Scott Rickenbach Premium Picks

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA Game #701 Tuesday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers (-) @ Detroit Pistons @ 7:05 ET - Detroit is 2-0 SU but 0-2 ATS on the season. They've squeaked by Brooklyn and Chicago. Neither the Nets or Bulls are expected to post much of a threat in terms of NBA supremacy this season! The point is that the Pistons are now finally facing a strong team and Philly has some confidence back after back to back wins have followed an opening game disaster versus the Celtics. Yes, the 76ers have also faced a weak schedule since that game one loss but the fact that they've at least, unlike the Pistons, faced one quality opponent, is reason enough to believe that they've got a better shot at getting into the win column in this one. The Pistons have yet to truly be battle tested. Even though Simmons (back) is an issue for the Sixers, they played most of the last game without him which allowed for a good "test run" and they'll be even better prepared tonight after JJ Redick went off in his absence and had a huge game. Keep in mind too that Detroit big man Andre Drummond is dealing with the flu which certainly won't help the Pistons as they try to contain Joel Embiid inside! Philly won all 4 meetings last season and each win came by at least 5 points. The 76ers are on a 21-9 ATS run when playing with 2 days of rest between games and this is their first such opportunity this season. The Sixers will make the most of it! The Pistons have a divisional game on deck (Cavs) and also are off a divisional win (Bulls) and Detroit is 11-20 ATS their last 31 when off a divisional game. 10* PHILADELPHIA

NBC Sports Network Rout - Rickenbach NHL Game #59 Tuesday NHL 10* Top Play San Jose Sharks Money Line (+) @ Nashville Predators @ 8:05 ET - Of course this money line will entice people to take Nashville on home ice laying a short price. After all, the Sharks have lost 11 of their last 12 games in this building and the one win came in the shootout. However, San Jose is a very strong hockey team that is catching Nashville at the perfect time. The Predators are off a great road trip where their head coach challenged them and they delivered. I suspect they may not have enough left in the tank here to get past the hungry Sharks. Keep in mind, Nashville's Juuse Saros has been playing great between the pipes as Pekka Rinne is out right now but there is a reason Saros is the back-up and not the starter. Also, the Preds have the best record in the NHL at 7-1 so far but Nashville has played only 2 playoff teams from last season. In fact the non-playoff teams they've faced all finished 11th or worse in their respective conference standings last season. Though the Predators have a great goal differential this season note that their shot differential is only +1.6 a game while the Sharks have dominated in shot differential as they've registered a +12.3 shots per game. This is a great value spot with the Sharks and they catch the Preds feeling over-confident after the great road trip they just had. Nashville has lost 12 of 20 (-7.9 units!) when off a shutout win. Sharks have won 23 of their last 34 Tuesday games. 10* SAN JOSE

Primetime Punisher - Rickenbach MLB Game #902 Tuesday 7* Boston Red Sox Money Line (-) vs Los Angeles Dodgers @ 8:05 ET - This money line is low enough to fall within my range as I generally don't like playing favorites. Note the rating though is a little lower (7*) than my average regular play (8*) as that compensates some for laying a little more juice. While the Dodgers were plus a slight 1.1 units in interleague action this season, the Red Sox have dominated when facing the National League. Boston is 46-14 (+27.4 net units) in recent seasons including 16-4 (+11.4 net units) this season. As a home favorite in a range of -125 to -175 this season, Boston has gone 20-8. Clayton Kershaw gets the start for the Dodgers here and he allowed 4 earned runs in just 3 innings in his lone road start in the NLCS versus the Brewers. Chris Sale gets the start for the Red Sox here and he has allowed 3 or more earned runs just once in his last 16 starts! You have to like the odds of a bounce back here for the BoSox with Sale on the mound. They lost his most recent start but previously had won 11 of his last 12 starts! The Dodgers do have a strong record with Kershaw on the mound too but he has allowed at least 3 earned runs in EACH of his last 4 road starts! 7* BOSTON

Rare Tuesday CFB Top Play - Rickenbach CFB Game #101 Tuesday 10* Top Play Troy Trojans (-) @ South Alabama Jaguars @ 8 ET - The Trojans lost starting QB Kaleb Barker for the season (ACL) but Sawyer Smith had already had some experience this season and had performed quite well. The fact that he had some struggles in his first start, on the road at Liberty, is actually leading to some line value here. Look for Smith to perform much better after getting that road start out of the way and he has had extra time to prepare since Troy is off a bye. It certainly will help that Smith and the powerful Trojans are going up against a weak defense. The Jaguars defense ranks in the BOTTOM 20 out of all 130 teams in FBS for defensive efficiency. Overall, South Alabama has allowed 446 yards per game this season. The Jags run defense is particularly poor and the Trojans powerful ground game can take advantage. Troy is on a 6-0 ATS run in Tuesday games. The Trojans enter this game having allowed just 19.7 points per game their last 6 games. South Alabama enters this game off a rare big win and previously had allowed an average of 47 points per game in their first 6 games this season. The Jaguars are on a 5-13 ATS run in conference action and will prove to be outclassed again by the class of the conference as the Trojans get revenge for last year's loss. Last year the Jags caught Troy after their big upset of LSU. South Alabama is not so lucky this season in terms of the situational set-up and the Trojans roll big here! Lay the big points even though they are on the road. 10* TROY