Scott Rickenbach

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NHL Game #3 Sunday 10* Top Play Arizona Coyotes Money Line (+) @ New York Islanders @ 3:05 ET - The Coyotes and Islanders both play this game with plenty of playoff implications. However, I like the fact that Arizona lost in the shootout yesterday in another non-conference game while New York is off a win in a divisional game against the Flyers. In terms of the set-up here, it is a nice one in which to back the Coyotes off a tight loss and fade the Islanders off a key win. Note that the Islanders entered yesterday's game having scored an average of 1.4 goals per game their last 7 games. Also, yesterday's game against the Flyers was one of the most poorly officiated games of the season with all the call going the Islanders way. They won't have that same benefit today and the officiating certainly impacted the outcome yesterday. Arizona enters this game on a 4-game losing streak and they are 3-1 this season when they enter a match-up on a losing streak of 4 or more games. The Islanders had lost 9 of their last 16 games prior to yesterday's win over the Flyers. The Isles are on a putrid 1 for 36 run on the power play in their last 15 games! The Coyotes power play hasn't been great but at least it has been substantially better than that as Arizona has notched 3 power play goals in its last 5 games. Prior to this rare tough 4-games stretch, the Coyotes had won 13 of 17 games and this is great line value here on the sizable road dog. The Islanders have lost 27 of their last 43 games played in the month of March. 10* ARIZONA

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Game #1 Sunday 8* OVER the total in Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers @ 12:35 ET - The Flyers are off a poor performance against the Islanders yesterday and I expect them to respond against another division rival Sunday. However, though Philly will certainly score better today and give a better effort, they simply can not stop Washington. The Capitals have scored an average of 4.6 goals per game in their last 5 games against the Flyers and the Caps have reached the 5-goal mark in 4 of those 5 games. The over is a perfect 5-0 in those 5 most recent meetings. Also, prior to being held to 1 goal Friday by the Wild, the Capitals had scored an average of 4.1 goals per game in their dozen prior games and 4 of their 5 most recent games had gone over the total. The Flyers are a long-term 140-95 to the over when playing with home loss revenge. 8* OVER the total in Washington

Total of the Week - Rickenbach CBB Game #871 Sunday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Houston Cougars vs Ohio State Buckeyes @ 8:40 ET - The odds makers, fully unaware that the Cougars are a strong defensive team, put the first number on the total in this game at 134. Of course I am joking but I do think many will still feel this total is too high even though it has dropped to a 132 now. The fact is the odds makers are sharper than many people give them credit for. Of course Houston has a strong defense but Ohio State is use to a banging and bruising style in the Big Ten and the Cougars are too smart to let this game turn into a half-course snooze fest. Houston's best bet is to be quick and not allow the Buckeyes to get comfortable playing their typical style. That said, Ohio State is going to get their fair share of points here but they won't be able to stop Houston either. The Buckeyes had a poor shooting effort but snuck by Iowa State in the first round. Note that Ohio State had averaged scoring 72 points per game in their 3 games prior to facing the Cyclones and all 3 of those went over the total. The Cougars are on an under streak right now but they scored 84 points in their first round game and that means Houston has now scored 84 points or more in 6 of their last 10 games. The Cougars averaged 76 points per game this season. Many people talk about their defensive play but also fail to realize how efficient their offense is too. This one will see both teams get to 70 in my opinion. The over is a long-term 25-15 in Buckeyes NCAA Tourney games. The under in the 1st round was their first under in 4 neutral court games this season. The Cougars are 6-3 to the over in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 134.5 points. 10* OVER the total in Houston

2nd Round Game of the Year - Rickenbach CBB Game #869 Sunday 10* Top Play Buffalo Bulls (+) vs Texas Tech Red Raiders @ 6:10 ET - The Bulls are a #6 seed for a reason. Yes they come from the MAC but no one in the MAC was anywhere close to their level this season. They were the top team in the conference by a huge margin and that truly puts them at a level of being able to compete with any team in the nation in my opinion. Buffalo is deep and loaded with scoring depth and experience. That is the type of team that can challenge a solid defense like the Red Raiders have. That said, and with this line climbing from +3 to a +4, I am happy to grab the underdog value here with Buffalo. Note that the Bulls are 9-2 ATS in non-conference games this season. Long-term Buffalo also has some impressive technical support here as the Bulls are 10-1 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 145 to 149.5 points. The Red Raiders are 0-3 ATS (and SU!) in a neutral court game where the total is 145 to 149.5 points. Certainly I respect the Texas Tech defense but will they have enough offense to keep up with a Bulls team that has a very balanced attack on offense? I don't think so as I know that the Red Raiders have been scoring much better for an extended stretch now but they've also faced some match-ups that were very favorable for them and this one does not fall into that category in my opinion. I am expecting the upset here but will grab the points for added insurance should the Bulls fall just short. 10* BUFFALO

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #865 Sunday 8* Iowa Hawkeyes (+) vs Tennessee Volunteers @ 12:10 ET - As I mentioned in my write-up Friday when I had Iowa over Cincinnati, the Hawkeyes entered the Big Dance having lost 5 of their last 6 games SU and also on a 1-9 ATS run. However, the NCAA Tournament can be a "season" in and of its own and is like a fresh start. Certainly Iowa has a renewed feeling after upsetting the Bearcats in the first round and, keep in mind, they only recently got coach Fran McCaffery back after a couple of the late season losses in their slump had a little something to do with McCaffery's absence due to a suspension. The Hawkeyes shot lights out in the 2nd half of their Friday game and that was against a Cincinnati defense that is known for being tougher than this Volunteers defense. Certainly Tennessee is likely to score well in this game but I don't see them stopping Iowa. The Vols have been horrible at defending the arc particularly when away from home as they've allowed 39% three pointers on the season. In the last 5 games alone (including an unimpressive win over a Colgate team they should have dominated), the Volunteers have allowed 36% or better from three point land in all 5 games. Also, the Vols allowed an average of 78.4 points per game in those five games. This total is in the mid 150s and Tennessee has been giving up plenty of points and Iowa averages 78.3 points on the season. In other words a 78-77 type game decided on the final possession would truly not be much of a surprise. Even if the Vols manage to get a sizable lead in this game, the Hawkeyes potent scoring attack means the backdoor will be left wide open for a cover as the Vols continue to struggle rotating properly and getting off screens on outside shots. The Hawkeyes are 11-5 ATS in neutral court games including 5-1 ATS this season while the Volunteers are an unprofitable 10-9 SU and ATS last 19 games on a neutral court. 8* IOWA

Game of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Game #542 Sunday 10* Top Play Boston Celtics (-) vs San Antonio Spurs @ 7:35 ET - While it is true that this is a back to back spot for the Celtics, there are a number of reasons to like Boston plenty in this situation and laying a very short number. The line has dropped from a -3 to a -2 so we're getting some extra value here for sure. Keys to this play include the fact that the Celtics blew a huge late lead in their loss at Charlotte yesterday. As a result, Boston ended up with their 3rd straight SU loss. The Celtics are 9-2 SU and ATS the last 11 times they've entered a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. Boston also has no shortage of motivation here. That's because the Spurs have held the upper hand in recent meetings and that includes the first match-up this season at San Antonio. The Celtics led that game by 6 at the half but then got outscored by 15 points in the 2nd half. It is payback time here. The Spurs are off back to back losses and their recent winning streak that grabbed a lot of attention was filled with home games and a majority of soft opponents. In other words, look for San Antonio to lose their 3rd straight game here as not only are they not at home, they are also certainly not facing a soft opponent. The Spurs have lost 4 of their last 6 road games and the only two wins came at Atlanta and Dallas. Those teams are a combined 37 games under .500 on the season! The Celtics are 98-42 at home including 26-11 this season. With those types of numbers and considering the low spread on this game, I am happy to lay the short number here. 10* BOSTON

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Game #531 Sunday 8* OVER the total in New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 12:05 ET - The Knicks are off an under but previously had gone over the total in 3 straight games. New York's 3 prior games saw them allow an average of 129.3 points per game. Prior to a dismal effort in their home loss to the Nuggets, the Knicks had scored an average of 115 points per game in their last 6 home games. The Clippers enter this game also off an under that, just like the Knicks, snapped a 3-game over streak. Los Angeles has allowed an average of 113 points per game their last 13 games. The Clippers have scored an average of 118 points per game their last 12 games. The over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between these teams. The over is 7-2 this season in LA's games against Atlantic Division opponents. Also, Los Angeles is 25-12 to the over this season in games in which they are a favorite. More of the same expected here. 8* OVER the total in New York