Sportswagers
Detroit @ PITTSBURGH
Detroit +120 over PITTSBURGH
OT included. Anyone looking to wager on this game will take a look at Pittsburgh’s past performance and see they have won three of five and allowed just one goal in those three wins. They’ll also see that all those victories were on the road. On paper, it looks pretty but a closer looks reveals a Penguins team in serious trouble. Those three wins occurred against New Jersey, Edmonton and Calgary. The win over Calgary is notable but that was Calgary’s most lethargic performance of the year. For whatever reason, the Flames were flat as hell when they faced Pittsburgh. The Pens last three losses since the All-Star break came against Vancouver, Nashville and Washington. That trio outscored the Pens by an eye-opening mark of 13-0. Prior to the break, Pittsburgh had dropped five of six, including a pair to the Rangers and Islanders in which they were outscored 11-5. It gets worse over a larger sample too. The Metropolitan Division is not considered a strong one, yet the Pens are just 7-13 within it. Against the Metro’s playoff bound teams (Washington, N.Y. Rangers, N.Y. Islanders), the Penguins are 2-8 while being outscored 39-19. Pittsburgh’s pedigree, popularity and misleading record in which they’ve beaten up on cupcakes all year while getting slaughtered by playoff bound teams has them so overvalued that we must try to take advantage. Pittsburgh has played five of its last six on the road. They return to the Igloo here after the dreaded three-game trip to the Canadian West Coast. The Pens are ill-prepped to deal with a team like Detroit.
Detroit is not only a serious threat to represent the East in the Cup, they’re a threat to win it. The Red Wings are only getting better with each passing week. They have won three in a row and nine of 10. Over its three game winning streak, Detroit has outscored the opposition 10-2. Just prior to the break, Detroit scored five goals or more in four straight victories. Detroit’s offense is red-hot and it’s not likely to cool off because it’s not just one line that the opposition must contain. For this offense to cool off, 10 guys have to get cold at the same time. The Red Wings defense, and we’ve been saying so since the first game of the year, is as solid as any. Of course this is one game in which anything can happen but put the Penguins are high on our fade radar because they are the NHL’s most overvalued team and it’s not close. This is TRUE Value at its absolute best.
Our Pick
Detroit +120 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.40)
Detroit @ PITTSBURGH
Detroit +120 over PITTSBURGH
OT included. Anyone looking to wager on this game will take a look at Pittsburgh’s past performance and see they have won three of five and allowed just one goal in those three wins. They’ll also see that all those victories were on the road. On paper, it looks pretty but a closer looks reveals a Penguins team in serious trouble. Those three wins occurred against New Jersey, Edmonton and Calgary. The win over Calgary is notable but that was Calgary’s most lethargic performance of the year. For whatever reason, the Flames were flat as hell when they faced Pittsburgh. The Pens last three losses since the All-Star break came against Vancouver, Nashville and Washington. That trio outscored the Pens by an eye-opening mark of 13-0. Prior to the break, Pittsburgh had dropped five of six, including a pair to the Rangers and Islanders in which they were outscored 11-5. It gets worse over a larger sample too. The Metropolitan Division is not considered a strong one, yet the Pens are just 7-13 within it. Against the Metro’s playoff bound teams (Washington, N.Y. Rangers, N.Y. Islanders), the Penguins are 2-8 while being outscored 39-19. Pittsburgh’s pedigree, popularity and misleading record in which they’ve beaten up on cupcakes all year while getting slaughtered by playoff bound teams has them so overvalued that we must try to take advantage. Pittsburgh has played five of its last six on the road. They return to the Igloo here after the dreaded three-game trip to the Canadian West Coast. The Pens are ill-prepped to deal with a team like Detroit.
Detroit is not only a serious threat to represent the East in the Cup, they’re a threat to win it. The Red Wings are only getting better with each passing week. They have won three in a row and nine of 10. Over its three game winning streak, Detroit has outscored the opposition 10-2. Just prior to the break, Detroit scored five goals or more in four straight victories. Detroit’s offense is red-hot and it’s not likely to cool off because it’s not just one line that the opposition must contain. For this offense to cool off, 10 guys have to get cold at the same time. The Red Wings defense, and we’ve been saying so since the first game of the year, is as solid as any. Of course this is one game in which anything can happen but put the Penguins are high on our fade radar because they are the NHL’s most overvalued team and it’s not close. This is TRUE Value at its absolute best.
Our Pick
Detroit +120 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.40)
Sportswagers
Illinois St +7 @ NORTHERN IOWA
#767 Illinois St +7 -110 over NORTHERN IOWA
8:00 PM EST. We’re in the stretch drive of the season with just six or seven games remaining for most teams and the Northern Iowa Panthers have been on cruise control all year. The Panthers are 11-1 in both their conference and non-conference schedule for an overall record of 22-2. They have reeled off 11 wins in a row and have not lost since New Year’s Day. The Panthers have also won their last three games all by double digits and that includes a 16-point victory over #12 Wichita State. NIU is also ranked #13 in the country and have shot up the rankings in the past couple of weeks after sitting around #23 the past 10 weeks prior. A team going this good and moving rapidly up the rankings attracts attention and now this team is no longer under the radar. That’s when we step in and take advantage of an inflated number due to all that recent attention. Northern Iowa is in no way the 13th best team in the land. They may not even be a top 50 team. What the Panthers do at a high level is hit a high percentage of their shots. Other than that, they are weak on the boards and they rank 249th in assists per game. NIU’s next five games, including this one do not appear too difficult and really don’t have a lot of significance either. This team is going to the dance unless they crash completely but the focus going forward is to beat Wichita State again in the final regular season game to lock up the conference and then have a good showing in the Missouri Valley tournament. The time to fade this team is now and over its next few games because an upset is very likely in the makings. This could be that upset.
The Redbirds of Illinois State are a tough out and they’re getting tougher. Of all the teams in the MVC, Illinois State may just be the dark horse to pull off an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. The Redbirds have won eight of their last 10 conference games with both losses being by one point. One of those was against these Panthers, 54-53. The other loss was in OT on the road at Indiana State. The Redbirds also defeated Seton Hall in their non-conference schedule and lost by just four points to VCU. ISU figures to dominate the boards here, as they rank 175 positions higher than NIU in rebounding and have also played a tougher schedule than the Panthers, ranking 98th in the country to NIU’s 123rd strength of schedule rank.The Redbirds may not have the superior inside-outside balance here but their four-guard lineup gives them a damn good fighting chance of an upset or to at least stick around from a point spread perspective.
Our Pick
#767 Illinois St +7 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
Illinois St +7 @ NORTHERN IOWA
#767 Illinois St +7 -110 over NORTHERN IOWA
8:00 PM EST. We’re in the stretch drive of the season with just six or seven games remaining for most teams and the Northern Iowa Panthers have been on cruise control all year. The Panthers are 11-1 in both their conference and non-conference schedule for an overall record of 22-2. They have reeled off 11 wins in a row and have not lost since New Year’s Day. The Panthers have also won their last three games all by double digits and that includes a 16-point victory over #12 Wichita State. NIU is also ranked #13 in the country and have shot up the rankings in the past couple of weeks after sitting around #23 the past 10 weeks prior. A team going this good and moving rapidly up the rankings attracts attention and now this team is no longer under the radar. That’s when we step in and take advantage of an inflated number due to all that recent attention. Northern Iowa is in no way the 13th best team in the land. They may not even be a top 50 team. What the Panthers do at a high level is hit a high percentage of their shots. Other than that, they are weak on the boards and they rank 249th in assists per game. NIU’s next five games, including this one do not appear too difficult and really don’t have a lot of significance either. This team is going to the dance unless they crash completely but the focus going forward is to beat Wichita State again in the final regular season game to lock up the conference and then have a good showing in the Missouri Valley tournament. The time to fade this team is now and over its next few games because an upset is very likely in the makings. This could be that upset.
The Redbirds of Illinois State are a tough out and they’re getting tougher. Of all the teams in the MVC, Illinois State may just be the dark horse to pull off an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. The Redbirds have won eight of their last 10 conference games with both losses being by one point. One of those was against these Panthers, 54-53. The other loss was in OT on the road at Indiana State. The Redbirds also defeated Seton Hall in their non-conference schedule and lost by just four points to VCU. ISU figures to dominate the boards here, as they rank 175 positions higher than NIU in rebounding and have also played a tougher schedule than the Panthers, ranking 98th in the country to NIU’s 123rd strength of schedule rank.The Redbirds may not have the superior inside-outside balance here but their four-guard lineup gives them a damn good fighting chance of an upset or to at least stick around from a point spread perspective.
Our Pick
#767 Illinois St +7 -110 (Risking 2.2 units - To Win: 2.00)
