Ben Burns Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

I'm playing on Houston/OKC OVER the total. Off three straight wins, the Rockets have found their scoring touch. They've averaged 122 points during the "streak." The Thunder had trouble scoring in Monday's game, at Houston. It wasn't a case of the Rockets playing extra stingy defense. It was just poor shooting. Back home, they'll shoot much better. The Rockets allow 113 ppg on the road, allowing host teams to connect on 46.5% of their field goals. Those are not good numbers, in today's NBA. While the Thunder do score more points at home, than they do on the road, they allow just as many here. In other words, their home games have been higher-scoring than their road games. Despite that being the case, we're working with a lower O/U number than we were on Monday. Look for it to prove to be too low. 

I'm playing on MIAMI. The Cavs have been playing well. I expect a visit to Miami to bring them back down to earth though. It usually does. Indeed, the Cavs are an awful 1-12 ATS their last 13 visits here. That includes an 0-7 SU/ATS mark their last seven here. Every one of those seven games was a blowout. The closest Cleveland came was 14 points. The Heat just returned from a tough road trip and lost their first game back to Denver. Knowing that they hit the road again after this and also that they'll face these same Cavs, at Cleveland, in less than two weeks,  the Heat are going to be all business tonight.  They're 26-11 SU and 22-14-1 ATS the past couple of seasons, when off an upset loss. Look for them to bounce back and improve on those stats here.

I'm playing on VERMONT. Dartmouth is in the wrong place, at the wrong time. To their credit, the Big Green managed to shock Georgetown. However, they also lost by 16 to Boston University. This is still an inexperienced Dartmouth team. Off a cover last time out, note that the Big Green are 3-10 ATS their last 13, when off an ATS victory. Now, they'll face a talented and experienced Vermont team, one which is angry from having lost its last game. These teams met two seasons ago, at Dartmouth. Vermont won by nine. The talent gap between the teams is arguably bigger than it was for that game and now they play at Vermont. The Catamounts have bounced back from each of this season's previous two losses. They won the next game by an average of 21 points. Knowing they play at Providence next, the first of three straight road games, the Catamounts know that they need to take care of business this evening. They will. 

Talk about consistent! Ben Burns just wrapped up ANOTHER WINNING MONTH. He's produced profits in six of the past seven months. He was 83-52 (+$17,652) last December and he's expecting ANOTHER HUGE HAUL. Dominating the college hardwood, as per usual, Ben takes a look at tonight's UC Riverside / Oregon matchup. 

I successfully backed the Ducks in their last game. At the time, I stated that they were going to want to "run their guests out of the building." (You can read an excerpt below.) That's pretty much what happened. The Ducks were laying -12.5 or 13 points and they won by 40. Oregon is laying a similar number tonight and another blowout won't surprise. While Oregon is off the big win, UC Riverside checks in off a 17-point loss. Including that result, the Highlanders are 2-7 ATS their last nine on the road. I don't think the Ducks are satisfied. They're still angry. With ASU and Stanford up next, they want to keep their momentum going. Consider laying the points. 

Oregon/Montana: The Grizzlies are in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Off b2b losses, happy to be home from Maui, the Ducks are going to be looking to run their guests right out of the building. Those losses notwithstanding, this is a strong Oregon team.  Coach Altman demands more and is not at all happy. He commented: "How we have regressed in the last two weeks just shocks me." He's going to have his team ready to go. Last time on this floor, the Ducks crushed a respectable SMU team by a score of 86-63. Speaking of blowouts, these teams met here in 2019. Oregon was an 18.5 point favorite and won by 33. Including that beatdown, the Grizzlies are 8-14 ATS the past few seasons, as underdogs. They've only been underdogs once this season, as they were getting 11.5 points at Mississippi State. They lost by 37. Expect the Ducks, 4-1 ATS the past five times that they failed to cover their previous three games, to keep the pedal to the metal, en route to another blowout. 

I'm playing on VEGAS. While the Ducks may be at home, the Knights have the schedule working in their favor. They're well-rested. Their last game was on 11/27 and their previous game was on 11/24. That's not the case for the Ducks. They're off a shootout win last night and will now be playing their third game in four days. The Ducks have only played b2b games once this season. That happened to be against these same Golden Knights, at Vegas. Schedule in its favor, Vegas won. The Knights have also fared well here, at Anaheim. In fact, they won the last three games here by a combined score of 14-3. They're 5-0 the past five meetings overall and 9-1 the past 10. Having lost the 11/27 game, the Knights are going to be hungry. They're a perfect 5-0 the past five times that they scored two goals or less in their previous game. Schedule in their favor, I expect them to improve on those stats and continue their dominance in this series. 

I'm playing on MARYLAND. While I respect the Hokies, they've lost two in a row and I believe that they're in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Of course, one could say that most of the time, when they face good teams on the road. They're 1-10 ATS their last 11 road games, when facing a team with a winning home record. With a 4-1 home record, the Terps certainly qualify. They're 31-8 here the past few seasons. Note that the Terps are 4-2 ATS the past couple of seasons, when listed as a home favorite (or pick'em) of three or fewer points. During that span, the Hokies were 0-2 ATS as road underdogs (or pick'em) of three or fewer points. Going back further finds them at a money-burning 9-16 ATS their last 25 in that situation. These teams haven't met for several years. However, the Terps dominated the most recent meetings, going 5-0 SU and 4-0-1 ATS. Look for the 1-point loss against Xavier to take a toll on the Hokies and for homecourt to prove the difference for the Terrapins.