Scott Rickenbach Free Sports Picks & Handicapper Review

NHL Network Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Game #11 Saturday NHL 10* Toronto Maple Leafs Money Line (-) @ Boston Bruins @ 7:05 ET - The Maple Leafs were knocked out of the post-season in Game 7 of a series with the Bruins last spring. That game took place here in Boston...that is where the Leafs season ended. Though the Maple Leafs got some measure of revenge with a home win over the Bruins about two weeks ago, their only meeting at Boston this season was a loss. This is the perfect time for payback. While the Leafs are getting healthier the Bruins are still dealing with injury injuries as Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and Kevan Miller are out right now. Boston has lost 3 straight games and they've been struggling to score goals for an extended stretch. Amazingly, the Bruins have managed to score more than 2 goals just ONCE in their last TEN games! That spells trouble against a Maple Leafs team that has scored at least 4 goals in 6 straight games! In their 5-4 OT loss to Detroit, the Leafs got caught looking ahead to this big game. The Maple Leafs had won 5 straight games before that defeat and they bounce right back here with a huge road win. Take advantage of the value with the small line here as the Bruins injury situation continues to plague them against a top tier (and much healthier) team! 10* TORONTO

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NHL Game #4 Saturday 8* Los Angeles Kings Money Line (+) vs Vegas Golden Knights @ 4:05 ET - Playoff revenge from last season as the Kings were swept out of the first round by the Golden Knights. Of course, early this season, Los Angeles has struggled while Vegas does seem to be back on track after some stumbles early this season. However, the Golden Knights road record is very nearly identical to the Kings home record. Also, there is the revenge factor. Additionally, Vegas has a home game with Dallas on deck for tomorrow so there is a chance that Marc-Andre Fleury will be rested this afternoon and the start will go to Malcolm Subban. Note that Subban is 0-4 this season with an ugly .859 save percentage. No matter whom gets the start though I feel the Kings are offering great line value here and I am grabbing the road dog. This is LA's final home game until the 18th of the month so they are going to make the most of this. Look for Vegas to drop to 5-9 this season in road games with a posted total of 5.5 goals. 8* LOS ANGELES

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Game #1 Saturday 8* Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) @ Buffalo Sabres @ 1:05 ET - The average Joe doesn't bet hockey. That said, when you see something that looks a little "off" you can generally bank on it being sharp money that is the root cause. In this particular case you have a Flyers team that has lost 7 of 9 facing a Sabres team that, despite a recent losing streak, has won 10 of its last 14. That said, why is Philadelphia attracting attention on the road at Buffalo in this one? It is some sharp action! While the Flyers are getting healthier the Sabres are getting more and more banged up right now. Philly has won 18 of 29 December games. Buffalo has lost 20 of 29 December games. Look for the Flyers to get revenge for a 5-2 loss at Buffalo last month as the Sabres #1 goalie Carter Hutton is questionable Saturday. 8* PHILADELPHIA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CBB Game #787 Saturday 10* Top Play Creighton Bluejays (+) @ Nebraska Cornhuskers @ 6 ET - Many will be looking to back the revenge-minded home team that also has the better numbers defensively and is a Top 25 team. However, in typical contrarian fashion, I am going the other way in this game. The Bluejays have had the Cornhuskers number in recent seasons and Creighton is very comfortable (and used to) playing at Nebraska. That negates a bit of the normal home court edge in a game like this. As a result, there is even more line value here with the under-valued underdog. Creighton is up to a 7 point dog as of early game day morning and this is a team that led Gonzaga pretty late in the game before falling short in last Saturday's action. The Bluejays have played a tougher schedule than Nebraska early this season and though Creighton's numbers on defense do not impress, the Huskers are also having trouble getting stops on defense of late. That said, if this game turns into a shootout it favors the sharp-shooters of Creighton plus it is good to have the points on your side in a rivalry game that could be close late. There is just so much confidence with the Bluejays here because of the way they can score and go on huge scoring runs plus they have the added confidence of having played well at Nebraska. From a technical standpoint, I like the fact that the Jays are 16-6 ATS (and 18-4 SU!) when off a game in which they allowed 80 points or more. Nebraska is just 6-9 SU after a game in which they allowed 80 points or more. Also, the Cornhuskers are on a 2-8 ATS run when hosting the Bluejays. 10* CREIGHTON

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach CBB Game #743 Saturday 8* OVER the total in Villanova Wildcats vs St Joseph's Hawks @ 2 ET - The Wildcats have blown out the Hawks each of the past two seasons and have averaged 91 points per game in doing so. Villanova has held St Joseph's to an average of only 55 points per game in those two victories but I don't see that happening this time. The Hawks have been impressive in terms of balanced scoring this season and have a lot of top scoring options. St Joseph's is averaging 81 points per game on the season and the Nova defense has not been as impressive early this season. Possible championship hangover? Either way the fact is that the Hawks are likely to put up plenty of points in this one but they won't be able to stop Villanova. St Joseph's is allowing 45.5% from the field and 38.7% from three point land and the Wildcats are fully capable of putting up plenty of points against Phil Martelli's team as they've shown each of the past two seasons. Both Villanova and St Joseph's are shooting the ball very well early this season including the Hawks knocking down nearly 40% of their three pointers thus far! The over is 11-6 (including 2-0 this season) when St Joseph's is off a game in which they allowed 80 points or more. Look for the Wildcats to improve to 11-6 to the over in December games. 8* OVER the total in Villanova

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Game #701 Saturday 8* Houston Rockets (-) @ Dallas Mavericks @ 6:05 ET - The Rockets still remember the sickening feeling of going 0-3 on their most recent 3-game road trip. Houston doesn't want to have that feeling again and, to avoid it, they need to get a win at Dallas on Saturday. Look for them to do just that as they get revenge for an embarrassing 128 to 108 loss to the Mavericks in Houston about a week and a half ago. Houston had dominated the Mavs in recent meetings, prior to that 20-point loss, and the Rockets also are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last 4 visits to Dallas. The Mavericks are actually 11-25 SU in divisional games and that includes 1-3 this season with the only win being the aforementioned victory over the Rockets. As for Houston, they are a long-term 48-24 SU when playing with revenge. Also, when facing a team that allows 106 points or more per game, the Rockets have gone 74-25 SU! Couple these factors with the low line posted on this game and I am laying the short number with a small road fave that will not be denied tonight after getting blown out in back to back games plus blown out the last time they faced this Mavericks team! 8* HOUSTON

Situational Slaughter - Rickenbach NBA Game #705 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Hawks vs Denver Nuggets @ 7:35 ET - The Nuggets are off a loss last night that snapped a 7-game winning streak. Even though Denver shot very poorly in the game it still went over the total. In other words, that tells you the type of quick pace they're playing. Yes, I am aware there are some injury situations for each team heading into this game but, the point is, I do not expect the Nuggets to take their foot off the games in this one. That said, Denver did score 138 points when they hosted the Hawks last month. As for Atlanta, the over is 7-2 in their last 9 games. Also, the Hawks are 6-2 to the over when off a game in which they allowed 130 points or more. Atlanta is 8-4 to the over in home games this season. The over is 25-12 when the Nuggets are on the road and the posted total on their game is 220 points or more. Look for another one to fly over the total here as Denver will be ready to push the pace from the opening tip after what happened last night at Charlotte. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Game #103 Saturday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Navy Midshipmen vs Army Black Knights @ 3 ET @ Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA - It doesn't matter that it was a "soft open" if you will, this is still quite impressive. The first book to post the total on this game offshore opened it up at 52.5 and it quickly got pounded down. Why? It has everything to do with the long history of unders (12 in a row!) in this series history. Of course, as you can see, I am well aware of this history. However, do you really think the initial projections on this total were that far (a dozen points) off the mark? Also the weather will be chilly in Philly but light winds and no precipitation so there are no issues from Mother Nature today. Long-term the over is 14-8 in Army games when they enter a game on a winning streak of 2 or more games. Also, the Black Knights are 35-23 to the over in games against teams with a losing record. The over is 4- 2 in Navy's last 6 games and they have averaged 30 points per game their last 3 games. The Midshipmen defense has allowed 35 points per game this season. I know that when these teams match up there tends to be less scoring because they run similar offensive styles and are so familiar with one another. However, you can see from those numbers that it is highly unlikely that Navy is going to enjoy success in stopping Army this season. Also, the Black Knights have averaged scoring 32.5 points per game in their last 10 games. Additionally, in all games this season where Army was either an underdog or a single digit favorite (as they are here), they allowed an average of 22 points per game. 10* OVER the total