Scott Rickenbach – Sports Handicapper

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach CBB Game #637 Tuesday Free Pick UNLV Rebels (-) @ Wyoming Cowboys @ 10 ET - The Rebels have a poor recent history in road trips to Wyoming but that is merely serving to give us excellent line value here. That's because, this season, UNLV is so much better than the Cowboys there is no doubt that they should win this game by double digits. Keep in mind, Wyoming has 19 losses this season and 14 have come by a double digit margin. The Rebels last two wins have come by single digits but, prior to that, 9 of UNLV's first 12 victories this season came by a double digit margin. We only need the Rebels to win this game by a half-dozen points and we get the cash. UNLV enters this game on a 3-game ATS losing streak. Look for the Rebels to improve to 3-0 this season when they enter a road game on an ATS losing streak of 3 or more games. Wyoming is 2-6 ATS this season in games with a posted total in the 140s. Also, the Cowboys are 3-6 ATS when off a game in which they were held to 60 points or less. Wyoming has been held to 62 points or less in 10 of their last 12 games. At the other end of the spectrum, the Rebels have scored 70 points or more in 15 of their last 18 games. You can see why I am forecasting a win by at least 8 points in this one. Free Pick UNLV

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NHL Game #50 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line (+) vs Tampa Bay Lightning @ 7:05 ET - Of course it may seem "tough" to go against the best team in the NHL but, keep in mind, one of the few teams the Bolts have proven to be mere "mortals" in recent seasons is when they are playing the 2nd game of a back to back. The Lightning have won just 19 of 36 when playing the 2nd night of B2B games. A key to the value here is the Flyers are rested and on a home ice and have a big edge in goal. Not only is Philadelphia 12-1-1 their last 14 games, Carter Hart has won 10 of his last 11 starts and continues to play like one of the top goalies in the NHL despite his youth. As for Tampa Bay, they are expected to go with Louis Dominque here since this is a back to back spot. Keep in mind, the Lightning netminder has an unimpressive .896 save percentage on the road this season. The Flyers have allowed 2 or less goals in 6 of Hart's last 9 starts. While this game doesn't mean a whole lot to Tampa, it means everything to Philly. This is a chance for the Flyers, on home ice, to prove they can play with the league's best team. Philadelphia is only 6 points out of a wild card spot and continues to play their best hockey of the season. The Flyers, when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games, have won 22 of 33 including 5 of 7 this season. They are catching the Lightning at the right time and get the upset win tonight. 10* PHILADELPHIA

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Game #61 Tuesday Free Pick Anaheim Ducks Puck Line (+1.5 goals) @ Minnesota Wild @ 8:05 ET - Truly I was very tempted to take the Ducks as a nearly 2 to 1 underdog here on the money line in this one. However, my strong feeling is that the extra insurance of having the +1.5 goals could prove big in this one as there is a chance it could end up tied late and be decided in overtime or the shootout. That said, the fact the price range is as low as -135 on the Anaheim puck line is a great value that makes the Ducks Puck Line well worth a look here. Keep in mind, the Ducks have more wins (2) in their past 3 games than the Wild have in the past 26 days! Minnesota has lost 8 of its 9 games since winning on January 23rd. The Wild are starting to squeeze the sticks too tight as the pressure is getting to them. Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau fanned the flames of the fire burning pressure recently when he essentially guaranteed to the media that the Wild would make the playoffs. Keep in mind the Ducks have allowed just 5 goals in their 3 games since firing their head coach and they now only trail the Wild by 5 points for the final wild card spot in the west and there is still a lot of hockey left this season. In other words, Anaheim is highly motivated here and keep in mind Boudreau was the coach of the Ducks up until a few seasons ago. Anaheim wants this game badly and has taken 3 of the last 4 meetings. Two teams currently going opposite directions and the Wild, unlike the Ducks, have been giving up a ton of goals. Minnesota has allowed 4 or more goals in 6 of its last 8 games. Free Pick ANAHEIM Puck Line +1.5 goals

Big Ten Annihilation - Rickenbach CBB Game #625 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Iowa Hawkeyes vs Maryland Terrapins @ 8 ET - The earliest total that first popped up on this game was a 151.5 and now, as of early game day morning, the total has dropped to as low as a 147 in some books. I am happy to grab the extra value here. The over is 2-1 in the last 3 meetings between these teams and the lone under did total 150 points. In other words, at the current number posted on this game, the over would be a perfect 3-0 in the last 3 meetings. Look for the over to improve to 7-4 the last 11 times that Maryland has been on the road with a line ranging from a pick'em to a +3. The Terrapins have not had an over since mid-January - a stretch of NINE straight games. Their highest posted O/U in their last 5 games has been a 138. So the odds makers were fools to set this total at 151.5 as an opener, right? You guys know how I feel about this. When something looks "off" to the betting public it is usually for good reason! Keep in mind, Iowa is at home here and loaded with confidence as they continue to find ways to win games even when it takes late game "magic". That said, the Hawkeyes will continue to play at a fast pace here and will dictate the pace of this game with the Terps. Iowa's most recent game, at Rutgers, resulted in an under, but the over was 5-2 in the Hawkeyes 7 prior games. That's because Iowa averaged 81 points per game during that stretch and that is perfectly in line with their season average for points per game! The Hawkeyes are one of the highest-scoring teams in the Big Ten and are averaging 83.3 points per game at home this season. The over is 7-1 the last 8 times the Hawkeyes have been at home with their line ranging from a pick'em to a -3. Look for a shootout here. 10* OVER the total in Iowa

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #601 Tuesday 8* Dayton Flyers (+) @ Davidson Wildcats @ 6 ET - The Wildcats are 12-0 at home this season and opened up as low as a 2.5 point favorite in this one. The current line on Davidson, no surprise to me, is currently up to 3.5 early game day morning. I would not be surprised if it goes higher. As usual I am in the contrarian position here and simply reminding you that the odds makers are very sharp. They opened this one with a very low number on the Cats for the same reason I like the Flyers in this match-up. That is, Dayton has a great shot at the upset here. Note that it has been over a month since Davidson hosted an Atlantic Ten team as strong as this Flyers team. The Wildcats won their two toughest home games in conference action but both were in early January and both involved their opponents have uncharacteristically poor shooting nights from three point land. Davidson beat VCU and Duquesne but the Rams and Dukes combined to shoot about 20% from beyond the arc and the Wildcats won those two games by an average margin of just 5.5 points. The point is that now Davidson hosts a strong Dayton team that is really "feeling it" right now in terms of their shooting. The Flyers have shot "lights out", including from downtown, in each of their last two games. Also, Dayton has built up some road confidence thanks to going 3-1 in their last 4 road games and with the two most recent road wins coming by an average margin of 27 points per game! The Flyers are off a 1-point loss at VCU and that holds significance here as they are 4-0 (SU and ATS) the last 4 times they were off a SU loss. 8* DAYTON