Scott Rickenbach

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Game #65 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers @ 7:35 ET - The over is 11-3-1 in the Flyers last 15 games. The Penguins have been trending under of late but it hasn't been a result of a lack of offense. Prior to their 5-1 home loss to St Louis yesterday, Pittsburgh had scored an average of 4 goals per game in their 9 previous games. The over is 15-9 this season when the Pens are off a non-conference game. I don't expect the Flyers to be able to stop the Penguins here but, at the same time, Philly has been scoring very well also. Philadelphia's problem has been inconsistent play in their own zone and then getting some shaky goaltending as well. The Flyers have allowed an average of 4.2 goals per game in their last 5 games. The Penguins have averaged scoring 4.8 goals per game in their last 4 games against Philly. This total is big but it is fully justified given all of the above and I look for scoring early, often, and throughout this game between these division in-state rivals. Should be plenty of power play opportunities as well as these teams don't like each other and there is some bad blood that often leads to some extra penalties! 10* OVER the total in Pittsburgh

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach NBA Game #521 Sunday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (+) @ Milwaukee Bucks @ 3:35 ET - Not only is Philadelphia 10-5 SU their last 15 games, 3 of the 5 losses came by 3 or less points. Of course that means that at +6.5 (the current line on today's game), the 76ers would be on a 13-2 ATS run. Certainly Milwaukee deserves plenty of respect and the Bucks are at home here. However, there isn't nearly enough respect being given to a Sixers team that is viewing this game as a chance to prove themselves against one of the best teams in the league. The Bucks have covered each of their last two home games but prior to that they were on an 0-3 ATS run in home games. Keep in mind, Milwaukee just returned from a 3-game road trip too. Conversely, Philly has won 3 straight games and has been enjoying the comforts of home. The 76ers have revenge from a loss by a double digit margin at Milwaukee in their first meeting this season. Philadelphia is a much different team now than they were then when these teams met in late October. Keep in mind the Bucks were only favored by 5 in that game. Now they are favored by 6.5 even though the Sixers now have Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. You can see why the Sixers are offering great value here. Also, Philly is 38-18 ATS versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season. The Sixers are also 57-30 ATS when coming off a non-conference game. The Bucks are 2-6 ATS in a home game with a posted total of 230 points or more. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Big Ten #1 Top Game O/U - Rickenbach CBB Game #655 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Michigan State Spartans vs Michigan Wolverines @ 3:30 ET - The over is a perfect 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between these teams. Also, the over is 9-4 when Michigan State, past the midway point in a season, faces a team that is allowing 64 points or less per game. Why? The reason is because the oddsmakers tend to over-adjust when the Spartans are matched up with a team that is also strong defensively just like they are. That said, we've got a lot of value here as this total opened up in the mid-130s but has dropped down to as low as 130 early this morning. Even with yesterday's Michigan game staying under the total, the over is still on a 7-3 run in Wolverines conference tournament games. The Spartans game yesterday also stayed under the total but that is part of what is driving the total down in this one and leading to even more value on the over. 70% of yesterday's games stayed under the total and the betting public is always guilty of being very short-sighted. Just because the majority of games stayed under the total yesterday does not mean a repeat performance today. Yet you're seeing most of the unders getting pounded today. Even though both these teams were involved in unders yesterday, the Spartans scored 67 points and they're averaging 79 points per game on the season! The Wolverines scored 76 points yesterday and they've scored 69 points or more in 8 of their last 11 games. 10* OVER the total in the Big Ten Championship Game

Game of the Week - Rickenbach CBB Game #653 Sunday 10* Top Play Cincinnati Bearcats (-) vs Houston Cougars @ 3:15 ET - This line opened up at a -4 on Houston and has been bet up to a -5.5 as of early Sunday morning. Of course the public remembers that Houston has beaten Cincinnati in both meetings this season. However, not only is it tough to win 3 straight over a conference rival in the same season, there is also the matter of the point spread here as well. The Cougars blew the cover against Memphis yesterday and the same thing is absolutely possible here as the Bearcats come into this game rolling with confidence and fully capable of an outright upset. That said, if Cincinnati does fall short of the upset bid I fully expect the defeat to be by a margin of just a single possession. The Bearcats most recent loss was an ugly one versus Houston but 2 of Cincinnati's 3 prior losses came by 3 or less points. The average margin of defeat in the Bearcats 3 prior losses was just 4 points. Cincinnati had 13 more field goal attempts than Houston in the first meeting this season. The Bearcats simply had an awful shooting performance. In the 2nd meeting the Cougars made a ridiculous 12 of 23 three pointers. That resulted in Houston having 18 more points from beyond the arc and that certainly was the key difference in the 16-point victory. The Bearcats have a history of getting to the line much more than the Cougars in their match-ups with an edge of 122 to 69 in free throw attempts in the last 5 meetings. Don't be surprised when the Bearcats gut out an upset win here with the charity stripe also being an edge. 10* CINCINNATI

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Game #651 Sunday Free Pick OVER the total in Texas-Arlington Mavericks vs Georgia State Panthers @ 2 ET - The Mavericks game yesterday stayed under the total and UT-Arlington has trended under for much of this season. However, yesterday's game saw a lot more scoring in the 2nd half in comparison with the 1st and I look for that momentum to carry right into this game. The Mavs entered yesterday's game on a 5-2 run to the over in games played away from home. Texas-Arlington's most recent match-up against Georgia State went over the total even though the Mavericks were held under 40% from the field. That says a lot of course. As for the Panthers, they entered yesterday's game averaging 78 points per game this season. After the ugly low-scoring win over Texas State, Georgia State will return to their normal high-scoring ways in this match-up. With everyone over-reacting to yesterday's results, we've seen this total drop from its opener of 140 and that means even more value with the over in this one. Free Pick OVER the total in Sun Belt Conference Championship Game