Jim Feist Handicapper Review & Free Sports Picks

Oklahoma State is favored tonight to win and cover -2.5 in a pretty textbook home-offense bounce-back spot against UCF. TIP: 8:00 PM ET in Stillwater (Gallagher-Iba Arena). In that type of game, OSU’s biggest advantage is that they can score with anyone. The Cowboys have been one of the nation’s top-scoring teams (90+ PPG), and they’re coming off a humbling conference opener where they still got strong individual outputs from Anthony Roy (22) and Parsa Fallah (20) – the type of production that usually leads to a more focused effort the next time out at home.  The situational angle helps too. Oklahoma State has been dominant at home (noted 10 straight home wins in game previews), and UCF is walking into a tough road environment after an emotional stretch that included a statement win to open league play — prime territory for a slight “letdown” and a few extra empty possessions.  Add in that UCF has a rotation question with George Beale Jr. listed questionable, and OSU’s listed injuries are mainly frontcourt depth pieces rather than core scorers, and the path is pretty clean: if OSU pushes tempo, wins the shot-volume battle at home, and hits enough threes to force UCF to trade baskets for 40 minutes, the Cowboys can land in that 4–8 point win window that cashes the -2.5.

Jim's Play: 632. Oklahoma State

Nevada is in a great spot to cash the number tonight against San Diego State. First of all, the game script and the matchup both strongly favor the Wolf Pack. Secondly, the game is in Reno (at the Lawlor Events Center) with a tip scheduled for 8: 00 PM PT / 11:00 PM ET and Nevada is a small betting favorite listed at about -1.5. So, in essence, you are only asking Nevada to simply win a game at home. Let’s break it down. The angle of rest and fatigue is the biggest. San Diego State will be very tired. SDSU just played Boise State on Wednesday night in triple overtime (ending at 110–107), playing extended minutes in a whistle-heavy game flow. Now the Aztecs have to turn around and fly to Reno the day after the game. It’s a brutal spot for tired legs, late game execution and overall match fitness. Matchup-wise, Nevada ball security is a great fit against SDSU’s pressure-oriented style. The Wolf Pack are listed among the nation’s best when it comes to limiting turnovers (about 8.5 per game) and Nevada’s ball protection is the best way to try and eliminate the Aztecs’ “extra possessions” advantage. Nevada is also coming in with strong, confident basketball right now at 11–3 and 3–0 in MW play on a seven-game winning streak. At a near pick’em line like this one, home court rhythm and cleaner possessions often play a large role in deciding these games. So, if Nevada can keep the turnovers down and force SDSU to execute in the half court on tired legs, the most likely scenario is a close game where the Wolf Pack play a little sharper in the last few minutes and get enough stops and offense to win and cover a small number.

Jim's Play: 658. Nevada

Indiana has a path tonight (Tue, Jan. 6, 2026, 7: 00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT) to Cover +5.5 in large part because Cleveland’s ceiling is meaningfully lower without Donovan Mitchell (OUT – rest) and they may also be down/limited in the frontcourt with Jarrett Allen questionable (illness) and Dean Wade questionable (knee). That matters a lot because the last time these teams played (Cavs won 135–119 on Dec. 2), Mitchell erupted for 43, which is the kind of “separation” Indiana won’t have to contend with tonight. Even with the Pacers being shorthanded themselves (most notably Tyrese Haliburton OUT along with Mathurin, Toppin and Isaiah Jackson), the flip side is Cleveland is also missing rotation pieces and may be more conservative on the road where games tend to stay within a couple possessions instead of blowing open. If Indiana can simply avoid live-ball turnovers, win a few “effort” categories at home (rebounds/50–50 balls) and turn this into a half-court game where both offenses grind, +5.5 is very live for a one- to two-possession finish

Jim's Play: 518. Pacers