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NFL Spread Picks Week 13, Minimal Line Movement on Oregon vs. Auburn

There has not been any early movement on the Auburn vs. Oregon BCS Championship game as the Tigers are -2.5 with a total of 74.5. Week 13 NFL betting picks are among the strongest in some time as the LateInfo has yet another winner on Buccaneers vs. Falcons.

Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Ravens and Steelers meet in a divisional clash, the Colts look to get on track against the Cowboys, and the Spurs take on the Hornets.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

The Colts will be looking to shake off a two-game losing skid late on Sunday afternoon when they play host to another disappointing club, the Cowboys. Indianapolis (6-5 SU, 6-5 ATS) was beaten 36-14 at home by San Diego last week, as Peyton Manning threw for 285 yards with two touchdowns but four interceptions. Donald Brown was the Colts’ leading rusher in that loss with just 24 yards. Dallas (3-8 SU, 4-7 ATS) was clipped 30-27 at home by New Orleans last week, as Jon Kitna passed for 313 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Oddsmakers have pegged the Colts as 5.5-point favorites for their Sunday matchup, while the total for the contest is listed at 47.5 points.

Rounding out the NFL’s Sunday afternoon games this week: Cleveland at Miami (-4.5), San Francisco at Green Bay (-9.5), Denver at Kansas City (-9), Buffalo at Minnesota (-5.5), Chicago (-4.5) at Detroit, Jacksonville at Tennessee, Washington at the Giants (-7), New Orleans (-7) at Cincinnati, Oakland at San Diego (-13), Atlanta (-3) at Tampa Bay, Carolina at Seattle (-6), and St. Louis (-3.5) at Arizona. The Sunday nighter is then Pittsburgh at Baltimore (-3). The Steelers (8-3 SU, 6-5 ATS) and Ravens (8-3 SU, 5-5-1 ATS) are tied atop the AFC North standings and are both on two-game winning streaks. Pittsburgh (without Ben Roethlisberger) lost 17-14 at home to Baltimore back in Week 4.

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Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

Eight games make up the NBA slate for Sunday: Boston at New Jersey, New York at Toronto, Cleveland at Detroit, Golden State at Oklahoma City, Memphis at Denver, Washington at Phoenix, the Clippers at Portland, and New Orleans at San Antonio. The Spurs knocked off the Hornets in New Orleans in their most recent matchup on November 28, winning 109-95 behind 23 points from Manu Ginobili. Tim Duncan had 21 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio in that contest, while Richard Jefferson was good for 19 points. David West was the Hornets’ leading scorer in that loss with 23 points, with Chris Paul adding 15 points and seven assists for New Orleans on that day.

Meanwhile, there are just two games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Sunday, with No. 18 Florida vs. American, and No. 19 Texas vs. USC. The 19th-ranked Longhorns (6-1 SU, 4-0 ATS) got past Lamar 76-55 last game behind 16 points from Cory Joseph. The Trojans (4-4 SU, 3-4 ATS) are coming off an 81-69 loss to TCU. Texas and USC last played in December 2009, with the Longhorns winning 69-50.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, the NHL’s five-game slate for Sunday has Philadelphia at the Islanders, Calgary at Chicago, Ottawa at the Rangers, St. Louis at Vancouver, and Phoenix at Anaheim. The Coyotes played host to the Ducks back on November 27, with Anaheim pulling out a 6-4 road victory in that contest. Bobby Ryan had a hat trick for Anaheim that day, while Ryan Getzlaf picked up four assists, and Jonas Hiller stopped 30 of 34 Phoenix shots. Derek Morris, Lauri Korpikoski, Keith Yandle, and Scottie Upshall provided the markers for the Coyotes in that losing cause, while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped just 19 pucks.

Sunday Night Football NBC: Steelers vs. Ravens

ScoresOddsPicks, one of the elite services on OffshoreInsiders.com is having as good of a year as anyone in sports wagering history. One of their premium plays is on the NBC Sunday Night Football.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-3) – Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET

Baltimore won 17-14 when these teams met in September, but the Ravens were without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was finishing up his suspension. Baltimore (8-3, 5-5-1 ATS) has won back-to-back games, including a 17-10 victory over Tampa last week. The defense is gaining momentum, having allowed just 23 points in the last two games—though it’s having trouble rushing the quarterback (19 sacks). Joe Flacco has the NFL’s best passer rating since Week 5; in his last six games, he’s tossed 13 touchdowns and only two picks.

Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-5 ATS) has won three of four but needed overtime to escape Buffalo 19-16 last week. Defensively, the Steelers are giving up some healthy pass yardage but have been one of the league’s top units. On the other side of the ball, injuries and penalties have ruined the line. The end result is a banged up Ben Roethlisberger, who has a broken foot.

Roethlisberger will give Pittsburgh a boost after missing the first game, but he’s hardly 100 percent right now. Even though Baltimore has struggled to rush the quarterback, expect it to dial up some exotic pressures and force Big Ben to move around a bit on his gimpy ankle.

That will limit his effectiveness and give the Ravens a win and cover.

For more information: One unit per bet, minus juice, you are plus 38.8 units this season since the Hall of Fame Game. This weekend has already been historic and it’s far from over.

Exceeding the expectations of even those who knew from experience how great ScoresOddsPicks is, what will likely go down as the best year in college and pro handicapping history continues Sunday. Get the Underdog Best Bet of the Year among three winners in a weekend already highlighted by Miami Ohio +775 on the moneyline and Nebraska as the 2010 NCAAF Best Bet of the Year. All top football picks for today are up

Week 13 NFL Predictions; BCS Championship Odds Auburn-Oregon

Auburn vs. Oregon in the BCS Championship game odds have been posted. Auburn is -3 with a total of 75. “I expected the Tigers -5,” admitted Mike Godsey of OffshoreInsiders.com.

It’s also week 13 NFL betting odds time.

One of the best sports handicappers in the world, Matt Rivers has a free pick winner is on the Buffalo Bills getting 5.5 to the Minnesota Vikings at the sportsbooks.

There is no debating that the Vikings have more talent than the Bills as Brett Favre and the fellas are far better than their porous record but the Bills are much improved of late and should be competitive one more time today.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been pretty solid of late leading Chan Gailey’s team to a pair of recent wins on the field and a 4-0-2 run against the number. Obviously it’s far too late for the playoffs or anything like that but the players are a lot more confident right now than in the dreadful 0-8 start to the season where the defense was shredded game in and game out.

In the last four losses they fell by literally three points per game and those came against the Steelers, Chiefs, Bears and Chiefs, not bad at all huh? Plus as we all know if Stevie Williams held onto that ball in overtime last week the result would have been an upset win over Mike Tomlin’s boys.

Minnesota is at home here and has far more talent than what the Bills put on the field. But with that said Adrian Peterson is not close to being healthy and may or may not go. Add in how the Vikings have been half a disgrace all season long and really should not beat fatten up on anybody right now anywhere. Just a few weeks ago they had to have a miraculous comeback and overtime victory to beat the horrific Derek Anderson and an inept Arizona team at home.

I do think that the Vikes are a better team and will play harder with Brad Childress gone but they still almost blew the lead and imploded last week in Washington and truly are what they are right now which is not very good, with or without AP.

The pick: Buffalo +5

For more information: The NFL has been profitable this season for Matt Rivers and it’s more of the same today. A pair of afternoon winners led by a 400,000* from San Diego between the Raiders and Chargers. Norv’s boys are on-fire but they are also very banged up and laying a ton. Is it too much? Bonus 200,000* from the desert in the game between St. Louis and Arizona. All the week 13 NFL picks are up.

Here are the week 13 odds:

341 Buffalo Bills +5 -108 +193 OVER 44 -105
10:00 AM 342 Minnesota Vikings -5 +100 -215 UNDER 44 -105
343 Cleveland Browns +5 -104 +204 OVER 43 -109
10:00 AM 344 Miami Dolphins -5 -104 -228 UNDER 43 -101
345 Jacksonville Jaguars +3 +111 +158 OVER 43.5 +100
10:00 AM 346 Tennessee Titans -3 -120 -175 UNDER 43.5 -110
347 Denver Broncos +9 -114 +314 OVER 48.5 -105
10:00 AM 348 Kansas City Chiefs -9 +105 -360 UNDER 48.5 -105
349 Washington Redskins +7 +104 +297 OVER 43 -102
10:00 AM 350 New York Giants -7 -112 -340 UNDER 43 -108
351 Chicago Bears -4.5 -103 -210 OVER 43 -102
10:00 AM 352 Detroit Lions +4.5 -105 +188 UNDER 43 -108
353 San Francisco 49ers +9 -114 +358 OVER 41 -102
10:00 AM 354 Green Bay Packers -9 +105 -415 UNDER 41 -108
355 New Orleans Saints -6.5 -104 -265 OVER 44.5 -104
01:15 PM 356 Cincinnati Bengals +6.5 -104 +235 UNDER 44.5 -106
357 Atlanta Falcons -2 -117 -140 OVER 43.5 -103
01:15 PM 358 Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2 +108 +127 UNDER 43.5 -107
359 Oakland Raiders +13 -107 +516 OVER 44.5 -102
01:05 PM 360 San Diego Chargers -13 -101 -625 UNDER 44.5 -108
361 Carolina Panthers +4.5 -110 +189 OVER 40 -108 GodTips Wise Guy Play
01:15 PM 362 Seattle Seahawks -4.5 +102 -211 UNDER 40 -102
363 Dallas Cowboys +5 -107 +204 OVER 47.5 -107 Level 5 Side & Total From Vincent
01:15 PM 364 Indianapolis Colts -5 -101 -228 UNDER 47.5 -103
365 St Louis Rams -3.5 +101 -185 OVER 43.5 -110
01:15 PM 366 Arizona Cardinals +3.5 -109 +166 UNDER 43.5 +100
367 Pittsburgh Steelers +3 -101 +149 OVER 39.5 +100
05:25 PM 368 Baltimore Ravens -3 -107 -165 UNDER 39.5 -110

Matt Rivers Takes Connecticut Outright Over USF

Matt Rivers of OffshoreInsiders.com has a free pick winner for Saturday is on UCONN football +115 on the moneyline to South Florida.

With a Big East title and a BCS bowl berth on the line why not back Randy Edsall’s team up against a mediocre at best South Florida team who will probably be missing their quarterback.

The Bulls are alright, they do have some talent but all in all they are nothing special at all. South Florida just shocked Miami on the road in overtime but the Hurricanes are in a bit of disarray thanks to former coach Randy Shannon. The coach was a joke who somehow didn’t play Jacory Harris until the fourth quarter. The days of being highly ranked with Matt Grothe, Jason Pierre-Paul and George Selvie are gone and this current edition, and especially if without BJ Daniels, is just not very good.

I’m not at all saying that the Big East isn’t half a joke or that the Huskies are deserving of playing in a BCS Bowl but that is the situation right now. Plus UCONN is easily playing their best ball of the season and they boast a running back in Jordan Todman who is awesome and going to be playing somewhere on Sundays.

Edsall is a phenomenal coach who is highly coveted and in the near future more than likely will trade up and go to greener pastures. He has his guys in a position to win a fifth straight game and with everything on the line there’s no reason why they can’t win this game, even in semi hostile territory. Zach Frazier needs to just remain competent and manage the game and Todman needs to be Todman, which he seems to be game in and game out.

I will pass up a meaningless two points and take the plus money on the moneyline rolling with the red hot Huskies. If the number hits that field goal than go with your gut.

Top expert pick on this game: Connecticut outright from Matt Rivers.

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Week 13 NFL Notes and Predictions

This week in NFL betting features a few teams on the playoff bubble plus some crucial divisional matchups.

Raiders (5-6) vs Chargers (6-5)

It’ll be interesting to see if the Raiders can stay within the betting spread, which has been stretched as far as 13 points at most books, now that quarterback Bruce Gradkowski is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Jason Campbell will get another shot this week. Two other high-impact players will be hobbled if they play this week for Oakland; tight end Zach Miller is battling a torn plantar fascia and Nnamdi Asomugha, the Raiders’ best defensive player, is battling a groin injury.

San Diego is plenty banged up, too. Vincent Jackson’s calf will keep him out again this week and Antonio Gates, dealing with the same injury as Zach Miller, doesn’t look like he’ll play. He’ll test his pain threshold on Sunday. Malcolm Floyd will try to play through a hamstring injury; Patrick Crayton is out long-term with a dislocated wrist. Is there anyone left for Phil Rivers to throw to? Maybe San Diego will keep running the ball. Ryan Mathews will return from his ankle injury this week and split carries with Mike Tolbert.

Falcons (9-2) vs Buccaneers (7-4)

It appears the Falcons will be relatively healthy for this crucial divisional showdown. Backup running back Jason Snelling hurt his hamstring last week and may not play, but most of Atlanta’s starters are good to go. William Moore, John Abraham and Curtis Lofton were limited in practice this week but shouldn’t miss any game time.

Tampa isn’t quite as lucky and sports betting sharps should take notice. Kellen Winslow (ribs) and Cadillac Williams (knee) are nicked up but should play; they’re not the problem. But the Bucs lost two starters to injury last week; guard Davin Joseph and safety Cody Grimm. Both are out for the season.

Cowboys (3-8) vs Colts (6-5)

The Cowboys are in tough against a desperate Colts team, but they finally got a blessing in disguise when totally the totally ineffective Marion Barber strained his calf. Third-string running back Tashard Choice, who may be better than both Barber and Felix Jones, should finally touch the ball this week. Keith Brooking didn’t practice all week but could still suit up for the Cowboys’ “D” on Sunday. Tony Romo’s broken collarbone will keep him out several more weeks.

The Colts’ injury woes aren’t improving much. Joseph Addai remains out with nerve damage in his shoulder, though Mike Hart (ankle) will return and spell Donald Brown. Austin Collie (concussion), Gary Brackett (toe), Kelvin Hayden (neck), and pretty much Indianapolis’ entire roster are game-time decisions.

Steelers (8-3) vs Ravens (8-3)

Is Ben Roethlisberger’s foot broken or not? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it is but the Steelers say it’s not, insisting that Big Ben just aggravated an old injury with scar tissue. Troy Polamalu is nursing an Achilles injury but he played through it the last two weeks.

While it won’t matter to fantasy football players, the Ravens will miss fullback Le’Ron McClain this week. His ankle injury will force him to miss the first game of his career.

Free Sports Picks From Best Handicapper

Matt Rivers has a free pick Friday is on the Georgia Bulldogs -5 against UAB at SportsBook.

Mark Fox did an absolutely wonderful job in his first season in Athens and with the way Florida and some other teams are down in the SEC the Bulldogs have actually become at the very worst an average conference team and that is a great improvement from the garbage we have seen recently in the Dennis Felton era.

UGA is 4-2 so far on the season after just playing in that tournament down in Florida where they went 1-2 losing to a couple of quality teams in Notre Dame and Temple before beating Manhattan. That was not a great three game set for Trey Thompkins and the fellas as the win was even in very pedestrian fashion and by much less than the number. But I’m not all that concerned because this price at Stegman Coliseum is too cheap to pass up against a decent enough UAB squad but certainly not ne of the better Blazer teams we have seen in recent years.

I love the fact that the Dawgs looked shaky over the past week and now welcome in a team that is perceived as superior in this matchup. It can only give us some value and I’ll never pass that up that I can tell you. Thompkins is a potential NBA first rounder and Dustin Ware, Jeremy Price, Travis Leslie and the boys from Georgia are the nucleus of an up and coming and still a bit undervalued squad.

UAB is 6-1 with the lone decent enough win coming up against Arkansas. I’m not really all that sure what the Razorbacks are and truly am not that impressed as this UAB team has beaten some cupcakes in mediocre fashion.

Look for the Dawgs to grab the lead early and take care of business throughout.

The pick: Georgia -5

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Heat vs. Cavs: LeBron James Former Team Will Keep It Close

Matt Rivers free pick Thursday is on the Cleveland Cavaliers +6 at home to Miami.

Why not?

To write a whole lot here would be overkill as we all know the situation like the back of our hand. Lebron comes home as the villain as the Cleveland fans are going to be out in full force going absolutely ballistic against him. The emotions are going to be high and more so on the Cavs side as that is where the venom is. You can see from soundbites and quotes over the last few days that King James sort of feels bad for the way he handled everything and to be honest with you will probably be a little psychologically down in the dumps. I really do not see him having a killer instinct and the way he and his mates have fared thus far in the early going has not been very good to begin with.

Miami did win easily yesterday over Detroit making this a back-to-back with travel situation and that alone is never easy. Throw in all of the drama and James was right when he said he is going to be drained in this thing. You know the fans are going to boo him every time he has the ball and Byron Scott’s players are going to go balls to the wall in order to win this game for the city of Cleveland and this thing truly is the franchise’ Super Bowl.

The Heat are clearly the far superior team but things have not been so great thus far and in the end I’ll take the fresher and more emotional squad plus a handful of points. Again I say, why not?

The pick: Cleveland Cavaliers at SportsBook

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Courtesy of OddsShark.com: Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The city of Cleveland gets set to greet their former star player, while the Texans take on the Eagles, and Arizona hosts rival Arizona State.

Colliding on the gridiron . . .

The NFL’s Thursday night matchup this week has Houston at Philadelphia. The Texans (5-6 SU, 4-6-1 ATS) got back into the win column last time out, blanking the Titans in a 20-0 home victory. Matt Schaub threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns for Houston in that contest, and Arian Foster ran for 143 yards that day. The Eagles (7-4 SU, 5-6 ATS) fell 31-26 in Chicago over the weekend, as Michael Vick passed for 333 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for 44 yards. Oddsmakers have the Eagles set as 8.5-point home favorites for Thursday, with the contest’s total at 51 points.

As well, there’s one college football game on tap for Thursday, with Arizona State at Arizona. The Sun Devils (5-6 SU, 6-2-1 ATS) beat UCLA 55-34 last week behind 380 passing yards and four touchdowns from Brock Osweiler. Cameron Marshall ran for 147 yards and a score for Arizona State in that victory. The Wildcats (7-4 SU, 3-7 ATS) have lost three straight games, falling 48-29 in Oregon to the top-ranked Ducks last week. Nick Foles still managed to throw for 448 yards with three touchdowns for Arizona that day. Arizona is listed as a 6-point home favorite for Thursday, with that total at 55 points.

It was yet another winning night for the Center of the Handicapping Universe to move to a 16-9 overall run.

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Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The NBA has two games on tap for Thursday, with Phoenix at Golden State and Miami at Cleveland. The Heat/Cavaliers matchup will mark the return of LeBron James to Cleveland, where he’ll take on a Cavs team that sits at 7-10 SU and 8-8-1 ATS without him so far this season. The Cavaliers lost their tuneup for this game on Tuesday, falling 106-87 at home to the Celtics. Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson each scored 16 points for Cleveland in that defeat, while Varejao also picked up 12 rebounds in the losing cause. The Heat, who haven’t played up to expectations so far this year, will be coming off a home game against Detroit on Wednesday night. The Cavaliers and Heat met three times last year, and with LeBron in tow the Cavs won all three of those games.

There are also three games involving ranked teams on the college basketball schedule for Thursday, with Arizona State at No. 11 Baylor, No. 9 Missouri at Oregon, and UCLA at No. 4 Kansas. The fourth-ranked Jayhawks (6-0 SU, 3-1 ATS) bounced Arizona 87-79 last time out behind a 16-point performance from Marcus Morris. The Bruins (3-2 SU, 1-3 ATS) were beaten 89-85 by VCU in the third-place game at the Preseason NIT tournament in their most recent matchup, with Malcolm Lee tossing in 23 points that day.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Finally, there are eight games on the NHL’s schedule for Thursday, with Tampa Bay at Boston, the Rangers at the Islanders, Atlanta at Pittsburgh, Montreal at New Jersey, Edmonton at Toronto, Washington at Dallas, Florida at Los Angeles, and San Jose at Ottawa. The 11-8-4 Sharks fell 5-3 at home to the Red Wings in their last game on Tuesday night, and they’ll be expecting a rude welcome in Ottawa on Thursday as forward Dany Heatley returns to face the team he forced a trade from last season. The 11-13-1 Senators were upended 4-1 at home by Edmonton in their last game on Monday. Nick Foligno had Ottawa’s lone goal that day, and Brian Elliott made 21 saves.

NBA Free Picks

Matt Rivers has a winning sports pick Wednesday is on the Clippers +7 hosting San Antonio.

It’s not the easiest thing to make an argument for a 3-15 team up against a 15-2 team but in this spot I’ll take my chances on Blake and the home boys plus the points.

Sure Greg Popovich’ veteran club is completely rolling right now as the big three is still dangerous led these days by Manu Ginobili. Having the lefty shooter along with Duncan, Parker and others gives the Spurs a chance on any given night against anybody and obviously that includes the beat up and lowly Clippers. But with that said LA was able to man up against the one loss Hornets with Chris Paul last week as these guys are a lot more capable, injured or not, than the record indicates.

Baron Davis and Chris Kaman more than likely will miss again but Blake Griffin is a beast in the middle, Eric Gordon can really fill it up and a few others like Eric Bledsoe and Rasual Butler are capable enough.

The biggest issue tonight that is for us in my determination is the fatigue factor. It’s not like the Spurs are a young team anymore and tonight are playing in a back-to-back spot after the game in Golden State last night and are on the court for the third time in the last four days. The games were also not exactly what one would call easy on the legs as they ran with the high paced Warriors last night and in the previous two games had to try and contain Chris Paul and the quality Hornets after the loss against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.

The Clippers haven’t played in a few days and have only been on the court once in the past five days. The talent advantage is certainly with the visiting Spurs but in the end I don’t think that will be the end all as the Clips will be fresh enough to grab that cash.

For more information: Matt Rivers says  it was an exciting game from Missouri that did not prove to be fruitful in the end. I’ll just shake it off and give the Hoyas some credit for gutting that thing out. A trio of winners today including a major 400,000* release in this game from Blacksburg between Purdue and Virginia Tech as the line is a solid 5 ½ points off, if not more. Bonus NBA 300,000* involving Indiana and Utah plus a 200,000* Butler-Loyola. Click now to purchase

College Football Betting News and Notes

Conference title game week! Lots of betting sharps will hit up their books to make wagers with the SEC, ACC and Big 12 on the line this Saturday.

(2) Auburn (12-0) vs (18) South Carolina (9-3)

We won’t see many if any changes form the Auburn lineup that rallied from a 27-0 deficit to stun Alabama last week. Running back Onterio McCalebb hobbled off the field in that game but coach Gene Chizik insists that he’s just “banged up” and will be fine this week. Wide receiver Darvin Adams’ arm injury won’t keep him out, either.

While South Carolina isn’t dealing with any new serious injuries, its two most important offensive weapons both look like they won’t be 100 per cent. Marcus Lattimore will try to shake off a leg injury and is expected to play this week. Stephen Garcia has a left thumb injury and a right shoulder injury but will play through both of them in the SEC title game. Still, college football betting fans should keep those injuries in mind.

(20) Florida State (9-3) vs (12) Virginia Tech (10-2)

Could Florida State have trouble moving the ball on Virginia Tech in the ACC title game? Christian Ponder will start at quarterback but is dealing with an elbow injury. Jermaine Thomas and Ty Jones, two of FSU’s top three rushers, are questionable with knee and ankle injuries, respectively.

Virginia Tech’s secondary could be a bit thin this week. Cornerbacks Chris Hill and Rashard Carmichael each missed last week’s game against Virginia with ankle injuries. Both are still questionable for Saturday.

(13) Nebraska (10-2) vs (10) Oklahoma (10-2)

Nebraska definitely won’t be at full strength against Oklahoma and has become a sportsbook underdog as a result. The Cornhuskers are already without top receiver Niles Paul, who broke his foot in practice last week and won’t be healed sufficiently to play on Saturday. Taylor Martinez missed last week’s game with a left turf toe injury and ankle sprain. He’ll start under center if he’s healthy enough to play but it’s too early to tell if he will be.

Oklahoma is much closer to full strength. Linebacker Austin Box bounced back with an ankle injury and was s crucial factor against Oklahoma State last week, making eight tackles and coming up with a huge fourth-quarter interception. Tight end Demarco Murray hurt his knee last week but walked off the field. The belief among sources close to the team is that the injury isn’t serious enough to keep him out this week.

NBA Free Picks: Sports Handicapper Likes Cavs Over Celtics

Matt Rivers says the free pick winner for Tuesday is on the Cleveland Cavaliers getting seven at home to Boston.

After losing Lebron things are obviously not going to be as good for this Cleveland organization. The team as a whole would be very lucky to be around that .500 mark when all is said and done as King James was the bulk of the team but the Cavs have been better than expected and are worth a shot today.

In the home opener these same Celtics came a calling as a similar favorite and lost. Yes that game was on a back-to back after the opening night victory over James and the Heat and yes Doc’s squad therefore has a measure of revenge tonight but Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, J.J. Hickson and the rest of the fellas have won and covered three in a row at home and should be able to once again get up for the C’s.

In terms of sheer talent it’s not even close as Boston is by far the superior team with stars in Pierce, Rondo, Garnett and Allen along with a high quality bench. But the road is never easy and can offset the superior team which I really think may be the result here.

It is asking a lot to once again believe that Cleveland will hang around in this thing but the Cavs are at home and have been pretty good there of late. Add in a little confidence from the opening victory against the men in green and the recent run of success on their home floor and this home dog is good enough for me.

The pick: Cleveland +7 against the NBA spread

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