Scott Rickenbach Premium Picks

NHL Friday 10* Top Play OVER 6.5 in Winnipeg Jets vs Columbus Blue Jackets @ 8:07 ET - The Blue Jackets facing the Jets at the right time to have a big game. But look for Winnipeg to respond. I look for Columbus to get the early jump on the Jets here as Winnipeg off that huge 5-0 win over Colorado. Getting a big win over the defending Stanley Cup Champs could leave them flat here. Columbus will have some early success here but then the Jets will respond and bounce back. That is how I see this one playing out. The result will be plenty of goals. Winnipeg, prior to the 5-0 win, saw their 4 prior games total 7 or more goals. The Jets allowed an average of 4 goals in those 4 games. Winnipeg enters this contest having scored 5 or more goals in 3 straight games. Columbus has surprisingly had 3 straight low-scoring games but this followed 8 of 9 totaling at least 7 goals and I am sure this one will too. 10* OVER 6.5 in Winnipeg

CBB Friday 10* Top Play Illinois Illini +2 @ Maryland @ 9 ET - Maryland is 7-0 at home and this line is practically a pick'em even though they are hosting a 1-loss Illinois team. Looks easy to take the undefeated home team. You know what it means usually when something looks too easy. It is NOT! The fact the Illini already have a loss this season actually helps them here in this match-up. They have tasted defeat and don't want to taste it again in this huge Big Ten match-up and their last game against the Terrapins was here in College Park, MD as well and they lost by 16 points. So the road team has payback on their minds here and I expect them to get it. 10* ILLINOIS +2

NBA Friday 10* Top Play Philadelphia 76ers +5.5 @ Memphis Grizzlies @ 8:10 ET - This is just too many points. I will be surprised if Tobias Harris does not play here as he has been dealing with his illness since the prior game. Also, though he will not play tonight of course, James Harden's return is now imminent and is an emotional booster for this team too. Additionally, the Sixers have been playing surprisingly well dealing with injury issues including the absence of Joel Embiid. The fact he has been back for a bit now but Philly is off an ugly 113 to 85 loss has set this up beautifully. The 76ers are 6-0 SU the last 6 times they are off a loss in which they scored less than 110 points. That said, they do not even have to get the outright win for us to get the cash here. Grab the points here and look for that situation to improve to 7-0 and, even if they fall short of outright win, the points should prove enough for the all-important cover. Of last 11 games for Memphis, the Grizzlies only have 3 victories by more than 4 points. 10* PHILADELPHIA +5.5

CFB Friday 10* Top Play OVER 66.5 or 67 in USC Trojans vs Utah Utes in Las Vegas, NV @ 8 ET - These teams totaled 85 points when they met in regular season action less than 2 months ago. I would not be surprised to see a similar result here in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Simply put, these are 2 of the better offenses in the nation in terms of overall production. Then, here is the key as I know the Utes do have decent defensive numbers. Utah just can not seem to stop a USC offense that is one of the best in the nation. The Trojans will roll on offense here but their defense is really quite bad and Utah will score a ton again here too. Southern Cal ranks as one of the most efficient offenses in the nation but also one of the least efficient defenses in the nation. USC has allowed 27 points or more in 5 of last 6 games. Those 5 games saw them allow 37.4 ppg. The Trojans have had one low scoring game at Oregon State but in their other 11 games have scored an average of 45 ppg! The Utes have scored 32 points or more in 9 of last 11 games and averaged scoring 45 ppg in those 9 games. You can see why another 43-42 type game can be expected here! 10* OVER 66.5 or 67 in USC

World Cup Friday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 goals in Cameroon vs Brazil @ 2 ET - Great set up here for plenty of goals as Cameroon must go for it here and be aggressive on the attack. They need a win to have any hopes of advancing in this World Cup. Being aggressive on the attack will get them in trouble in their own end of the pitch however. They were down 3 to 1 to Serbia before rallying for the 3-3 draw in most recent match. They have a more inexperienced netminder between the sticks and the normal number 1 goalie was sent home for disciplinary reasons. That means Brazil, on the counterattack and loaded with weapons, should score plenty here. Even though Brazil only needs a draw to advance they are certainly going to take advantage of the scoring opportunities presented to them. They enter his match having won their last 4 matches across all competitions by a combined score of 11-1. That is an average score of about 3-0 but I do expect a desperate Cameroon club to make the net ripple at least once in this one. So look for a 3-1 type of match here. 10* OVER 2.5 in Cameroon

World Cup Friday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 in South Korea vs Portugal @ 10 AM ET - The way I see this one playing out is that South Korea needs a win to advance so they will be forced to be aggressive on the attack as they can't just sit back here expect to win. That said, Portugal needs at least a draw to make sure they advance as the top seed from this group. So they will need to answer South Korea getting on the board here. I also feel Portugal, with Ronaldo also on a mission leading the way, wants to finish with a 3-0 mark in this qualifying round. They are going for the full 3 points here. So we should see more scoring than you might have expected in this match-up had it been played earlier in this round. Portugal has won 4 of last 5 matches across all competitions and averaged scoring 3.3 goals in the 4 victories. South Korea off a 3-2 defeat and have now scored at least 1 goal in 8 of last 9 matches across all competitions and have averaged scoring 2 goals in those 8 matches. Look for, at the very least, a 2-1 final here but a 2-2 or another 3-2 final is also quite possible given the situation. 10* OVER 2.5 in South Korea

Romania Liga 1 Friday 10* Top Play OVER 2 in Petrolul Ploiesti vs Universitatea Cluj @ Noon ET - The high-scoring trending continued yesterday with another 3-2 final in the only Romania Liga 1 match. The first 3 matches since the break in league action have averaged 4 goals apiece. Keep in mind, these clubs are playing matches after a 2 to 3 week layoff and it is showing up in some extra scoring chances as a result of defensive miscues leading to solid scoring chances. There also are fresh legs for the attacking offenses. Looking at this match-up, Petrolul Ploiesti has seen 9 of last 11 matches total at least 2 goals. Those 9 that did actually averaged 3 goals and I love the value with the over 2 in this match-up. Universitatea Cluj has seen 4 of last 5 matches total at least 2 goals. The visitors have allowed at least 1 goal in 5 straight matches. But Petrolul Ploiesti certainly not known for their defensive prowess so look for the hosts to conceded in this one as well. Couple that with the fact that Petrolul Ploiesti has had only 11% draws this season - 2 in 18 matches - and you can see why I am expecting at least a 2-1 final here. 10* OVER 2 in Petrolul Ploiesti

Romania Liga 1 Free Pick Friday OVER 2 in UTA vs Sepsi @ 8:30 AM ET - The high-scoring trending continued yesterday with another 3-2 final in the only Romania Liga 1 match. The first 3 matches since the break in league action have averaged 4 goals apiece. Keep in mind, these clubs are playing matches after a 2 to 3 week layoff and it is showing up in some extra scoring chances as a result of defensive miscues leading to solid scoring chances. There also are fresh legs for the attacking offenses. Looking at this match-up, UTA has scored at least 1 goal in 10 of last 12 matches. 11 of the 12 matches have totaled at least 2 goals and the posted total on this one is 2 goals. As for Sepsi, 6 of last 9 matches have totaled at least 2 goals and the 6 that did actually averaged 4 goals apiece. Considering the above as well as recent league trending, look for another high-scoring match. Free Pick OVER in UTA