect those stats to improve.