Scott Rickenbach – Sports Handicapper

Total Annihilation - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #27 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Colorado Avalanche vs New Jersey Devils @ 9:05 ET - The Avalanche are one of the highest scoring teams in the league and the Devils are one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to preventing goals. Couple that with the fact that each team is coming off a game that stayed well under the total and you have great value with Friday's total now available as low as a 6 in some spots. The Avalanche have averaged 4.1 goals per game in their last 8 games. The Devils, though struggling, have shown some spark here and there since the coaching change. Also, New Jersey is getting back 3rd leading scorer Nico Hischier for this game after he missed some contests with an illness. Prior to their 2-0 loss at Dallas, the Devils 5 previous road games had averaged a total of 8 goals per game. Look for that type of high-scoring action to resume here in this non-conference match-up and with New Jersey off a shutout loss. The Avalanche are healthier than they have been a long time and they have so much firepower with their top-six especially after they shuffled the lines a bit in their win over the Flyers Wednesday. The over is 6-2-1 this season when New Jersey is off a game in which they were held to one goal or less. Colorado's Friday night games are on a 19-10-1 run to the over. Also, in Avalanche home games with a posted total of 6 or more goals this season, they have had 11 of them and only 3 resulted in an under. Look for the high-scoring trend to resume here. 10* OVER the total in Colorado

Total of the Week - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #676 Friday 10* Top Play UNDER the total in Colorado State Rams vs Colorado Buffaloes @ 8 ET - Look for better defense in this one than many are expecting. This is a rivalry match-up. The Rams are a home dog. Don't look for a lot of easy buckets here as Colorado State will have to try to scratch and claw their way to a home win over the superior Buffaloes here. Colorado enters this game off back to back losses but they faced a couple of tough match-ups. Keep in mind, the Buffaloes had started the season a perfect 7-0 and had allowed just 53.8 points per game in the final 6 games of that win streak. Hungry for a win here against their in-state rivals, and coming off back to back losses, look for Colorado to turn up the heat on the defensive end. Colorado State does have a tendency to get involved in higher scoring games but I feel the Buffaloes are not going to allow that to happen. Colorado will be buckling down on defense and note that the Rams, prior to a win in their most recent game, had been held to an average of 60.5 points per game in the back to back games (both losses) that preceded the win at South Dakota State. Also, in 5 of their first 7 home games this season, Colorado State had allowed 65 points or less in regulation time of those games. In fact an OT loss in which New Mexico State scored 18 points in OT certainly skewed their numbers a bit. 11 of Colorado's last 16 games have resulted in an under. In the month of December, Buffaloes games have stayed under in 7 of their last 9. When these two rivals square off, 5 of the last 7 meetings have resulted in an under. Considering all of the above as well as the total having been driven up from the mid-130s to now being in the 140 range, I love the value here with going against the line move on this one. 10* UNDER the total in Colorado State

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #535 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers @ 7:35 ET - The Hawks have been an over machine. The over is 15-3 in their past 18 games. The Pacers are off a high-scoring win versus Boston. Off a big win against a strong team, this is the type of letdown game where you're likely to see Indiana lacking a bit in defensive intensity. The Pacers have allowed 108 points per game their last 11 games. You can see why, especially given the situation, I would not be surprised to see the Hawks put up 110 points here. Keep in mind, Atlanta is particularly hungry because they are playing at home for just the 3rd time in about a 3-week span. The issue for the Hawks, again, will be their defense, so the Pacers getting into the 120 range here certainly would not be a surprise in the least. That puts this one into the 230 range and I like the value here with this total in the low 220s. The over is 6-3 this season when the Pacers are off a home win and, again, that was a very satisfying one for Indiana. The over is perfect 13-0 this season when the Hawks enter a game after losing 5 or 6 of their past 7 games. Look for that trend to remain perfect here as plenty of points expected in this one. 10* OVER the total in Atlanta