Kyle Hunter Free Sports Picks & Handicapping Review

*3 Star Play Under* The Philadelphia 76ers are 27th in the NBA in tempo. The Cleveland Cavs are 29th in the NBA in tempo. This should be one of the slower paced games you'll see in the NBA regular season. 

Cleveland is first in defensive efficiency in the league when playing at home. The Cavs are 4th in defensive efficiency overall and the 76ers are third. A contest between two teams who work hard on the defensive end. 

The referee crew here is a big positive for the under. Two of the best under refs in the NBA are in this game tonight. Both Davis and Twardowski are nearly 54% to the under in their careers.

Take the under here. 

*4 Star Play Over* The Prairie View A&M Panthers have played a relatively tough slate of defenses this year. This team is more efficient on the offensive end than almost any other SWAC team on a yearly basis. They have had a lot of non-conference overs through the years because of this as well. 

Rice is 54th in the country in effective field goal percentage offense. Rice is also dead last at #363 in the country in effective field goal percentage defense. The Owls are a really good over team because of these stats combined with their tempo, which is clearly above average. Three of their five games against Division One opponents have gone to 159 points or higher total.

Take the over here. 

*3 Star Play Under* The Nebraska Cornhuskers aren't anything like they were the last couple years. Nebraska is no longer nearly as offensively talented as they were with Bryce McGowens last year. They are no longer looking to push the pace as they have the last few years. Nebraska is attempting to win with defense. That isn't to say their defense is tremendous, but it is clearly improved. Nebraska is defending without fouling and forcing quite a few turnovers. 

Boston College has played a weak slate of defenses, and their offensive numbers are still horrid. Boston College has weak offensive sets and they rely on a lot of low percentage looks. 

I think this one is a sloppy game.

Take the under. 

*4 Star Play Over* Xavier is 26th in average possession length so far this year. The Musketeers are pushing the pace in a big way. SE Louisiana is 55th in overall tempo as well. This one should be a track meet in terms of tempo.

Xavier has scored 84 points or more in 4 of their 7 games. They have only scored less than 78 points once (neutral site game against Duke). Xavier is going to put up a big number against an SE Louisiana team that has a bottom 30 or 40 defense in the country every single year.

SE Louisiana has shot the 3 ball pretty well the last few years and they get to the free throw line pretty often as well. In a game with this tempo I think they can score enough.

This one is several points too low.

Take the over. 

*4 Star Play Over* This is a rare game early in the season where these two teams have already met. New Mexico State now hosts UTEP after losing 67-64 in El Paso a few weeks ago.

The first game between these two was played to a fast pace of 72 possessions. Both teams shot the ball poorly. ShotQuality says the score should have been a total of 138 instead of the 131 it finished at. 

UTEP is 8th in the nation in getting to the free throw line. New Mexico State does foul a lot. New Mexico State was just 4/16 from 3 point range in the first game.

Both teams have shot the ball terribly from the free throw line so far this year, and regression to the mean in a positive way should happen at some point.

New Mexico State has really been pushing the pace, and with one team pushing pace this is a really low total.

Take the over.