This is a 10* on OVER

Two of the East’s top six teams face off on Monday with the Bulls hosting the Hornets. Despite losing three of their last four games, the Bulls are off to one of their best starts in years. The Hornets have won 8 of their last 10 games. But they too are coming off a loss here and it was in overtime to the lowly Rockets. The final score was 146-143. That came on the heels of Charlotte scoring 133 in a win over Minnesota the previous game. The Hornets are last in the East in scoring defense, giving up 114.6 points/game. You can now probably guess how we’re looking to play tonight’s matchup. Charlotte leads the league in three-point shooting at 37.7%. They were 20 for 50 against Houston and that includes them missing all seven attempts in overtime. Chicago has yet to go Over in consecutive games this season, but look for that to change tonight. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on OVER

The Chargers scored 41 points and gained over 500 yards last week. It came down to the final minute, as all Chargers’ games seem to do, but they were a 41-37 winner over Pittsburgh. This just in: QB Justin Herbert is very good. Denver’s defense isn’t as good as you think, which was evident two weeks ago when they gave up 30 points to the Eagles. Meanwhile, look for the Broncos’ offense to move the ball via the running game. The Chargers are last in the league at stopping the run. Denver has two good backs - Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams - who have combined for 4.7 yards per rush and 1,333 scrimmage yards. Each of the Chargers’ last six opponents have scored at least 24 points. Look for this to turn into a pretty high-scoring affair. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on OVER

Hawaii goes for its sixth win Saturday when it pays a visit to the mainland to take on 6-5 Wyoming. These are two teams that put over more than 40 points last week. Hawaii won a wild, 50-45 shootout over Colorado State out in Honolulu. Wyoming went to Utah State and won 44-17. The home team should not have much trouble scoring points in this game. Hawaii is giving up 37 points/game on the road. Wyoming ran for 362 yards last week. Whether it’s on the ground or through the air, moving the ball won’t be an issue. Hawaii’s defense gave up 651 yards to Colorado State.The Over has hit in three of Wyoming’s previous four games. This is a low total for Hawaii, who has had several games with an O/U line of more than 60 points.Their games have averaged 60.8 points this season. The offense had 535 yards last week. The number is just too low here. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

After experiencing subpar results each of the last two seasons, the Warriors are back on top of the NBA with a 16-2 record. They are outscoring teams by 13.5 points/game. Both the record and point differential are league bests. The team has won five in a row coming into Friday, also covering the spread in all five wins. Tonight, the Warriors host a Portland team that is off a four-point loss at Sacramento. That dropped the Blazers to 1-8 SU/ATS on the road this year. Prior to losing to the Kings, the Blazers had won four in a row (also 4-0 ATS), but all of those victories did come at home. What we are looking for here is a high-scoring affair as Portland isn’t any good defensively when they’re on the road and Golden State is quite prolific at scoring when they’re at home. It’s easy to understand why the Blazers are struggling so mightily on the road as they give up 115.3 points/game. Golden State averages 116.6 at home. Assuming the Warriors can hit that average, the Over looks like a lock with Portland coming in averaging 110 points/game. The Over is 5-0-1 in the Blazers' last six. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Both the Raiders and Cowboys are reeling coming into Thanksgiving Day. The Raiders lost their third straight game on Sunday and are now just 5-5 SU. They’ve scored just 43 points during this losing skid. The last two losses have been blowouts: 41-14 to the Chiefs and 32-13 in Cincinnati. Both of those were home games. The Raiders now leave Sin City to take on a Dallas team that put up a season-low nine points against the Chiefs on Sunday. However, the Cowboys are in a lot better shape than the Raiders are. Dallas still leads the NFC East with a 7-3 record. Considering they average the third most points/game in the NFL (29.3), we’re willing to “write off” what happened in the last game. The last time the Cowboys played at home, they put up 43 points. That was the third time this year they scored 40 or more at home. The Raiders’ defense isn’t good, so we’re expecting another strong effort from Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense. But look for Derek Carr and Las Vegas to put up some points as well. They substantially outgained the Bengals offense on a per play basis. Not only is the Over 11-4-1 in the Raiders’ last 16 games as an underdog, but it is 7-2 the last nine times following a straight-up loss. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

So we do not yet know who will be playing QB for the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. Does that matter though? The team has yet to win a game and will be going with either Jared Goff or Tim Boyle. Boyle made his first NFL start last week in a 13-10 loss to the Browns. He threw for 77 yards and had two interceptions. Goff’s last eight starts haven’t been much better. One would have to go back to Week 1 to find the last time that the Lions scored more than 19 points. They are 30th in the league in scoring.  Right ahead of them, in 29th, is this year’s Thanksgiving Day opponent. Chicago averages just 16.3 points/game. They will reportedly be starting Andy Dalton at QB. Dalton replaced an injured Justin Fields on Sunday and the Bears wound up with only 13 points and lost to the Ravens. It was the seventh game this year that the Bears scored 20 points or less. There are rumors that head coach Matt Nagy might be fired after this game. That’s inspiring! So let’s summarize. Chicago is starting Andy Dalton with a potentially lame-duck head coach. They are facing a winless team starting either Jared Goff or Tim Boyle. We will take the Under.  Play on UNDER

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This is an 8* on UNDER

This is today’s first tip in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, which takes place down in the Bahamas. We’ve got two programs accustomed to success. After going 26-5 last season and making it to the Sweet 16, Loyola Chicago is off to a 4-0 start. The Ramblers have won all four of those games by double digits, but it’s a step up in competition today as they face Michigan State, who has posted three straight double digit wins for Tom Izzo (following a season opening loss to Kansas). While former coach Porter Moser is now in Oklahoma, Loyola has most of its key players back from last year’s run to the Sweet 16 - save for Cameron Krutwig - and remains an elite defensive team. What we are expecting here though is for the Ramblers to cool off from three-point range. So far, they have shot 45.2% from behind the arc. That’s simply not going to continue. Michigan State is a top three defensive team in the country right now, allowing just 35.2% shooting overall. The Spartans' size is likely to cause problems for the Loyola shooters. After four straight Overs to start the year, the Ramblers are going to stay Under in this one in what should be a tight, defensive-minded affair. The Under is 5-1 in MSU’s last six games as a dog. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Taking the Over the last time UCLA faced Gonzaga worked out pretty well. Now we obviously remember that game went to overtime. But the Over was already “in the bag” by the end of regulation with the game tied 81-81. Despite losing three starters from a team that went 31-1 (only loss in the National Championship Game), Gonzaga is averaging 93.2 points/game so far this year and just hit triple digits (107) last night against Central Michigan. The fewest points scored by the Bulldogs in any game this season is 84. UCLA is averaging 90.8 points through its first five games. Last night against Bellarmine they scored a season-low 75 as they were 8 of 27 on three-pointers and made just one free throw the entire game. Not only are these the two top teams in the country, both rank in the top ten in scoring nationally (Gonzaga #2, UCLA #8). It should be another high scoring game from these two as the Over is 23-8 when Gonzaga is off a straight up win by more than 20 points (they won by 53 on Monday). Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

This season could not possibly have gotten off to a worse start for the Blackhawks. They lost 11 of their first 12 games and a decade old sexual abuse scandal came to light, leading to multiple firings within the organization. However, since interim coach Derek King took over, things have turned. The team have won five of its last six games, including 1-0 at Vancouver on Sunday. It was the fourth one-goal victory for Chicago under King and all four of those one-goal victories were games that stayed Under the total. But we had the Over when the Blackhawks went to Seattle last week and that was a winner. Sunday’s shutout was all thanks to goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who turned in his first shutout of the season, stopping 40 shots in the process. The Blackhawks can’t count on a similar performance between the pipes tonight. Not when facing a Calgary team that leads the Pacific Division and has scored five goals in each of its last two games. The Blackhawks are still giving up 3.6 goals/game on the road. Chicago is 4-1 Over the L3 seasons in games where they are coming off a shutout win. They were lucky not to give up any goals Sunday (multiple Vancouver shots hit the post). The Flames will make them pay tonight, but the Blackhawks will score a couple goals of their own as well. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The Bucs are thankful to be back home Monday night after losing two in a row on the road. The two losses saw them give up 36 points to the Saints and 29 points to the Washington Football Team. But defense shouldn’t be much of a concern tonight as Brady and the offense are averaging a jaw-dropping 40.0 points/game at home. The last time they played in Tampa, the Bucs scored 35 points in the first half. So we’ll play the Over tonight as the Super Bowl Champs host the 3-6 Giants. New York is off a 23-16 win over Las Vegas and then last week had a bye. So there’s been plenty of time to get the offense ready to put enough points on the board to help send this one Over the total. Giants’ road games have been pretty high scoring this year, averaging 52.1 points/game. They both score and allow more on the road than they do at home. The Over has hit each of the last six times these teams have played. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

Both the Sabres and Rangers have had the last two days off. For the Rangers, that was not supposed to be the case. They were supposed to be in Ottawa last night, but the game with the Senators was postponed because of COVID. It will be interesting to see how they perform here, in light of the unexpected off day. They are coming off a 2-1 loss to Toronto on Thursday. That same night Buffalo lost 5-0 to Calgary. So we’ve got a couple of teams that combined to score one goal in their last game. The Rangers had been on a scoring tear prior to losing to the Leafs. But we think they may not be as explosive here with the sudden shift in schedule. The Under is 5-2 in their last seven games as a home favorite and 6-1-1 L8 games vs. teams with losing records. The Sabres have given up 35 goals in the last nine games, but should “tighten up” defensively here after the awful showing vs. Calgary. They did beat Pittsburgh 2-1 two days prior to that 5-0 loss. Buffalo is averaging only 24.8 shots on goal the last five games. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 9* on UNDER

Expect the Jets and Dolphins to play a low-scoring affair on Sunday. The Jets are 26th in the league in scoring at 17.9 points/game. They are starting Joe Flacco at quarterback this week. That sounds dire. If you can believe it, the Dolphins actually rank lower in scoring than the Jets. They are scoring just 17.7 points per game. That ranks 28th. So we’ve got two of the bottom seven scoring offenses here. The reason the last six Jets games have all gone Over the total is because their defense is horrible, giving up a league-worst 32.9 points/game. When they face teams like Buffalo, Indianapolis, Cincinnati or New England (their last four opponents), that’s obviously a problem. Miami is unlikely to take advantage of this porous defense though. The Dolphins have scored only 50 points - total - the last three weeks. All three games went Under. On the bright side, the Miami defense has allowed just 19 points in the last two games, including a really impressive effort last Thursday vs. Baltimore. Play on UNDER

This is an 8* on OVER

Buffalo is #2 in the league in scoring, averaging 31.1 points/game. They put 45 on the board last week against the worst defensive team in the league, the Jets. They won’t need nearly that much here vs. Indianapolis for the game to go Over the total. That’s because the Colts are top eight in points scored at 26.8 per game. We’re really surprised that this number isn’t higher. Indy had scored 30 or more in four straight games going into last week’s 23-17 win against Jacksonville. Given how these two offenses have consistently put up points, how can you NOT go Over? The Over is 10-1 in the Colts' last 11 games vs. teams that have winning records. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on UNDER

After a disappointing start to their 2021 season, East Carolina has played much better down the stretch. The Pirates have won their last three games on the field and covered their last six at the betting window. That ATS win streak is one of the longest active streaks in the nation right now and ECU puts it on the line this week when they invade Navy. The Midshipmen are NOT having a good year. They are just 2-7 straight up and those two wins were by a combined seven points over UCF and Tulsa. The Navy simply seems to have lost its “firepower” as a 34-6 loss to Notre Dame two weeks ago was the third game this year with seven or fewer points. They’ve scored more than 20 just two times and rank last in the American Conference in both scoring and yards gained. East Carolina’s game last week with Memphis went to overtime, so the 30-29 final is a little misleading. We think the Pirates won’t have much trouble shutting down Navy’s sputtering triple option, but with how much the Midshipmen run the ball, the clock will be running most of the way. That means unless ECU gets a lot of explosive plays, this will probably be a pretty low scoring game. Look for ECU to be limited on the explosive plays and for the Under to hit for the sixth straight time for Navy. The Under has also hit the last four times ECU has been favored. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Look for Houston and Memphis to trade points Friday night on ESPN2. The Cougars come in averaging 38.9 points/game. They’ve scored 40 or more in four of the last six games. The defense had a strong effort last week, holding Temple to just 8 points. But that is out of the ordinary for Dana Holgorsen’s team, which gave up 37 to SMU and 42 to South Florida the two games prior. Memphis is also no slouch in the scoring department as it averages 31.5 points/game. The Tigers’ offense has averaged 451.4 yards/game for the season, which is more than what Memphis averages. But, like Houston, Memphis has its problems defensively. They give up 35.8 points/game on the road. The last six times these teams have played, there has been at least 57 total points scored. Five times there has been 69 or more total points scored. The Over is 10-4 the last 14 times Memphis has been a road underdog. The Over is 6-2 the last eight times Houston has been off a win that was by 20 or more points. This feels like a game where both teams will score 30+ points. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

With LeBron James “hopeful” to play, handicapping this game might seem like a challenge. Sources say it’s a “50-50 chance” that James will be on the court Friday night as the Lakers take on the Celtics. Our view is that whether he plays or not, the game is going to stay Under the total. That’s the way Boston’s last three games have gone with the Celtics scoring less than 100 in all of them. Now the three games were all on the road. But the team doesn’t average more points/game here at home. In fact, it averages slightly less. The Lakers, 3-5 without James, have been held to 104 points or less in the five losses. Speaking of injuries, Boston is still without Jaylen Brown. We do expect the Celtics to “tighten the screws” a bit defensively after allowing the Hawks to shoot 50.6% on Wednesday. The Under is 10-1 in the Lakers’ last 11 Friday games. If James does happen to play tonight, it’s unlikely that he’ll be all that effective, coming off a long layoff. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

We had the Under in Philadelphia’s last game, which they lost 120-85 to Utah. Improving upon that embarrassing performance is the goal tonight for the 76ers, but they can only do so much with so many players out. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Danny Green and Matisse Thybulle are among those out for Thursday’s visit to Denver. We will look to cash the Under yet again. The Nuggets have been incredibly good defensively over the first month of the season. They are #1 in the NBA, giving up only 98.9 points/game. Before losing in Dallas the other night, they’d held five straight opponents under the century mark. When the Nuggets are favored this season, the Under is 7-1. The game vs. Dallas was only the fourth time Denver allowed an opponent to score more than 100 and just the second time allowing more than 108. With the skeleton crew that Philly is trotting out tonight, scoring 100 is going to be difficult. We don’t think Denver will score a ton of points here either. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The Kraken are having the kind of struggles you’d expect from an expansion team. They are at the bottom of the Pacific Division with only nine points, which is the second fewest in the league. However, the Blackhawks have just one more point than the Kracken and the situation in Chicago is a lot uglier right now. A decade old, sexual abuse scandal has come to light and led to multiple firings/resignations. But since interim coach Derek King was brought up, Chicago has won three straight one-goal games. All three games stayed Under the total. We don’t see that happening against the Kracken though. Seattle’s last six games have gone Over and they’ve allowed 27 goals. At the same time, they’ve scored four or more goals in half those six games. Expect the first ever Chicago-Seattle game to go Over as the Blackhawks allow 4.2 goals per game on the road. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

With no Ben Simmons and no Joel Embiid, Philadelphia has lost four in a row. They were doing fine without the mercurial Simmons, but it was when Embiid got sidelined by COVID that things began to hit the skids. During the losing streak, the 76ers have averaged only 106.7 points/game. That’s actually not that bad, given how much scoring is down across the league. But don’t even expect Philly to score that many tonight when they travel to Utah. The Jazz, losers of four of their last five, are also struggling. But they have held multiple opponents below the century mark. Over those last five games though, the Jazz are averaging just 105 points themselves. The Under is 7-3 in the Jazz’s last 10 games. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

There’s been no shortage of points in these weekday MAC games. So when Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan hook up on Tuesday, don’t be surprised to see another shootout. Western Michigan comes into tonight off a 45-40 win over Akron last week. The Broncos are averaging 33.0 points/game in conference play, but at the same time the defense is giving up 34.8 points/game. They’ve allowed 40 or more in two straight games and three of the last five. Eastern Michigan had scored 50+ in back to back games before getting upset by Ohio last Tuesday. It will be a challenge for the Eagles defense to slow down a WMU offense that went for 533 yards seven days ago. Fortunately for the home team, it has averaged 465.7 yards over the last three games. It’s difficult for us to see either defense getting many stops in this one. Eastern Michigan is 4-1 Over L5 Tuesday games. Western Michigan is 7-1 Over L8 Tuesday games and 17-4 Over L21 November games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The big story for tonight is that Odell Beckham will be making his Rams’ debut. Beckham arrives in LA at an opportune time - the Rams lost last week to the Titans, 28-16, and then WR Robert Woods went down in practice with a season-ending knee injury. But Beckham may not be the only high-profile debut for the Rams here. On the defensive side, Von Miller could suit up for the first time since the Rams traded for him. Whether or not the former Bronco plays is dependent on the ankle injury that kept him out last week. The Rams are 4-0 on the road this season while the 49ers are 0-4 at home. But the 49ers have won all four meetings the previous two seasons, three of them as underdogs. We like the total tonight. The Rams being held to only 16 points last week (and that was with a late TD) was odd. They are among the highest scoring teams in the NFL at 29.0 points/game. On the road, the scoring average jumps to 32.3 points/game. Stafford is the only QB in the league to have nine games with 250+ yards passing. Since returning, the Niners’ Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown for 300+ yards in back to back games. With just one win in the last six games, the home team will be desperate here and knows it’s going to take a lot of points to win. The last three 49ers’ games have gone Over the total as either they have scored or allowed 30 points in all of them. San Francisco’s defense is allowing almost 30 PPG at home. Both offenses should bounce back from subpar performances last week. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Robert Morris is still looking for its first win of the season. The Colonials are 0-2 with the losses coming to UCF and Kentucky. It’s definitely not a surprise that they are winless. RMU was getting 16 against UCF (covered) and then 23 against Kentucky. They’ve only scored 59.5 points/game, but did just give up 100 to UK on Thursday. Ohio is 2-0 with wins over Belmont and Cleveland State. The Bobcats put up 92 in the opener before turning in a solid effort at the defensive end vs. CSU, holding the Vikings to 56 points on 38% shooting. Opening the season with three straight road games where you’re a double digit underdog is tough. That’s the situation RMU faces here. We are unsure if they can get the cash like they did vs. UCF, but do expect this to be the Colonials' highest scoring game of the season so far. They’ve shot poorly in each of the first two games, particularly from three-point range where they are at just 24.4 percent. You’ve got to think that number will improve. Ohio shouldn’t have any issues scoring in this game either as they face a team that just gave up 100 points. The Over is 20-8 in RMU’s last 28 games and 10-3 in Ohio’s last 13 home games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

We like the Over in tonight’s Nets-Thunder matchup. Surprisingly, it’s the Thunder that come into this game as the hotter team. They’ve won four straight games. They’re even hotter ATS, covering five straight and seven of the last eight. But Brooklyn has lost just one of its last eight games and is a justifiable favorite in this spot. Harden and Durant combined for 67 points in Friday’s win over the Pelicans. After their first seven games all went Under, the Nets are 4-2 Over the last six games. They’ve scored more than 120 in back to back wins. OKC has topped 120 in a game only once all season, but could be poised for one of its highest scoring games tonight. Their last two games are among their four highest scoring efforts of the young season, even though both ended up going Under. The Thunder are 6-0 Under L6 games, but this low total is just begging to be played Over. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The Browns got a huge win last week, beating Cincinnati by the score of 41-16. They did get a 99-yard INT return for a touchdown early in the game, which was a big swing. The offense for this team has been really “feast or famine” this season. Three times the Browns have topped 40 points. They also have four games where they scored 17 or less. Three of those came in the three weeks preceding the win over the Bengals. But another interesting thing about Cleveland is that the defense has had three games this year where it allowed 37 or more points. But it also has put together five games where it allowed no more than 16 points. The last three weeks have seen the Browns allow an average of 15 points/game. So which Browns offense - and Browns defense - will show up this week in New England? Well, we don’t like the prospects for the offense. Nick Chubb (COVID) may not be able to play. The Patriots allow only 18.6 points/game at home and last week held the Panthers to six points in Carolina. But the good news for Browns fans is that we’re not sold on rookie QB Mac Jones and the New England offense. Yes, Jones and company have put up some nice numbers in recent weeks. But they did so at the expense of some bad defenses. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The last five Boston College games have all resulted in a win for Under bettors. The average number of total points scored in those five games is just 32.2! Last week was the lowest scoring game of the Eagles’ season, a 17-3 Friday night win over Virginia Tech. We realize that it’s been a struggle for them to score recently. But QB Phil Jurkovec has returned to the starting lineup and that should provide a spark offensively. BC faces Georgia Tech this week. The Yellow Jackets surrender an average of 31.7 points/game in ACC play and five of their last six have seen a minimum of 58 total points scored. So this has all the makings of the end to BC’s five game Under streak. While GT has lost three in a row, they scored 30 or more in two of the losses. They’ve also scored 30 or more in four of the last six games. When these schools played last year, the final score was 48-27 (BC won). Play on OVER

This is an 8* on UNDER

Georgia State opened its season with a very easy 97-37 victory over a non-DI school (Brewton Parker). Northeastern wasn’t as fortunate on Tuesday as they lost 65-58 to Colgate. The Huskies also just missed out on covering the spread as they were 6.5-point underdogs. It was not a solid night at the offensive end as they made only 40% of their total field goal attempts and were 3 of 14 from three. Northeastern did earn a share of the CAA regular season title last season. But they lost their top player to the transfer portal. The good news is that on the defensive end, the Huskies held Colgate to 39.3% shooting. It was a game they could have won as they were up by two at half. Georgia State is not going to score 97 again on Friday as they are facing a “real” opponent for the first time. The Panthers will also give up more than the 37 they allowed in the first game. But don’t expect this game to go Over the total. The Under is 11-4 the last 15 times N’eastern has been a road underdog. In the second game of the year, both teams will struggle to make shots. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is 10* on OVER

The Clippers have won five straight. They’ve covered the number in each of the last four games. So they are not a team anyone wants to see on the schedule right now. Now even Miami, who has had a really solid start to its season. The Heat (7-4) still have a better record than the Clippers (6-4) but have lost three of four including an overtime game last night to the Lakers. Even though they didn’t have to face LeBron James, the Heat still wilted late, surrendering all of a seven-point lead by the end of regulation. Even worse is that Jimmy Butler left the game with a sprained ankle. He’s questionable to play tonight. At least no travel is involved for Miami, who is 16-10 Over when playing in the second night of a back to back. We expect this to be a relatively high scoring affair and go Over the total. The Heat’s early season defensive dominance has started to subside as they’ve given up 110 or more points in four of their last five games. The Clippers have poured in 117 or more points in three of their last four games with the last two both going Over. Play the OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

There’s nothing quite like opening the College Basketball season at 12:30 local time on a Thursday. But that’s the case here in Vermillion as South Dakota hosts Air Force. Expect a low scoring affair in this afternoon's tilt. Air Force was bottom five in the country last year in scoring as they averaged only 58.7 points/game. The fact that the service academy has a height restriction makes sense for flying planes but not for playing basketball. There was a really “learning curve” for the Falcons last season as new coach Joe Scott brough the “Princeton offense” to Colorado Springs. The team really didn’t have the personnel to run the offense effectively. Don’t expect a ton of improvement this year. South Dakota lost its two top players from last season’s squad, so they’ll be scrambling at the offensive end as well. Key to the Coyotes’ success last year was shooting 38.9% from three-point range. They aren’t likely to be that prolific again in 2021-22, at least in the early portion of the campaign. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Charlotte will be looking to end a five-game losing streak tonight in Memphis. The Hornets haven’t covered the spread in any of those five losses either. The last four losses have all been on the road. The last one was close, a 126-123 decision to the Lakers, but remember LA didn’t have LeBron James for that game. The Grizzlies have won and covered the last four meetings with the Hornets, so history isn’t exactly on the road team’s side coming into this one. Memphis survived an overtime affair against Minnesota two nights ago. They were a little lucky to cover the 4.5 point spread as they were down by 16 in the fourth quarter. What we like here is the Over. That’s because the Grizzlies are giving up the second most points per game in the league right now - 113.8 per game. The only team to allow more? That would be Charlotte - 118.3 per game. The Over has hit in five of Charlotte’s last six games. It’s also 4-0 the last four times Memphis has hosted Charlotte. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Portland has started to turn things around by winning its last two games. Both wins came at home and the last one saw them take a 31 point lead into the fourth quarter against the Lakers. It won’t be that easy tonight facing the Clippers as this game is on the road. The Blazers haven’t won a road game yet. They are 0-4 straight up and against the spread when playing outside of Oregon. Those four losses have been by an average of almost 14 points/game. Teams are shooting better than 50% when hosting Portland this year. So we expect the Clippers, who have scored at least 120 twice during a four-game win streak, to put up lots of points on Tuesday. This is already the third meeting of the year between these teams. The first two both stayed Under and were blowout wins by the home team. Portland is 5-0 Over its last five Tuesday games. We expect the Blazers to score more than usual tonight as Damian Lillard is off his best three-point shooting night of the young season. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The Blackhawks are terrible. They’ve won only one game and are dealing with a scandal. So we didn’t hesitate to fade them Friday night in Winnipeg. They lost that game 5-1. Aside from their one win (5-1 against Ottawa), Chicago has not scored more than three goals in any other game this year. Sunday they host a Nashville team that has seen four of its last five games go Under. That’s how we see this one going. The Blackhawks are coming off a season low in shots (with 18) in the Winnipeg game. Now they are running into a hot goaltender in Juuse Saros. The Under has hit seven of the past nine times these teams have played. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Dallas took a chance in resting Dak Prescott last week. It worked out. They went to Minnesota and beat the Vikings 20-16 thanks to a last second TD pass from backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Prescott will play this week against Denver, That means the Cowboys won’t have any problems putting up points against a Denver defense that just had to say goodbye to Von Miller. Dallas is #1 in the league in yards from scrimmage with 454.9 per game. The last eight home games with Prescott as the starter, the Cowboys have scored 35 or more points. Count on them doing most of the scoring here. But Denver will add enough points to ensure we hit this Over. The Cowboys defense is 28th in passing yards allowed, so the Broncos will be able to move the ball if/when they are behind. Play on OVER

This is an 8* on UNDER

This is the only top 25 matchup on Saturday. The spot isn’t great for Auburn as the Tigers played Ole Miss last week. They won 31-20 but it was a hard fought, competitive game. Texas A&M didn’t have to play at all last week as they were on a bye. The Aggies have won three straight going back to their shocking win over Alabama. But Kyle Field is a place where Auburn has done well in the past. They’ve won all four previous visits to College Station. So we don’t see any value on either side in this Saturday afternoon showdown in the SEC. But we do love the Under, which is 9-2 in Auburn’s last 11 conference games and 9-3 the past 12 times that A&M has been off a bye. The Aggies have the #3 scoring defense in the land, giving up just 16.1 points/game. Only Penn State and Georgia have scored more than 23 on Auburn. So this one promises to be low scoring. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Pittsburgh has lost three straight times. During the losing streak they have given up 13 goals, four or more in every game. Philadelphia has a three-game Under streak as it has both scored and allowed only five goals during that time. The Flyers got shutout the last time they played on the road, 4-0 by Calgary. But that’s not normal for them. Every other game this season has seen them score two goals or more. The Penguins scored at least four goals in four of their first five games. They’ve also allowed multiple goals in every game but one. So Over is our bet for this showdown in the Metropolitan Division. Yes, Sidney Crosby is out because of COVID. But look at how much the Penguins had been scoring without him in the lineup. (Crosby has only played one game due to wrist surgery). The Over is 17-6-3 in the last 26 meetings between the NHL’s two Keystone State clubs. Play OVER

This is a 10* on OVER

Minnesota is one of two teams yet to go Over in a single game this season. There were four teams without an Over heading into last night’s action, but Dallas and Houston (who were both 5-0-1 Under) each went Over in their games. That leaves the Timberwolves (6-0) and the Nets (7-0 Under) as the only two left without an Over. Tonight the T’wolves host a Clippers team that has gone Under four straight times. We think it’s about time an Over hits for these two seemingly offensively challenged clubs. The Clippers have gone three straight games without scoring 100 points! That’s almost unheard of these days. Minnesota has not hit the century mark in its last two games as well as four of its last five. Both teams rank pretty high in the defensive efficiency ratings, but in the case of Minnesota, we don’t see that continuing. They gave up 43 points in the fourth quarter on Monday - to Orlando. Can two teams really continue to shoot just 41% overall? We don’t think so. One or both teams are set to break out offensively tonight. The Over has hit in the Clippers’ previous seven visits to the Twin Cities. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Can you believe Brooklyn is 7-0 to the Under so far? That’s the case as the Nets, who led the NBA in points scored during last season, are one of two teams yet to “experience” an Over this season. We think that changes tonight as the Nets host Atlanta. Coming off a rare trip to the Conference Finals last Spring, the Hawks are off to a 4-3 start and just scored 118 points in a win over Washington Monday night. Trae Young had a good game, making 7 of his 16 shots and scoring 26 points. While Young was only 1 of 6 from three-point range, he was 11 for 11 from the free throw line. Speaking of the charity stripe, Brooklyn’s James Harden seems to be adjusting to league’s new rule (of not being able to lean into a defender to a draw a foul) and is now getting back to the FT line with more regularity. In the last two games, Harden has attempted 22 foul shots. As a team, the Nets shot 65.3% (a franchise record!) in the last game, a 117-91 rout over the Pistons. They probably would have scored even more had Kevin Durant not been ejected in the third quarter for committing a flagrant foul. We expect “fireworks” throughout this game and look for it to be a high-scoring affair tonight on ESPN. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

There was certainly an abundance of scoring in last night’s “MACtion” with the three games totaling 225 points. We had the Over in Miami vs. Ohio, which got wild at the end with four touchdowns scored in the last five minutes. But it’s a whole different set of teams in action on Wednesday and in the case of Central Michigan at Western Michigan, we are taking the Under. To this point, neither team is seeing more than 58 combined points scored per game. Central Michigan averages 29.0 and gives up 28.4. Western Michigan also scores 29.0 points/game while at the same time giving up slightly less than CMU (27.3). We don’t expect this game to be 17-14 by any means, but the over/under line just seems a bit high to us. Central Michigan is 6-1 Under its last seven road games. Western Michigan allows only 19.8 points/game at home. Western has had two huge scoring games, one against Pitt and the other against Kent State, but has not exceeded 28 points in any of the other six. They were held to 15 by Toledo in their last game. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

With the World Series set to return to Houston, the designated hitter is once again in play for both teams. That’s going to lead most bettors to believe that we’re possibly in store for a high-scoring affair in Game 6. But really, Game 5 has been the only “high-scoring” game of the World Series and that was due in large part to a Braves’ grand slam that was hit in the first inning. That won’t happen again. Take that one swing away and Atlanta has scored just eight runs total in the rest of the last four games. Tonight they must face Luis Garcia, who has a 2.71 ERA and 1.00 WHIP at home and more importantly a 12-3 Under record here. Only twice in the past eight games has Astros pitching allowed more than three runs. Opponents are barely batting .200 during that eight-game run. The Braves have Max Fried on the mound for Game 6. While Fried has turned in two straight subpar outings, the Under is 11-5 in his 16 road starts this year. Fried has allowed three runs or fewer in 23 of his last 29 starts. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Ohio is 1-7 and looking to snap a three-game losing streak in MAC play. All three of those losses have been by seven points or less. Usually, this is one of the better teams in the conference. But with Frank Solich, the former head coach, retiring not long before the season started, things have gone downhill in a hurry in Athens. Rival Miami will take no pity on the Bobcats. The RedHawks have won two straight and three of four. The one loss in conference play was by one point, at Eastern Michigan. What we expect here is Ohio to end its streak of five consecutive games going Under the total. Their defense is allowing 31.1 points/game, so it isn’t very good. Take away the game vs. Akron, who is the worst team in the MAC, and the Bobcats have given up at least 28 points in every other game. The good news for the home team is that its own scoring average is up to 28.5 points/game in conference play. The Over is 5-1 in Ohio’s last six Tuesday games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The Knicks are off to a great start with a 5-1 WL record. Their only loss came to Orlando (of all teams!) in a game where they were double digit favorites. There have been a couple close wins, those being the season opener against Boston and a one-point win in Chicago on Thursday. But overall, there’s not much to complain about in the Big Apple. Up “north of the border,” Toronto is looking for a return to winning ways after a very disappointing 2020-21 season. They dealt Kyle Lowry to Miami but are 4-3 so far and have won three in a row, the last two games being decided by a total of four points. What we are expecting from this game Monday night is a low-scoring affair. There have been three games where the Raptors have not scored 100 points. One of them was Saturday’s win over Indiana. The Knicks probably will not continue to shoot 40% from beyond the arc. Saturday’s win over the Pelicans was NY’s highest scoring game in regulation of the young season. Two of the three times these teams met last year, the combined final score did not exceed 200 points. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The Caps have yet to be beaten in regulation this season as all three losses have come in overtime. They are +11 in goal differential, which is better than every team except the four division leaders. But they’ve also won back to back games just one time. That’s what they are aiming to do Monday as they are off a 2-0 win over hapless Arizona. They are in Tampa Bay for a marquee early-season showdown. The Lightning have won back to back games twice so far, but those represent their only four wins of the year. They ended October with consecutive 5-1 wins over Pittsburgh and Arizona. Both teams have had at least two days off coming into tonight. So we’ll have some fresh skaters and given the reputation both teams have, this looks to be an easy play with the Over. Both teams have three games with five or more goals. The problem for the Lightning is that they have let in five or more goals three times. Yes, we know that it was a 2-1 game (Lightning won) when these teams met on Oct 18. But the TB power play (0 for its last 15) is due to break out and so are the Capitals, who are 10-3-1 Over after allowing two goals or less in the last game. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is listed as a game time decision for the Sunday nighter against the Vikings. Whether or not he plays, we like this game to go Over the total. Dallas will have plenty of offensive firepower surrounding the quarterback, no matter who ends up starting. If it’s Prescott, then we need not even sell you on an offense that is putting up 34.2 points/game thus far. The Cowboys have scored more than that average in each of their past four games. We think that even if Cooper Rush is called upon, the offense can score enough to help this one get Over the total. Minnesota gave up 28 points the last time we saw them. The Vikings offense has scored 30 or more in three of the last five games. So they too can score. Kirk Cousins had a season-high 373 yards vs. Carolina. The Dallas secondary allows 13 yards per completion. The Over has hit in each of Dallas’ past four games and we’re getting a good number because of the uncertainty surrounding Prescott. The Over is 5-0 for the Vikings the last five seasons off a bye week. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

While we aren’t exactly sure who will be “starting” this game for the Braves, who are now up two games to one in the 2021 World Series, we are pretty positive that the Astros are going to end up with more hits than they had last night. Led by a masterful outing from Ian Anderson, Atlanta kept Houston hitless for seven innings last night. All the Astros ended up with were two hits for the game as they lost 2-0. We liked it as the Braves were a winner for us and in breaking the game down we did issue a warning to Astros’ fans that the loss of the designated hitter could prove significant in Atlanta. But we trust Houston’s lineup will have at least a little of a bounce back tonight in Game 4 as Atlanta is going with a “bullpen game.” Not facing Anderson is a blessing for the road team, that’s for sure. The Astros still are averaging 5.8 runs/game for the entire postseason. The Braves are 6-0 at home in the playoffs and they stranded nine runners last night. So there’s a pretty clear cut case that they should have put more runs on the board in Game 3. They went 1 for 6 when they had runners in scoring position. Going up against Zack Greinke should help out the Atlanta offense. In Greinke’s only start during these playoffs, he lasted only 1.3 innings and gave up two runs. He’s not the same pitcher he once was and the Over is 26-10 in the Braves last 36 interleague home games vs. right-handed starters. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Ottawa’s last win was 12 days ago. Tonight, they face the team responsible for that last win. That’s Dallas, who is also on a losing streak entering Friday. While the Senators have lost three in a row, the Stars have dropped two straight. But what’s really interesting about the two teams is the combined Under record. Between the two of them, they have played 13 games this year and 12 of those have stayed Under. The one Over came from Ottawa as they let seven goals in their last game. That was in Washington four days ago. You’ve got to think that the “worm will turn” and we’re destined to have an Over here. The Dallas power play is just 3 for 18, so that’s going to improve. Ottawa is no penalty killing juggernaut. They are in the bottom third of the league when shorthanded. We’re basically betting on the “just due” factor tonight as an Over is bound to hit. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The Nets have yet to go Over in any game this year. The Under is 5 for 5 with them and Friday they are playing a Pacers team that has not scored more than 109 points in any of its last three games. Brooklyn has actually been worse at the offensive end. They have scored 104 or less in four of five games. Two of the last three, they’ve failed to hit 100! It was a season-low 93 against Miami two nights ago. The number of combined points scored in the last two Nets games has not exceeded 200. Yet oddsmakers continue to set the number based on reputation. There’s no Kyrie Irving for the Nets and James Harden is struggling. Indiana might be without leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon tonight. Regardless if Brogdon plays or not, the Under is 6-2 the last eight times these teams have met in Brooklyn. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

There is one team in College Football that has gone Over in all of its FBS games this season. That is Tulsa, who returns to the field on Friday off a bye. The Golden Hurricane face a Navy team whose last five games have all seen a combined point total of 47 points or greater. That’s significant because of where tonight’s O/U line currently sits. But we expect a low-scoring affair in the American Conference tonight. That may seem strange. Going over all the 2021 results for both teams, there has been just one game - Navy’s 23-3 loss to Air Force - that has seen less than 47 combined points scored. But Navy’s offense isn’t getting it done this year. They’ve put up more than 20 points just two times. They do not even average 300 yards/game. Their 279.6 yards/game average is fourth worst in the FBS! While Tulsa has scored 67 points and gained 1,000 yards its last two games, they too are not immune from a poor offensive effort. Four of their seven games have resulted in 23 or less points scored. In this game, the Golden Hurricane will not have the same number of possessions as they are used to having. This is because Navy knows how to control the clock. Tulsa’s defense only gave up two touchdowns in its last game. That one went Over only because their opponent got touchdowns from its defense AND special teams. Don’t look for that to happen again tonight. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Green Bay has won six in a row, covering the spread every time, with Aaron Rodgers throwing 15 touchdown passes and just one interception. Arizona is 7-0 and the last unbeaten team standing. They have covered the spread each of the last five weeks. So this is poised to be one of the better Thursday night games of the season. However, the Packers do have major concerns at wide receiver due to Adams and Lazard both landing on the IR/COVID-19 list. But Rodgers can still make it work. The defensive side of the ball has also been affected by COVID-19 with coordinator Joe Barry set to miss this game. That could be the bigger problem as Arizona comes in averaging 32.1 points/game, which is fourth most in the league. But the Cardinals’ defense also has concerns. JJ Watt is likely done for the season. Both of these defenses have not exactly been facing some of the elite offenses in this league recently. We look for the two quarterbacks - Rodgers and Kyler Murray - to make sure this game goes Over the total. Green Bay has gone Over each of the last five times it has been an underdog. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

This was a 44-24 game last year with ECU winning outright as an eight point underdog. That was their first win over USF since 2014. The Pirates came into last year’s meeting having lost each of their first two games by 20 or more points. Unfortunately, the win didn’t lead to any kind of turnaround in Greenville as ECU finished the 2020 season at 3-6. They’ve already matched that win total this season as they come into Thursday’s game at 3-4. USF is 2-5 and last Saturday saw them record their first win against an FBS opponent since 2019 when they beat ECU 45-20. We’re not positive as to who comes out on top this year (although it will likely be ECU), but you can feel safe in expecting another high-scoring battle. USF has scored 31+ in its last two games. But the Bulls have also given up 32 or more five times in 2021. ECU’s defense is also pretty bad, but the Pirates are averaging 33.3 points/game at home. The Over is 9-3-1 in the last 13 USF games and 11-5 in East Carolina’s previous 16 conference games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

It’s definitely been an interesting 24 hours for the Blackhawks as president of operations Stan Bowman was forced to resign. On the ice, the team has yet to win this season. Their record is 0-5-1. They join the division rival Coyotes as the only teams in the league yet to win a game. But what has them at the bottom of the league is the fact they have gone over 360 minutes without once holding a lead in a game. There has not been a single game where Chicago didn’t give up at least four goals. Toronto pays a visit to the Windy City tonight. The Maple Leafs aren’t about to take any pity on the Blackhawks considering they are on their own four-game losing streak. During the four-game slide, the Leafs have given up a total of 18 goals. We expect this to be a wide open game between two teams desperate for two points. That means lots of goals. The Leafs’ power play, 0 for 14 so far, is due to break out. The Over is 37-13-3 in Blackhawks’ games if they allow five or more goals in the last game. Play on OVER.

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

It’s been two very different starts to the NHL season put forth by these clubs. We saw that on full display Saturday night when the Blues waxed the Kings 7-3 here in St. Louis. The win gave the Blues a 4-0 start to 2021-22. The loss leaves the Kings at 1-3-1 overall and they’ve lost four in a row. While Monday night’s rematch may not see the same number of goals scored on Saturday, we still like the Over here. Saturday wasn’t the first time St. Louis scored seven goals in a game this season. They also did it last Monday in Arizona. They’ve scored five or more times in three of their four games and at least three goals in every game. All 20 skaters that have seen ice time have registered a point.  Los Angeles may not be scoring as much, but they are getting off a good number of shots per game (36.8). If they continue to do so, then you have to figure that the goals will come. Overshadowed by getting blown out Saturday night is that the Kings did score three goals of their own. The Blues might be using a backup goalie tonight. The Over is 16-7-2 when the Kings allowed five or more goals in their previous game. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Indianapolis put up 31 points last week in a win over Houston. The week before that they put up 25 against Baltimore. The week before that they scored 27 against Miami. So that’s an average of 27.7 points the last three weeks and the offense is averaging 416.7 yards to boot. Carson Wentz is playing well for them. He has already thrown for more than 1500 yards and nine touchdowns against just one interception. Versus Baltimore, Wentz threw for a career-high 402 yards and then he averaged more than 20 yards per completion last week against Houston. So we expect them to put up a solid number of points this week. The Colts would have even more points scored this year if not for some unfortunate red zone inefficiency. As for San Francisco, Jimmy G is back in the starting lineup. The last time he finished a game was also on a Sunday night (vs. Green Bay) and the 49ers scored 28 points. The team is coming off a bye, so they’ve had plenty of time to prepare for facing the Colts' defense. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on UNDER

The Patriots are still without a home win this year, but that’s likely to change after today. They host the Jets, a team they’ve already beaten 25-6. But if New England is to pick up that elusive first home victory, expect it to come in low scoring fashion. We are on the Under in this AFC East matchup. The Jets are off a bye and have been an underdog in every game. Rookie QB Wilson threw four picks the first time he faced Belichick’s defense. It was not a pretty sight. Here’s the thing though: the Patriots’ offense gained only 260 yards in that game. In three of the four home games this year, New England has failed to score 20 points. So we’re not counting on them scoring a ton here. Most of those 25 points they scored in the first game with the Jets were off turnovers. For the Jets, QB Wilson hasn’t matured enough where we’d expect him to play that much better in this rematch. But he should limit the turnovers this time. The Jets’ offense hasn’t gained 300 total yards in any game that didn’t go to overtime. That’s pretty sad. The Jets are last in points per game (13.4), 31st in total yards and 31st in rushing. New England only had 14 points with six minutes to go last week and they rank 26th in total yards and 27th in rushing yards. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Phoenix was two wins away from an NBA Championship in July. But they lost four straight to the Bucks and that was that. This season began with them losing 110-98 at home to Denver. The Suns finally got back into the win column last night with an emphatic 115-105 win over the Lakers, out in LA. It was not a close game much of the way. The Suns led by 27 going into the fourth quarter. It was also not a game that featured much in the way of good shooting. The Suns made only 31.3 percent of their 3PA, so it’s impressive that they were up so big. Of course it helped that the Lakers were just 34 of 86 from the field. Tonight Phoenix is up against a Portland team that’s played only once and lost 124-121 to the Kings. It was not a surprise that the game was so high scoring. The Blazers and Kings were the two worst defensive teams in the league last year. So we’re predicting this to be Phoenix’s highest scoring game of the young season and it will go Over the total. The Over is 34-16-2 when the Suns are off an ATS win. The Over is also 6-1 for Portland when they are coming off a SU loss. The Blazers should once again be a prolific offensive team this season and the Suns will be happy to trade baskets with them. Play on OVER

This is an 8* on OVER

Except when they played Georgia (gave up 56 points) and Liberty (gave up 36), the defense of UAB has been pretty stout in 2021. That’s nothing new under Bill Clark. The Blazers had a solid defense last year as well. The Under is 6-1 in their games this season and 5-0 the last five. They are not facing an opponent the caliber of Georgia or Liberty this week. Rice has been shutout twice and scored no more than 17 points four different times. But UAB could put this one Over themselves. Again, taking away those two games vs. Georgia and Liberty, the Blazers offense has scored a minimum of 28 points every game. They’ve scored 31 and 34 the past two games and that was against defenses that aren’t as bad as the one they face this week. Rice gave up 45 last week at UTSA. It was the fifth game this season where the Owls allowed at least 34 points. They’ve allowed 34 or more in half of their games. Give us at least one touchdown Rice and we’ll like our chances with the Over. The Over has hit in all of Rice’s previous five visits to Birmingham. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on OVER

Oh hi Penn State, we’d almost forgotten about you. It’s been two weeks since the Nittany Lions suffered their first loss of the year. They lost 23-20 at Iowa, a game where their four turnovers played a significant role in the outcome. James Franklin’s team got last week off to recoup and now should be ready to hand out a beatdown in State College to visiting Illinois. The Fighting Illini come into this one with a 2-5 straight up record and one of those wins came back in August. That would be when we had them vs. Nebraska in the season opener and they pulled the upset. They too are coming off a bye. Despite that, both teams could be without their starting quarterbacks for this one. We still like the Over. Illinois should be used to playing without Brandon Peters at this point. Backup Artur Sitkowski was in for the first two games where the Illini put up 30 plus points. Illinois can also run the ball as the duo of Brown and McCray have gone for 748 yards. We don’t have much confidence in the Illini’s ability to defend, however. Starter Sean Clifford practiced this week for Penn State. But the Nittany Lions may not even need him. That’s because Illinois’ defense ranks last in the Big 10 in scoring, pass defense, total defense and third down rate. They allowed 493 yards in the last game (to a Wisconsin offense that hasn’t been impressive otherwise). Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The Sharks are off to a 3-0 start. They scored nine times in the first two games, beating Winnipeg 4-3 and Montreal 5-0. Then came a 2-1 win over Ottawa two nights ago. They are scoring on 13.7% of their shot attempts thus far, which is a very high number, but it should continue tonight when they face Toronto’s backup goaltender. Michael Hutchinson is getting the callup from the AHL to start this one for the Maple Leafs. Their #1 goaltender (Jack Campbell) is set to start tomorrow’s game against the Penguins. All four Toronto games so far have gone Under with none seeing more than five combined goals scored. But this one should put an end to that streak. We don’t see the backup goalie doing all that well in his first start as he’s only getting the shot because Toronto’s normal backup (Petr Mrazek) sustained a groin injury in the Ottawa game. Before losing the last game 2-1 to the Rangers, the Leafs had scored multiple games in each of the first three games. San Jose’s goaltenders haven’t faced very many shots thus far. That should change in this game. Toronto is averaging 37.0 shots/contest. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

A multitude of injuries on the Cleveland side have seen this spread drop like a rock and with it, the total has come down as well. But be mindful of the fact that Denver just put up over 400 yards last week in a loss to the Raiders. They only scored 24 points because they had four turnovers. The Browns defense isn’t very good; it has given up 84 points the last two games. So we expect the Broncos to score a decent amount of points in this Thursday night road tilt. But their own defense has some issues that may not be properly addressed in a short week. Since a 3-0 start that saw them hold the Giants, Jets and Jaguars to a total of 26 points, Denver’s defense has given up an average of 28 points in three straight losses. The Browns will start Case Keenum at QB. Most will tell you how this is a downgrade from Baker Mayfield and they aren’t wrong. Keenum is not helped by the fact that over half of the Browns’ offensive starters are injured. However, the Broncos’ defense has a ton of injuries as well. Three linebackers are out. The Over is 6-2 the last eight times the Browns have been off a loss. Too many things can happen in an NFL game - like a touchdown by the defense or special teams - for us not to choose Over when the total is this low. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The late innings have been unkind to under bettors the last two nights in MLB. We know as we had the Under two nights ago in Houston-Boston, a game that was 2-2 heading into the ninth. The Astros erupted for seven runs in the final frame though. Them putting two on the board in the ninth last night also sent that ALCS game Over. It’s been a similar deal here in the NLCS with a four-run eighth inning rally by the Dodgers sending Tuesday’s game Over and then a four-run ninth by the Braves sending last night’s game Over. We are on the Under in Game 5. Excluding the eighth inning eruption in Game 3, the Dodgers have not done much at the plate in this series. They were held to four hits in Game 4. Now it’s Max Fried pitching for Atlanta. Fried has been the best starter in baseball over the second half of the season. In his last seven starts, Fried has a 1.34 ERA and 0.78 WHIP, leading the Braves to a 7-0 record. He’s given up only four runs in his last five starts. The Dodgers turn to their bullpen to try and keep their season alive. We’ll count on them to limit the Braves’ offense as visiting teams have scored only 3.3 runs/game at Dodger Stadium in 2021 and hit just .209. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

It’s been a terrible start for Montreal, a team that was in the Stanley Cup Finals just a few months ago. The Canadiens have begun the season 0-4 and given up 15 goals in the process. They’ve scored only three. Not having Carey Price (leave of absence) in goal has hurt, although he can’t help the Habs score. Nor can he fix a power play that’s gone 0 for 13 in the first four games. But power play percentages have their way of working themselves out. Tonight, we will project Montreal to score at least two goals in a game for the first time. But the other end of the ice remains a problem as they face Carolina, who has already found the back of the net nine times in two wins to open its campaign. The Hurricanes have been off for four days and won’t take it easy on the Canadiens. One saving grace for the Habs is that the ‘Canes did allow 40 shots on goal in their last game. With the Over 9-3 the past 12 times Carolina has been on three or more days rest, this one promises to be another high-scoring affair. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State meet Wednesday night in a matchup that is very likely to determine who represents the East Division in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. Coastal Carolina won the division last year and had a perfect 11-0 SU record going into the bowls. They are perfect again (so far) this year with a 6-0 SU record. Appalachian State has already lost two games in 2021, but only one in conference play and that was last week to Louisiana, which came by a rather shocking score of 41-13. The Mountaineers lost at Coastal Carolina 34-23 last year, a result that decided the SBC East Division. Coastal Carolina is even stronger this year as they have scored at least 49 points five times and averaged 54.7 points their last three games. So considering how many points App State allowed last week to Louisiana, this is an automatic ‘Over’ for us. One would expect the home team is going to score a lot more than it did last week. The Mountaineers averaged 35.2 points/game the first five weeks of the season. They are easily the best team Coastal Carolina has played this season. Both teams will have no problem getting to 30 points. The Over is 6-0 the past six times Appalachian State has been off an ATS defeat. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

Two former NBA Champs square off on opening night when the Lakers host the Warriors. Both teams had found themselves in the “play-in round” last season. For Golden State, that was an improvement upon the injury-riddled 2019-20 campaign. For the Lakers, that was a massive dropoff after winning the NBA Finals. The Lakers beat the Warriors in the play-in round, but didn’t make it much further as they were eliminated by the Suns in six games in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Warriors could not even make it that far as they lost the second play-in game (to Memphis) as well. For this first game of the new season, we like the Under. The Lakers added Russell Westbrook to the core that already included LeBron and Anthony Davis. But the rest of their roster isn’t good. It will take awhile for Westbrook to figure out how to play with the other two stars. Klay Thompson is still not back for the Warriors. Both teams were top five in the league in defensive efficiency a year ago. There will be some early season “rust” to shake off here and we don’t think the game will be that high-scoring. The Under is 6-2 the past eight meetings. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

We are 2-0 in the ALCS. Both wins, which came in Games 1 and 3, were with the Over. It sure didn’t take long for the Over to hit last night. For the third time in two games, the Red Sox hit a grand slam. They were up 6-0 after two innings and 9-0 after three. It was when the Astros scored three runs in the top of the fourth that the Over officially became a winner. But we are “switching sides” tonight in Game 4 as it’s time this ALCS saw an Under. The Over is 3-0 in the series and 5-0 the last five times the teams have met. Not shocking as these were two of the highest scoring teams in baseball during the regular season. They have both gone Over in six straight playoff games. But the O/U line is higher (up to 10.0) for Game 4 and Zack Greinke is the key for the Astros. Greinke has yet to start a playoff game in 2021. He had a mediocre regular season. But we think he’ll “step up” like he did when he threw a scoreless inning of relief against the White Sox in the ALDS. But the problem for Houston is that they had only five hits in last night’s loss. Assuming the Red Sox stop hitting grand slams, a wise assumption based on the fact they are already the first team EVER to hit three in the same series, their scoring is set to go down. Nick Pivetta will start for Boston. He threw four scoreless innings of relief in his last appearance and held the Astros to just two runs in six innings when he faced them in the regular season. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Though they lost Week 1 to the Steelers, this start to the season that the Bills have put together really couldn’t be much more dominant. They’ve scored the most points in the league and also given up the fewest. On Monday they will face the Titans, a team that beat them 42-16 in a rare Tuesday game last season, and we believe that the Buffalo offense will keep humming right along. We warned you about this Tennessee defense back in Week 1 when we played the Cardinals. The Titans gave up 38 points in that game. They have given up at least 27 in three of their five games, one of those times coming against the Jets who are last in the league in scoring. The Bills come in averaging 34.4 points/game and should hit that average tonight. As for the Bills having allowed the fewest points, it obviously helps that they have faced Miami and Houston. The other three games have seen them give up 20 or more points every time. Tennessee remains a strong team offensively with RB Derrick Henry, who has 640 yards and four straight 100-plus yard games. The Over is 25-9-1 in the Titans’ last 35 games overall and 7-1 the last eight times they have been an underdog. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Let’s not overcomplicate or overthink things here. The two teams in this year’s American League Championship Series do not struggle to score runs. Houston leads all of MLB with a 5.4 runs/game scoring average. There is no drop off in scoring when they hit the road. They have scored five or more runs in nine straight games, going back to the final series of the regular season. The last seven games, which includes the regular season finale, has seen them average 6.9 runs/games while batting .293. The Astros will need to score plenty of runs to win here in Boston because the Red Sox average 5.8 runs/game at Fenway Park. That led the league in scoring at home. Going back to the Wild Card Game, Boston has averaged 6.4 runs/game and hit .318. There are reasons to be concerned about both starters in Game 3 on Monday. For Houston, Jose Urquidy has not pitched since the regular season finale. Eduardo Rodriguez of Boston has a 5.78 ERA at Fenway this year. Even worse is his 7.02 ERA in 10 career postseason starts and his 11.57 ERA in two regular season starts vs. the Astros. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on the OVER

The Stars and Senators both have two games under their belts. Each team also lost last night after winning their respective season openers. They’ve also both gone Under in both of their games. What’s really crazy is that the final scores for their first and second games were also the same. So there’s a lot these two have in common. Dallas beat the Rangers 3-2 before losing at Boston 3-1. Ottawa split its games with Toronto, winning the first 3-2 and losing the second 3-1. Playing against each other tonight, the most likely result is an Over. Since both teams fell behind early last night, we expect them to come out firing in this game. Dallas allowed 40 shots on goal last night. The Over is 12-3-3 the L18 times they’ve faced a team that scored two or less goals in its last game. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Well, there’s a lot going on with this matchup isn’t there?. Arizona, the only undefeated team left in the NFL, will be without its head coach and QB coach because of COVID-19. This is on top of several on the field absences: Center Rodney Hudson, TE Maxx Williams and LB Chandler Jones. But Cleveland is not unscathed coming into Week 6 either. They will be missing RB Nick Chubb. There were 16 others on the injury report, several of whom will not play. But these teams are still more than capable of sending this one Over the total. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is having an MVP caliber season thus far as he has completed 70% of his passes in four straight games. The offense is fourth in points per game at 31.4. The Browns were just involved in a 47-42 game last week. They lost despite gaining 531 yards. While Chubb is out, Baker Mayfield can still hand the ball to Kareem Hunt, who once led the NFL in rushing.. Arizona being banged up in the secondary should open things up for the Browns in the passing game. When these defense have turned in quality performances this year, it has been because they’ve faced subpar quarterbacks. We believe the total has come down too much for this matchup. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on OVER

Alabama, coming off its first loss since November 2019, heads to Starkville this week to face Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide were stunned last Saturday night down in College Station, losing to Texas A&M as 15.5 point favorites. They gave up 41 points, too many to overcome, especially after falling into a two touchdown hole at halftime. But the Tide did outgain the Aggies 522-379. They put up 38 points and have now scored 31 or more every game in 2021. They should not have a problem moving the ball or scoring on Miss State, who was off last week after they went on the road and defeated Texas A&M two weekends ago. The Bulldogs’ defense has had only one good game so far. They’ve been pretty consistent on offense, averaging 27.8 points/game. Miss State has not scored many points on the Bama defense through the years, but Mike Leach is now the head coach. Leach’s offense is averaging 429 yards/game, almost all of it coming through the air. Will Rogers is the only SEC quarterback to throw for 400 yards and two or more TDs in the same game and he’s done it twice. Off a loss, Bama will come out firing but MSU can score too. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

It’s a low total Friday night in San Jose. But when you factor in that the Spartans have scored 17 or less points in four of their last five games, all of a sudden the number doesn’t look that low. San Diego State is giving up just 16.6 points/game on the year. The Aztecs rank among the top 20 nationally in scoring defense. So that’s one side of the equation. The other is how many will SDSU score? We don’t think it will be a lot. San Jose State can play some defense too, evident by the fact they are giving up just 23.8 points/game. SJSU’s defensive coordinator is Rocky Long. Long used to be the head coach at San Diego State. Both teams are unsettled at quarterback, which is something that is worth noting. The San Diego State offense has yet to have a 200 yard passing day this season. Nor has San Jose State in its last three games. The Spartans also won’t be able to run the ball very effectively in this contest as the Aztecs are permitting only 50 rush yards/game. The Under is 5-0 in San Diego State’s previous five Friday night games. Should be a low-scoring affair on the West Coast. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on the OVER

Going back to their series of the regular season (vs. Oakland), the Astros have averaged 7.7 runs over their last seven games, a stretch in which the Over is 6-1. Not to be outdone, the Red Sox scored 26 runs in their three wins over the Rays in the ALDS. They’ve averaged 6.3 runs in their last seven games. These were two of the five highest scoring teams in the regular season with Houston being #1. So this year’s ALCS figures to turn into a “slugfest” in short order. For Game 1, we’ve got two starting pitchers that have been struggling. Boston’s Chris Sale has a 10.39 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in his last three starts. Sale pitched one inning in the ALDS and allowed five runs. He has a 7.37 ERA and 1.71 WHIP on the road this year. Houston’s Framber Valdez has a 5.06 ERA in his past three starts after giving up four runs in each of the last two. The Over has hit in five of Valdez’s last six starts. All signs point to plenty of runs being scored tonight. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The season is already off to an auspicious start in Colorado where the Avalanche are without star Nathan MacKinnon and coach Jared Bednar because of COVID-19. The team is hopeful neither absence will be lengthy. That being said, there’s a reason the Avs are considered Stanley Cup favorites coming into the season. They have tremendous depth. We don’t see them having any difficulty scoring tonight when they open the season at home vs. Chicago. The Avs will definitely be motivated to score as they go up against old nemesis Marc-Andre Fleury, who now is between the pipes for the Blackhawks after coming over from Vegas in the offseason. Fleury helped Vegas to four straight wins over Colorado in last year’s playoffs, but he’s got a much weaker team in front of him now. Chicago was top 10 in goals allowed last year. Colorado led the league in scoring. Because of the bubble, these two teams did not face off last year. But the Avalanche have scored at least four times the previous four times they’ve played the Blackhawks. One concern for the Avs is in goal where they let Philipp Grubauer depart in free agency. Darcy Kuemper is the replacement and he was tied for 29th in the league in save percentage in 2020-21. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Over the next two weeks, Appalachian State will face the other two top Sun Belt teams. Next week they’ve got undefeated Coastal Carolina at home. But tonight the Mountaineers must travel to face Louisiana. Both teams are 4-1 SU on the season with a loss to a Power 5 school. App State lost by two at Miami while Louisiana got beat by Texas 38-18. The last three ASU games have all gone Over with them averaging 40 points and 537 yards per contest. Louisiana is 4-1 Under on the year, but has averaged 38 points in two home games. Defensively, the Ragin Cajuns do struggle to stop the run. They are allowing 171 yards/game on the ground. That’s a problem going against ASU, a team that averages almost 200 yards rushing/game. The road team is probably going to put a lot of points on the board here. We know that Louisiana has gone over 28 points in just one game this season, but if they were to hit that number tonight, the Over would be a virtual lock. We think it’s very possible as the Over is 4-0 the previous four times ULL has been a home underdog. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Houston is the highest scoring team in the majors. They average 5.4 runs/game. In the first two games of this series, they scored 6 and 9 runs. They’ve now scored six or more runs in five straight games going back to the final regular season series. If you’re looking for any sort of decrease in offensive production now that the Astros are on the road, you better think again. They average the same number of runs/game on the road as they do at home. But it is going to take quite a few runs to win tonight as Chicago puts up an average of 5.1 runs/game at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox had 11 hits in Game 2, but all were singles. They will face Luis Garcia here in Game 3. Garcia’s ERA is nearly two full points higher on the road than it is at home. So there is still hope for Chicago as they look to avoid being swept. But we are concerned that Dylan Cease was knocked around by the Astros earlier this year. He gave up seven runs to them back in June. With concerns about both starting pitchers, it seems quite probable that each team can score five runs tonight. Taking the Over seems like the logical move here. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on the OVER

The Eagles’ defense has been terrible the past two weeks. Some of that has to do with losing defensive end Brandon Graham to a season ending ACL injury. Some of it has to do with facing the Cowboys and Chiefs. Still, there’s no excuse for giving up 41+ points in back to back games. Philadelphia is 31st in the league right now at stopping the run, so even without Christian McCaffery they can move the ball. The 3-1 Panthers have averaged 26 points/game the last three weeks and should have no problem achieving that average again. But their defense was exposed a bit last week as they too got a taste of the Cowboys. Carolina allowed 36 points against Dallas, which was more than they allowed the first three weeks when they faced the Jets, Saints and Texans. We think the Eagles are going to be able to do something closer to what the Cowboys did than the other three teams. Jalen Hurts is coming off a career day where he threw for 387 yards. Twice the Eagles have hit 30 points this year and only once have they been held under 21. The Over is 33-16 in Philadelphia’s past 49 road games and is 21-9 L30 when they are a road dog. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

The Dodgers misfired in Game 1, losing 4-0 to the Giants. Even without Max Muncy’s 36 homers and 94 RBI’s, this lineup is far too potent to be held down like that again. This was the highest scoring National League team in the regular season. Only three American League teams scored more runs than the Dodgers in 2021 and they all got to use the DH most games. The Giants were the second highest scoring NL club and sixth overall. So even with two good starters on the hill for Game 2, we’re going to see more runs scored than we did in Game 1. Dodgers’ games average 8.7 runs. Giants’ games average 8.5. LA hasn’t lost a game with Urias pitching since July. But the southpaw did have one really bad start vs. the Giants this year, one where he got shelled for seven runs in five innings. San Francisco did homer three times Friday. Giants starter Kevin Gausman’s last six starts were all against non-playoff teams (three vs. San DIego) and he allowed seven homers. The offenses will get this one Over a low number. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on the UNDER

Here is a Saturday matchup off the radar of most. South Alabama is 3-1. Their last three games have been decided by a total of 12 points. Last week saw the Jaguars lose for the first time, 20-18 to Louisiana. We are surprised that this total is north of 50 points seeing as no USA game this season has seen that many scored. Texas State, 1-3 on the year, is coming off two high scoring games. Both were losses, one of them at home to Incarnate Word by a score of 42-34! Then the Bobcats went to Eastern Michigan and got beat 59-21. They were off last week. With an extra week to prepare, look for their defense to get back on track here. The Under is 7-1 in Texas State’s last eight games after a bye. It also helps that South Alabama has not scored more than 31 in any game this season. Texas State has averaged fewer than 20 points/game vs. FBS teams, excluding overtime. So we just can’t see this one getting to 50 points, let alone more than that. The Under is 6-1 in the Jaguars’ last seven road games and 4-0 the last four times they’ve been off an ATS win. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

It didn’t take long for the Red Sox to jump on Gerrit Cole in the Wild Card Game Tuesday night. A two-run homer by Xander Bogaerts in the first inning set the tone and it was pretty much smooth sailing from that point on. Now it’s a date with AL East winner Tampa Bay in the LDS. Of course, these teams faced one another quite a bit during the regular season. The Rays hold an 11-8 head to head edge, but what we found interesting is that both wins over Boston in September were high-scoring affairs. Conversely, the three times that the Red Sox defeated the Rays in September, the games were all low scoring. That said, the Red Sox did average eight runs/game in their eight wins over TB this year. We anticipate this being a high-scoring game. Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez has an 8.10 ERA in eight prior playoff appearances. He’s 2-4 with a 5.21 ERA in 13 career starts vs. the Rays. Shane McClanahan will start for Tampa, but probably won’t go too long. Boston did get to him for four runs in five innings last month. These are two of the top four highest scoring teams in the majors. The Over is 24-10-2 in the previous 36 meetings. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Cleveland is a top 10 offense and QB Mayfield is completing 73% of his passes. But the strength of this Browns offense is the run game. It’s arguably the best in the league with Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. Coach Kevin Stefanski knows the opponent well as he previously served as the offensive coordinator under Mike Zimmer in Minnesota. But the Vikings can score as well, Kirk Cousins is playing at a very high level so far. He’s throwing for over 300 yards/game, has eight touchdowns and no interceptions. It certainly looks as if he’s getting Dalvin Cook back this week. Cook missed the team’s 30-17 win over Seattle in Week 3. Minnesota is 1-2, but four points away from being 3-0 and the offense has produced over 400 total yards in every game. The dominant performance we saw from Cleveland’s defense last week should be immediately tossed aside as they were facing a rookie QB making his first start behind a terrible offensive line. The Browns allowed an average of 27 points in its first two games. The Over is 8-2 the Vikings past 10 home games. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

The Dodgers beat the Brewers 8-6 last night, but the mood at Chavez Ravine ended up being somber as Clayton Kershaw exited the game with a forearm injury. His status for the playoffs is said to be “not great.” What a blow that would be for the defending World Series Champs, but they still have an outside shot at earning homefield advantage in the playoffs. They would have to win the final two games and have the Giants lose their last two. The second part of that equation is unlikely, but a team can dream. We’ve got a dream pitching matchup for Saturday as two Cy Young contenders face off. Corbin Burnes has the lowest ERA in the majors and Milwaukee has won his last 12 starts! Burnes has allowed no more than one run in 18 of his 27 starts this year. He is 7-0 on the road where his ERA is 1.64 and his WHIP is 0.77. If there’s anyone who can keep LA’s offense in check, it is Burnes. But on the flip side, Dodgers starter Julio Urias has a 10-0 team start record his last 10 starts! He has the most wins (19) of any starting pitcher in the majors. He’s permitted three runs or less in 25 of 31 starts. This figures to be a very low-scoring game, given the two starting pitchers. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

Louisiana Tech and North Carolina State should be headed for a shootout Saturday night in Raleigh. Louisiana Tech is off its lowest scoring game of the season, a 24-17 win over North Texas. The first three weeks of the season saw them score at least 34 points in every game. They also gave up at least 35 in every game. NC State is off its biggest win in some time as it handed Clemson a second loss in 2021. The Wolfpack were victorious by a 27-21 margin. That was after averaging 45 points in the first two home wins. They’ve won 11 straight at Carter-Finney Stadium vs. Group of 5 teams and are 21-1 under Dave Doeren at home vs. all non-conference teams. This is a bit of a letdown spot but La Tech’s defense is giving up 6.0 yards/play. NC State should have beaten Clemson in regulation last week but the kicker missed three field goals. Look for them to score plenty of touchdowns this week. La Tech was missing its starting QB last week but coach Holtz is hopeful that Austin Kendall will return Saturday. The Bulldogs are 4-0 Over after their last four SU wins. Play on OVER

This is a 10* on UNDER

This should be a good one Friday night in the Big 10. Iowa and Maryland both come in at 4-0. Only the Hawkeyes are ranked and while they are #5 in the country, they survived a scare at home last week vs. Colorado State. It was only a 10-point win, 24-14, over a team they were supposed to beat by 24. They even trailed at the half. But we need not worry about winning by any kind of margin this week. Instead, we will simply trust a Hawkeyes defense that is third in the country in scoring (11.0 PPG allowed). Maryland QB Tagovailoa has put up some nice numbers, but has yet to face a defense as good as the one he’ll face here. When the Terps opened Big 10 play with a game at Illinois, they scored only 20 points. Lost in the talk of how good Iowa’s defense has been is how sound Maryland’s D has been. The Terps are allowing only 14.3 points/game so far. So we’ve got two of the country’s top 10 scoring defenses facing off. Iowa’s offense has scored more than three touchdowns in only one game. Against Power 5 opponents, they’ve averaged just 238 yards/game. All four of their games so far have gone Under. Maryland is 4-0 Under its last four Big 10 games. Play on UNDER

This is an 8* on OVER

Here at Coors Field, it’s always expected to be a high-scoring affair. The Rockies average 5.6 runs/game themselves while also giving up an average of 5.1 runs/game. Year in and year out, Rockies’ home games seem to have the highest number of total runs/game scored in the National League, if not all of MLB. They’re right up there again this year. But after struggling to win here over the last week (it didn’t help that they faced the Dodgers and Giants), the Rockies won a low-scoring game over the Nationals last night, 3-1. This was after a 5-4 game, which Washington won, on Monday. We think this afternoon’s game will see a return to normalcy in Coors and even exceed the season average of runs/game scored here. Paolo Espino has started 17 games for the Nationals in 2021. He has a 5.90 ERA the seven times he’s started on the road. For the Rockies, Peter Lambert has started just once this year and he gave up two homers in 3.6 innings. Espino has never started in this park before. Going into yesterday, the Rockies were giving up an average of 6.0 runs/game over the last week. In the final game of the year at Coors, why wouldn’t you expect some fireworks? Washington is 13-2-1 Over L16 during Game 3 of a series. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on the OVER

Both the Eagles and Cowboys are 1-1. Philadelphia won its first game but lost the second. It’s been just the opposite for Dallas. An Eagles defense that has yet to force a turnover will struggle to stop a high-powered Cowboys offense Monday night. Dallas averaged 6.4 yards per rush and 8.8 yards per pass against the Chargers last week. It was a little stunning that they only had 20 points and needed a 56-yard field goal on the final play to win. Through the first two weeks, the Cowboys are averaging 435 yards/game and converting over 55 percent of their third down opportunities. They have 35 plays of 10 or more yards. It was already going to be a tough task for Philly to slow down their opponents in this game. With DE Brandon Graham suffering a season-ending ACL injury last week, the task is now that much harder. So that’s one half of this equation. After scoring 32 in the season opener, the Eagles were held to 11 last week by the 49ers. But they had a blocked field goal and a 94-yard drive ended with no points. Dallas doesn’t have a good defense. They’ve allowed over 400 yards to both of their 2021 opponents. The Over is 8-2 in the Cowboys' last 10 home games. The Eagles are on a 15-6 run to the Over after a game where they were held under 15 points. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 8* on OVER

Arizona is humming so far at 2-0. The offense has scored 72 points in two games. We had them in Week 1 when they went to Tennessee and whipped the Titans 38-13 as a 2.5 point underdog. Last week saw the Cardinals survive a missed Vikings FG attempt on the final play to win 34-33. They’ve scored a lot of points so far, but Arizona is still the only team in the league that hasn’t gone Over the total in a single road game the last two seasons. The Under is 8-0-1 in their last nine road games. But considering the state of the offense, we think we can count on them to put lots of points on the scoreboard this Sunday. Kyler Murray threw for over 400 yards against the Vikings. Jacksonville is not humming along right now as it’s an 0-2 start under Urban Meyer. The only thing the Jaguars are leading the league in right now is turnovers with five. They were beaten at home by Houston in Week 1, 37-21, which was a total embarrassment. The offense couldn’t do much (less than 200 yards) in last week’s 23-13 loss to Denver. Meyer and Trevor Lawrence desperately need a good performance in their second home game. The franchise’s losing streak is now at 17 straight. Arizona’s defense isn’t good so the Jags probably will score a season-high in points Sunday. But the problem is the Cardinals will score a lot too. Murray is going to be facing a banged up secondary. That Under streak on the road ends this week. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on the UNDER

Not expecting a lot of points from this AFC North matchup. Bengals’ games have averaged 44 points so far. That’s how many points they’ve scored and allowed in two weeks. The Steelers have scored 40 and given up 42 for an average of 41 points/game. Ben Roethlisberger, whose best days are behind him, enters Week 3 banged up. The Steelers’ offensive line has played poorly thus far and will be challenged against this Cincinnati pass rush led by Trey Hendrickson. The poor offensive line play has also resulted in Pittsburgh averaging only 3.2 yards per carry in the run game. The good news for Pittsburgh is that the Bengals also have a poor offensive line. Joe Burrow has already been sacked nine times. We saw what the Steelers pass rush did to Josh Allen in Week 1. Now they weren’t as effective in a 26-17 loss to Las Vegas last week. TJ Watt got hurt and is questionable for this week. A couple other defensive players have already been ruled out. Despite those absences, Pittsburgh’s defense will still be fine. We can't see the Bengals putting up a ton of points in this game. In a 20-17 loss to Chicago last week, they only gained 248 yards. But the defense only allowed 208. Taking the Under is an easy call here.

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

This is a game where the points are tempting. Before losing 38-21 to Liberty last year, Syracuse had won and covered five straight times vs. Group of 5 foes at the Carrier Dome. This season began with a 29-9 home win over Ohio. Dino Babers has not had much success here, going just 26-37 in six-plus seasons and 10 of those wins were in 2018. The Orange dropped to 1-10 in 2020 but have already surpassed last year’s win total with victories over Ohio and Albany. The improvement has mostly come from the defensive side of the ball, which is allowing averages of just 16.7 points and 225.3 yards/game while ranking 24th in EPA. But you can’t look past them only scoring 7 points in the loss to Rutgers. Liberty is a good team and has a good defense as well. The Flames have held each of their first three opponents to 17 points or less. But in their only road game, the offense scored only 21 against Troy. Liberty probably escapes with a win, but it’s going to be a low-scoring affair. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

These two last place teams are just looking forward to the end of the season. Baltimore is tied with Arizona for the worst record in the majors at 49-104. Texas isn’t too far ahead at 55-98. It was the Orioles striking first in the series with a 3-0 win Thursday. They and the Rangers have matching 74-72-7 O/U records on the year. This game we think will be a more high-scoring affair. It’s hard to trust either Spencer Howard (Texas) or Alexander Wells (Baltimore). The two starters are a combined 0-7 in 19 starts this year and the individual numbers are pretty ugly for both. Howard’s numbers include a 6.50 ERA and 1.47 WHIP having also spent time with the Phillies. Wells is even worse with a 8.65 ERA and 1.77 WHIP. Both guys have ERAs over 8.00 in their last three starts. None of Howard’s previous five starts have lasted longer than five innings, Wells has allowed five runs each of his previous two starts. The Rangers give up an average of 5.4 runs/game on the road. Baltimore allows 6.5 at home! Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

Like you probably expected, the Astros have won the first three games of the series. They scored 10 runs in each of the first two games. They scored 9 yesterday, but this time it took them 12 innings to do so. They scored four in the top of the 12th to get the win and will now go for the sweep. We expect this one to be a lot lower scoring than the first three games. That’s mainly because of the two starting pitchers. Houston’s Lance McCullers is 4th in the AL in wins and 10th in strikeouts. The last four starts from McCullers have seen him never give up more than two runs. He has a 2.50 ERA this month. The Angels’ Alex Cobb is also having a good year. He’s allowed a total of just three earned runs his last five starts. He threw five shutout innings in Chicago last week, his first start back after a long injury absence. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on the UNDER

We’ve got a backup QB starting for Houston and he’s a rookie no less. If that’s not bad enough, the rookie in question (Davis Mills) will be facing the defense that has given up the fewest yards in the league through two weeks. And it’s a short week for Mills. So you can pretty much write off the notion of the Texans scoring many points on Thursday Night Football. After Mills replaced injured starter Tyrod Taylor last week, the offense managed just one touchdown against what is a pretty porous Cleveland defense. The Panthers are only putting up 22.5 points/game and enter this one knowing it won’t take much scoring to get to 3-0 on the season. Look for them to play it pretty conservative on offense as Sam Darnold still can’t be trusted to air it out. They will instead look to run a lot with Christian McCaffery. He’s had 59 touches in two games. Back to the defense, Carolina has yet to give up any points in the first half. The Under is 5-0 in their last five regular season games. Tonight has all the makings of a low-scoring affair. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

Marshall and Appalachian State played each other last season. Marshall pulled the outright upset on their way to a 7-0 start. It was a very low-scoring game, 17-7, as most Thundering Herd games were in 2020. It was a team with one of the best defenses in the country but a fairly inept offense. The inept offense ended up getting Doc Holliday fired when the Herd lost their last three games while averaging 7.7 points. Under Charles Huff, the offense has been reborn this year as it is averaging 43.7 points and 603 yards per game. The defense just gave up 42 though in a loss to East Carolina last week. Appalachian State can also score as they are putting up 33.3 points/game through three weeks. So this has all the makings of a high-scoring affair. The O/U line for last year’s game was pretty comparable to what we’ve got here. Obviously, the teams couldn’t come close to the number last year. But this year Marshall’s offense is much better and the defense isn’t as good. Appalachian State has welcomed its best receiver (Chase Sutton) back after he sat out the 2020 season. So their offense is better this year as well. We should also bring up how Marshall’s QB Grant Wells is coming off the two best passing days of his career. Both defenses ranked in the Top 15 last year in yards/play allowed. Now they are both outside the Top 40. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

Two ballclubs in vastly different positions start an Interleague series on Monday. The Orioles (47-102) have the worst record in the majors and are simply waiting for the season to end. The Phillies (76-73) are trying to track down a playoff spot, whether it be the Wild Card or winning the NL East. As easy a matchup as it looks to be on paper for the home team, this could be a little tricky for Philadelphia. They lost by one to the Mets Sunday night as they could only put up two runs. John Means is Baltimore’s only good starter and he will be on the mound Monday. Means has seen all of his last five starts go Under the total. The most runs allowed by the left-hander in any of the five starts was three. But the Orioles are also 0-8 in Means’ last eight starts for a reason - they can’t score. In Means’ last six starts, they scored just 10 runs and were shut out on two different occasions. A team that scores only 3.7 runs/game now loses the designated hitter from the lineup. So the Phillies aren’t going to give up many runs with Ranger Suarez set to start this game. Suarez has a 1.85 ERA in his previous nine starts. That’s very good. The Orioles have won just one of their last nine games and it was a 3-2 win against the Yankees. The Phillies likely take this one, but the best bet is to take the Under, which has hit six of the last eight times they’ve been off a loss. Play on UNDER 

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This is a 10* on UNDER

It’s East meets West in this battle of division leaders. The Giants (97-52) have taken the first two games from the Braves (76-70) by scores of 6-5 and 2-0. The first game, which went to extra innings, saw us cash in on the home team. We noted that San Francisco has been far more consistent (they have the best record in all of baseball!) and far more profitable (now +40.0 units). As they go for the sweep Sunday, we’re going to play the Under this time. As already noted, Atlanta failed to score last night. That’s not uncharacteristic for Giants’ opponents. The SF pitching staff has allowed the third fewest number of runs in the majors. Anthony DeSclafani will start on Sunday. The Under is 3-0 in his previous three starts and his ERA is 2.12 in that time (his WHIP is 1.00). The Under is also 17-7 the last 24 times the Giants have been off a game where they were held to two runs or less. Atlanta only gives up 3.9 runs/game when on the road. They held the Giants to five hits Saturday. Max Fried has been on fire in the second half as he’s had a quality start in eight of his last nine appearances, including one complete game. They are 10-2 L12 road games. All signs point to this being a low-scoring affair. Play on UNDER

This is an 8* on OVER

We’ve got a recipe for a shootout on Sunday when the Texans and Browns meet in First Energy Stadium. Houston is expected to be one of the worst teams in the league this year but that did not stop them from putting up 37 points in an upset win over Jacksonville in Week 1. The offense averaged 6.0 yards per play with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Cleveland is expected to be one the better AFC teams but they lost 29-27 to Kansas City last Sunday, blowing a 22-10 halftime lead. Baker Mayfield and the offense were red hot in the first half, averaging more than nine yards per play. They finished with 8.2 yards per play, 457 total yards and really should have won that game. No interest in laying the double digit spread with the Browns here, however we are confident that they will put up a lot of points. So too will the Texans as the Browns defense couldn’t get off the field in the second half last week. Taylor isn’t Patrick Mahomes but he did throw for almost 300 yards last week. These teams’ Week 1 games averaged 60 points and we don’t need to get nearly that high to send this one Over. The Browns are 6-1 Over their last seven games on grass. Play OVER

This is an 8* on UNDER

It’s been a very disappointing start for Iowa State, who opened the year ranked in the top ten. First they could barely get by Northern Iowa, a FCS school. But that 16-10 WIN pales in comparison to the embarrassment suffered last weekend when they lost against Iowa, 27-17, this time in front of ESPN’s College Gameday. The offense failing to top 17 points in either game is a real concern in Ames. Now the Cyclones are still ranked 14th in the country and that’s a lot better than where the UNLV program is at right now. The Rebels have yet to win in eight tries during the Marcus Arroyo regime and this season got off to a bad start with a 35-33 loss to Eastern Washington. Losing to a FCS school was probably even more embarrassing than what happened last week as the Rebels could only muster 10 points and 155 yards against Arizona State. This has all the makings of a low scoring affair Saturday night. Depending on the upper body injury to Doug Brumfield, whose status you should monitor, it could be Tate Martell making his first collegiate start for UNLV this week. Martell has already transferred out of Ohio State and Miami FL, so maybe it’s time to admit that the former HS Player of the Year simply isn’t that good? Whomever starts under center must face an ISU defense that has permitted an average of only 15.3 points and 288.1 yards the last seven games. Excluding non-offensive scores, the Cyclones have allowed just 22 second half points in those seven games. We don’t think their offense will score all that much here either. So the call is simple. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

This is not a great spot for the Louisville Cardinals. It is their third game in 12 days and they will be facing a UCF offense that is averaging 49.5 points and 622 yards per game. Both those numbers are second best in the country. Louisville has already allowed 43 points in a loss to Ole Miss this year. They only gave up three points last week, but that was against a FCS team, Eastern Kentucky. Given the schedule and the offense the Cardinals will face, they are very likely to give up a ton of points Friday night. Yes, UCF also played a FCS school last week. But they also put up almost 600 yards in the opener against Boise State. They put up 671 against Bethune-Cookman last week. This is a program that’s impressed us for years. They also apparently impressed the Big 12 Conference because that’s where the Golden Knights are headed, perhaps as early as 2023. QB Dillon Gabriel is 11th in the country in passing yards. Coach Gus Malzahn was a winner at Auburn and should get off to a 3-0 start in his first season here. Louisville gave up 569 yards to an Ole Miss offense that is pretty similar to what UCF runs. Rather than lay the points on the road, we’re more confident in this game going Over.. The Knights are 7-0 Over their previous seven September games. Louisville is 6-0 Over after its last six straight up victories. The Cardinals are certainly capable of scoring 30 or more points this week. They’ve scored 56 in the last six quarters. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 10* on UNDER

You’ve got a Giants team that’s 13-3-1 to the Under since the start of the 2020 season. That’s the highest Under percentage in the league over that time. They COULD be without starting running back Saquon Barkley Thursday night as it's a short week and Barkley is still recovering from ACL surgery. No matter as the Giants only scored 13 points with him in the lineup last week against Denver. And that was at home. The Giants were 31st in league last year, ahead of only the Jets, averaging 17.5 points/game. The Under is 8-0 the last eight times New York has been an underdog and 7-0 the last seven years (for them) in Week 2. It’s also 20-8 the past 28 times they’ve taken on Washington. The Football Team is already on its backup quarterback with Taylor Heinicke replacing the injured Ryan Fitzpatrick. Heinicke did play a decent amount in last week’s 20-16 loss to the Chargers. So Washington also failed to score 20 points in Week 1. That shouldn’t be surprising. Last season’s average total number of points scored in Washington games was 42.3. The only team whose games averaged fewer points was (you guessed it) the Giants at 39.8. So this total is not too low. The Under is 10-1 in Washington’s last 11 games on grass. They have a good defense. One more trend to close - the Giants are 6-0 Under coming off a double digit loss at home. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on OVER

By far, the most surprising result in Major League Baseball Tuesday night took place here in Arlington where the last place Rangers (54-90) defeated the first place Astros (84-60). It was only the fifth time in 17 tries that Texas was able to get a win in the season series. Keep in mind that Monday’s game ended up 15-1 in favor of Houston. We expect the road team to get things going at the plate again tonight as they face struggling Kohei Arihara. Arihara has made two starts since returning from the 60-day injured list. Both have gone Over. An issue with him going back to the start of the season is that Arihara almost never makes it through the fifth inning. Five of his last six starts have gone Over and he’s winless at home with a 9.22 ERA here. That’s not good. Especially since he’ll be facing an Astros team that puts up the second most runs per game in the majors (5.3 per game). So the road team will definitely score in this one. How about the home team? Well, Houston’s rotation has been besieged by injuries of late and today’s starter, Jose Urquidy, has not been immune. Like Arihara, Urquidy spent two months on the injured list. He hasn’t looked the same since, only lasting a total of 7.3 innings in two starts. The Over is 4-0-1 in Urquidy’s past five outings. Unlike most of the recent matchups that have been one-sided, we think this Astros-Rangers game will feature plenty of runs from both sides. Play on OVER

AAA

This is an 8* on UNDER

The Brewers (89-56) and the Tigers (69-76) combined to score a total of one run in 11 innings Tuesday. That was a misfire by us as we laid the -1.5 on the run line with the favorite. Now certainly we didn’t expect Milwaukee to give up many runs. They came into last night riding a five-game win streak where they’d allowed a total of just seven runs. Three of their previous seven wins have been shutouts. Sure enough, they held the Tigers to three hits including the game-winning double in the 11th. We can’t envision a scenario where the home team does much at the plate this afternoon. Detroit will be facing Brandon Woodruff, who is among the league leaders in both ERA (2.48) and WHIP (0.97). Woodruff was roughed up a bit on Labor Day and then given the weekend off due to illness. We expect him to pitch well this afternoon on extended rest. In four of his five August starts, Woodruff allowed either one or zero runs. He has 24 strikeouts against only four walks his last three starts overall. The Tigers struck out 18 times last night! The Brewers had their fair share of chances at the plate, but they went only 1 for 10 when they had runners in scoring position. They should have won the game despite managing just four hits - all singles. We don’t think they’re going to score a ton today. Yesterday marked the second time in seven games they were shutout. Detroit is going with Matt Manning, who has allowed three runs or less in four of his last five starts. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is a 10* on the OVER

Baltimore has a habit of getting the season off to a great start as they’ve covered five straight Week 1 games. They’ve scored 38 or more points each of the last three openers. Lamar Jackson has accounted for eight touchdowns the last two years in Week 1, the most by any player in the league. The Las Vegas defense really struggled in ‘20 giving up the second most touchdowns in the NFL. It worked out to 30.8 points/game allowed. The absolutely terrible injury bug that has bitten Baltimore’s running backs would be a bigger deal if they didn’t have Jackson. But they do. Look for Jackson to hook up with TE Mark Andrews, who had seven touchdowns over the final seven regular season games of last year. One injury on the defensive side of the ball, to CB Peters, may be a bigger deal here for Baltimore. That’s because the Raiders averaged 27.1 points/game themselves last year. That’s an almost identical number to what the Ravens averaged offensively. So it’s no surprise the Over was 13-3 in all Las Vegas games in the 2020 season. Seven of the eight home games went Over including all six where they were an underdog. They ended 2020 on a 5-0 Over run. The last five times they’ve played Baltimore, the game has gone Over. Play on OVER

AAA

This is a 9* on UNDER

For the fourth straight year, Chicago and Los Angeles will be facing off in primetime. The previous three installments have all been low-scoring games (Under 3-0) and seen an average of just 26.3 points/game scored. The quarterbacks will be different this time around, but we think the end result (a low-scoring game) will remain the same. Andy Dalton starting for the Bears is a mistake and we don’t fear him at all going against what was the league’s #1 ranked scoring defense last year. Not only did the Rams allow the fewest points/game (18.5), they also allowed the fewest number of yards. In the last three meetings vs. the Rams, Matt Nagy’s offense has scored just 32 points and never topped 15. Jared Goff is the new starter in LA and while he’s going to be better than Jared Goff was, the loss of RB Cam Akers to a season-ending injury does loom large. The Under was 8-0 in Rams’ home games during the 2020 season as there was an average of only 34.3 total points/game scored. This total looks way too high for the first week of the regular season considering the head to head history and Dalton facing what was the top-ranked defense in the league last year. It wasn’t just last year; the Under is 14-3 in the Rams’ last 17 home games. Chicago is 13-5 Under its last 18 games as a road underdog. Play on UNDER

AAA

This is an 8* on OVER

We like the Over in 49ers-Lions game as well. We already went through how easily the Niners should be able to move the ball in this one. Well, let’s now throw in the fact that the last 10 Lions season openers have all gone Over the total. Their offense should score enough to make it 11 in a row. Play on OVER

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