Scott Rickenbach Premium Picks

Scott "The Bulldog" Rickenbach NHL Game #24 Friday Free Pick Ottawa Senators Money Line (+) vs Columbus Blue Jackets @ 7:05 ET - There are rumors swirling about the upcoming trade deadline and this has certainly impacted the Senators as they sat some players last night and ended up getting embarrassed 4-0 at New Jersey. However, let us not forget that Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has also been rumored as possibly being dealt and he is supposed to get the start tonight for Columbus. I know he is playing better in February but he had a horrific January and I believe the rumors are still a factor in his mind and the mental state of a goalie is so important to their overall play. All factors considered, I see no justification for the Blue Jackets being a 2 to 1 favorite on the road against anyone in the entire league. Columbus is no powerhouse and let us not forget that the Senators won 2 of 3 games on their most recent homestand and that included knocking off the Jets! Ottawa followed that up by also winning a game at Winnipeg! The point is the Senators are fully capable of playing a solid game when they are motivated. After an embarrassing shutout loss on the road last night, they are motivated for tonight's match-up on home ice no doubt. The Blue Jackets enter this game off back to back losses and have lost 8 of their last 13. Yet they are a 2 to 1 favorite here on the road! Columbus has a strong road record on the season but has only won 6 of their past 11 on enemy ice. The Senators as a huge home dog are absolutely worthy of an investment here. Free Pick OTTAWA

Total of the Month - Rickenbach NHL Game #27 Friday 10* OVER the total in Detroit Red Wings vs Minnesota Wild @ 7:35 ET - The Wild are off a big 4-1 win at New York over the Rangers last night. That got Minnesota back on track after rare back to back shutouts on home ice. Now the Wild will look to take advantage of a Red Wings team that has lost 6 of its past 8 games and allowed an average of 4.33 goals per game in those 6 defeats. While I do fully expect Minnesota to score well here, it should be noted that they have a big home game on deck with a red hot St Louis team. Not only could they be looking ahead to the Blues, the fact this is a back to back also means their intensity on defense may not be at its best. This is especially true considering they are coming off a much needed satisfying win last night. With this total at just 5.5 goals, I love the value we're getting here with the over. Long-term the over is 17-8 when the Red Wings host the Wild. Also, Detroit has scored at least 3 goals in 4 of their last 5 games. Minnesota has scored 4 goals in 3 of their last 4 road games. I foresee this one playing out as a 4-3 type game. Only a third (8 of 24) Wild non-conference games this season have resulted in an under. Also, the Red Wings are 10-4 to the over this season when they enter a game on a losing streak of 3 or more games. 10* OVER the total in Detroit

PA Insider - Rickenbach CBB Game #860 Friday 10* Top Play Penn Quakers (-) vs Columbia Lions @ 8 ET - The Quakers are still in the hunt for finishing in the top 4 of the Ivy League and qualifying for their post-season tourney. The Lions are the worst team in the conference by far. With Penn also entering this game off a tough OT loss to Harvard last week, the set up is perfect here for a home blowout win. Admittedly the Quakers have underachieved in Ivy League action thus far but they entered last weekend having had just one home game in league action thus far. Penn's schedule has been tough to say the least. They nearly pulled off the much-needed 2-0 sweep last weekend but back to back OT games (they beat Dartmouth in OT Friday) proved to be too much as you would expect. The Crimson are a tough team to face in a spot like that. Penn was 6-2 at home prior to losing to Harvard and now will take advantage of a facing a Columbia team that is just 1-8 in road games this season. I am well aware of the fact that the points seem high here but we've now seen this line drop from a 9 to a 7.5 and we're being offered great value here as the Quakers are ready for the much needed big blowout win that can keep their season alive. Keep in mind, Penn gets Cornell (5-3 in league action) tomorrow! I am well aware of the fact that both these teams are known for playing in tight games but I am calling for a win by double digits here as the Lions have shot poorly in back to back games and those were both at home! As for the Quakers, they had shot very well in 3 of their 4 games prior to the tough back to back OT situation. The hot shooting resumes tonight for the home team. 10* PENN

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #854 Friday 8* Brown Bears (+) vs Harvard Crimson @ 7 ET - This line was as low as a pick'em and has now moved as high as a -2.5 on Harvard as of early this morning. The reason for the move is that the Crimson have dominated the Bears not just in recent seasons but an entire decade. Considering that as well as the fact that Harvard is 6-2 in Ivy League action and Brown is only 3-5 in conference action this season, a major mistake has been made here by the odds makers, right? Of course long-time followers know how I feel about that and the fact is that the Bears have been viewing this game as the perfect opportunity to finally end their long losing streak against Harvard. Keep in mind, the Crimson are only 5-6 on the road this season while Brown is a solid 9-2 at home. Also, Harvard's most recent game was an emotional OT win over Penn. Additionally, the Crimson have a huge game on deck tomorrow at Yale. Of course the Bulldogs have the best record (7-1) in the Ivy League and it will not be a surprise to see Harvard looking right past a Brown team they have dominated. Lets be honest here...the concern for the Crimson is already the 1-2 battle between themselves and Yale tomorrow. Perfect scenario for an upset win here. 8* BROWN

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Game #527 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets @ 8:35 ET - The Nuggets are a solid 16-8 to the over in their last 24 games. This total opened up at a 220 and has dropped to a 218.5 as of early this morning. We're getting good value here considering that the last two meetings between these teams in Dallas went over the total. Also, in their only meeting so far this season (at Denver) the teams combined for 244 points (and had 143 at the half). Don't be surprised if another shootout erupts tonight as I also like overs when it is the weaker team that is at home. In this case that is the Mavericks of course and, as you would expect, they shoot better when at home. As for Denver, they are one of the top teams in the league and score quite well most nights on anybody anywhere! The over is 10-4 in the Nuggets last 14 games against teams that are allowing an average of 106 or more on the season. The over is 20-10 in Denver's last 30 February games. All signs point to the over improving to 3-0 in the Mavs last 3 games. 10* OVER the total in Dallas

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA Game #526 Friday 8* Memphis Grizzlies (+) vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 8:05 ET - As of early this morning the Clippers are favored by as little as a point and a half. Keep in mind, Los Angeles is currently in a playoff spot and 5 games above .500 while the Grizzlies are 13 games under .500 and next to last in the Western Conference. The odds makers must be "way off" on this one, right? Long-time followers know how I feel about that, as a general rule, and I am going contrarian here and going with the "ugly home dog" theory in this one. In terms of support for this play, Memphis is 3-2 SU (5-0 ATS!) in their last 5 home games. Overall the Grizzlies are on a solid 7-2-1 ATS run. The Clippers are off a SU (and ATS) win and they've been in a pattern of "win one / lose one" for awhile. Also, since the calendar turned the page to 2019, LA has managed only 2 ATS win streaks, each just 3 games. The home team has won 4 of the last 5 meetings between these teams. The Clippers had a blowout 134-107 win versus Phoenix before the All Star break and are a long-term 5-11 ATS when off a game in which they scored 130 points or more. 8* MEMPHIS