Scott Rickenbach – Sports Handicapper

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Game #65 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Philadelphia Flyers vs Detroit Red Wings @ 7:05 ET - The big news for the Flyers is the firing (finally!) of coach Dave Hakstol. Philly has been cleaning house as it has only been a couple weeks since general manager Ron Hextall was relieved of his duties as well. Philadelphia now has a new GM and a new coach (interim) Scott Gordon whom was with the Flyers AHL affiliate. While I do expect a valiant effort from the Flyers Tuesday as a result of the coaching change, it doesn't change the fact that they've got major issues in goal. Finally they've called up goalie Carter Hart but this would be a tough spot for a 20-year old netminder to make his NHL debut! Note too that Hart struggled badly to begin this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The Flyers other option in the crease tonight is Michal Neuvirth but he is just coming back from paternity leave and he has a 3.15 GAA against the Red Wings in his career. As for Detroit netminder Jimmy Howard, he has a 3.59 GAA versus Philly in his career. The Red Wings other option, Jonathan Bernier, has a 4.23 GAA versus the Flyers in his career. As you can see, there is likely to be some "shaky" goal-tending on display from both hockey clubs tonight. Also, the over is 11-5-1 in the last 17 meetings between these teams in Philly. The Flyers are 9-5 to the over this season when off a non-conference game and Detroit is 12-5-1 to the over in road games with a posted total of 6 or more goals. Also, the Red Wings are 5-1 to the over this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. 10* OVER the total in Philadelphia

Game of the Month Total - Rickenbach CBB Game #613 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Georgia Bulldogs vs Oakland (Mich) Golden Grizzlies @ 7 ET - The Golden Grizzlies upset the Bulldogs in 2016 by a count of 86-79. Another high-scoring shootout is likely in the rematch. Oakland (Michigan) continues to be an offensive juggernaut that also pays little attention to defense! The Grizzlies are allowing 49.2% from the field including 37.3% from three point land this season. The strength for Oakland, as per usual, is their shooting abilities. The Grizzlies have shot 48.3% from the field this season including 42.7% from beyond the arc and they've been particularly hot in recent games. They catch the Bulldogs in a "sandwich game" between Arizona State and Georgia Tech. In other words, Georgia may not be totally focused on defensive intensity here. As a result, look for a "run and gun" type game here and the Bulldogs should have no trouble putting up a ton of points as they're shooting 48% from the field this season including 35% from three point land! Georgia is averaging 87 points per game in home games this season. Oakland has averaged 84 points per game in their last 3 games and all those games were on the road too. The over is 6-1 when the Golden Grizzlies are a road dog of 9.5 to 12 points. The over is 6-0 when Oakland is off a game in which they scored 80 or more points this season. The Bulldogs are 8-3 to the over in games with a posted total in a range of 150 to 159.5 points. More of the same expected here! 10* OVER the total in Georgia

Game of the Week Total - Rickenbach NBA Game #547 Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:35 ET - For the 4th time in their last 6 road games, the Lakers allowed at least 48.5% shooting from the field as they gave up 128 points in a loss at Washington on Sunday. Los Angeles, of course, will be looking to bounce back off that loss and I expect their going to have a huge scoring night Tuesday at Brooklyn but I also expect them, per the above, to struggle to stop the Nets. Brooklyn has actually been very hot with their shooting. Part of the reason the Nets are on a 6-0 ATS run and 5-0 SU run is because they have shot 52.1% from the field in their last 4 games! Brooklyn, however, has also allowed 52.9% shooting in their last 3 games! As you would expect with those types of numbers, the O/U is 3-0 in the Nets last 3 games. LA is also 3-0 to the over in their last 3 games. Additionally, the Lakers O/U is a perfect 4-0 in their last 4 road games with a posted total of 220 or more. The Nets O/U is 5-1 when they are off a game in which they scored 130 points or more. Brooklyn is also 4-1 to the over when they are on a winning streak of 3 or more games. The Nets are 9-4 to the over in games against teams with a winning record. 10* OVER the total in Brooklyn

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach CFB Game #211 Tuesday 10* Top Play Northern Illinois Huskies (+) vs UAB Blazers in Boca Raton Bowl @ 7 ET - The location of this bowl game (Boca Raton, FL) certainly favors the Blazers. However, the Huskies have faced a much tougher schedule this season UAB has. This is leading to some significant line value here with Northern Illinois. Additionally, I like the way the Huskies rallied against a quality Buffalo team to win the MAC Championship Game on the final day of November. Of course UNI is known for their quality defense but to see them comeback like they did against the Bulls also says a little something about the offensive capability of this team. The Huskies average points per game their last 11 games has been held down by two poor performances (vs Mia-OH and @ BYU). In the other 9 games, Northern Illinois has averaged scoring 25.8 points per game. The Huskies have a strong ground game on offense but it was also impressive to see them throw for 300 yards in the MAC Championship win over Buffalo. UAB has the better record on the season but has faced the much softer schedule and I look for the Blazers to be exposed in this game! Also, UAB is 0-3 (SU and ATS) in games played on grass and 0-2 (SU and ATS) in games against MAC opponents. UNI is a long-term 25-13 ATS in games with a line between +3 and -3. Also, the Huskies are 4-2 ATS (and 5-1 SU!) this season in games against teams with a winning record. 10* NORTHERN ILLINOIS