Thursday 1-9-20 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Matt Fargo

Jan 09 '20, 10:30 PM in 4h
NCAA-B | Washington State vs California
Play on: California -1 -105 at sportsbook

Washington St. came through for us last Saturday as it defeated UCLA in overtime. That concluded a seven-game homestand for the Cougars and they hit the road for the first time in over a month. They are just 1-2 on the highway with the lone win coming at 5-9 Idaho. Washington St. is now 7-1 over its last eight games but again, the schedule has played a big role in that. The Bears have dropped four consecutive games, with their last win coming Dec. 11 against Fresno St. and they have failed to cover any of those games as well. California is 5-2 at home with the two losses coming against heavyweights St. Marys and Harvard. The Bears enter the game with four players averaging double figures at home and it shows as they are averaging 68 ppg at home while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor. Play (688) California Golden Bears

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Ray Monohan

Jan 09 '20, 10:38 PM in 4h
NHL | Blue Jackets vs Sharks
Play on: Blue Jackets +104 at pinnacle

Blue Jackets +104
The Columbus Blue Jackets (21-15-8) roll into San Jose Thursday night to take on the San Jose Sharks (19-22-4). The Jackets are 2-1 in their L3 vs. the Sharks. We're expecting Merzlikins (4-5 2.87GAA) in net for the Jackets & Dell (6-7 2.99GAA) in net for the Sharks. The Jackets are 9-6-5-1 on the road and the Sharks are 11-11-1 at home.
In case you missed the memo the shorthanded Sharks are even more shorthanded now with Logan Couture out for at least 6 weeks with a broken ankle. Not good news for the Sharks, I just don't know how they man-up in this one without their leader.
The Blue Jackets on the other hand started their 4-game road trip with wins over the Kings and Ducks in LA, and now head to San Jose looking to get yet another point on the road, which they've done in 14 of their last 15 games.
CBus is clicking of late, especially Werenski (22pts L21 games) Dubois (33pts in L13 games), and Nyquist 5pts last 5 games), they know this Sharks team well, and confidence is high.
Some trends to consider. Columbus are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games, are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games on the road, and are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against San Jose. San Jose are 4-13 SU in their last 17 games, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games at home.
Wrong team favored here! Play Columbus +104.
Good Luck, Razor Ray.
Thursday 5* FREE NHL ML Play

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Brad Diamond

Jan 09 '20, 11:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-B | Santa Clara vs San Francisco
Play on: Santa Clara +6½ -110 at Mirage

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Bob Valentino

Thursday freebie is Purdue plus the points in their game against Michigan.

Life without do-it-all Carson Edwards has been tough for Matt Painter's Boilermakers as Purdue heads into Ann Arbor at just 9-6 on the year and are fresh off an unsightly 63-37 loss at Illinois their last time out.

As for Coach Howard's Wolverines, after a blazing start to the season Michigan has gone just 3-4 both straight up and against the spread for their last 7 games and while they get the benefit of playing this one at home, I am not so sure laying the points is wise right now against this desperate Purdue edition.

The Boilermakers are on a 4-0 against the spread run their last 4 games following a loss this season and will be looking to end a 2 game series slide against the Wolverines when they take to the court tonight.

Michigan has covered the last 6 in this series, but must contend with a sticky Boiler defense that is allowing under 60 points per game on the season.

This one is not going to be a pretty affair and I think it will end up a clunky, low-scoring affair to boot making the points very valuable.

Go with Purdue to keep things close.

4* PURDUE

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Stephen DeAngelo

For Thursday’s college hoops freebie, let’s back a big home underdog and grab the points with San Diego against top-ranked Gonzaga in late-night West Coast Conference action.



No, the host Toreros don’t stand a chance of pulling off the upset against a Gonzaga squad that’s 16-1 on the season and a program that’s won 10 consecutive games in this WCC rivalry. But San Diego certainly has a chance of staying inside this number—something Gonzaga’s last three opponents (and four of the last five) have done.



Since December 18, the Bulldogs are 1-4 ATS, failing to cover huge pointspreads of 14½ (94-81 win over North Carolina), 34½ (93-72 win over Detroit-Mercy), 23½ (85-72 conference win at Portland) and 21 (75-70 conference win over Pepperdine). And if you go back to Thanksgiving weekend, Gonzaga has cashed just four times in 11 games.



True, San Diego is coming off two WCC road losses and non-covers against Santa Clara (80-63 as a 6-point underdog) and Loyola-Marymount (64-58 as a 2-point chalk). But prior to that, the Toreros had won three in a row. They also own outright underdog wins over Fresno State, Weber State and Hofstra, and they held their own at Stanford (62-59 loss as a 9½-point dog).


And while USD hasn’t beaten Gonzaga in forever, it has gotten the money in each of the last four meetings (all as a double-digit underdog). Make it five straight covers, as the Toreros get inside the number in the Slim Gym.

2* SAN DIEGO

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Mitchell Newman

My Thursday free play comes out of the NBA as I will back the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers on their home floor to hold off the Boston Celtics.

Knee-jerk reaction to immediately play against a team when one of their star players is out, but the fact Philly is still favored by a hoop tonight over Boston should tell you the oddsmakers firmly believe the Sixers can indeed come through this Thursday night at home against a hated-rival.

Boston just played last night at home and got handily beaten by the San Antonio Spurs, 129-114. That marked the second straight loss for the Celtics who have also lost the last 3 regular season series meetings versus the 76ers, including both this season straight up and against the spread.

Philly just snapped a 4-game losing streak - all 4 coming on the road - with a home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. That home win improved the Sixers to 17-2 straight up on their home court this year, and with this game being priced down close to a pick, I will take my chances that that 17-2 straight up mark is good enough for both the win and cover on Thursday night - with-or-without Mr. Embiid.

Go with the 76ers.

1* PHILADELPHIA

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Jack Brayman

My free play for Thursday is the Houston Rockets against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Rockets arrive after Clint Capela's 22-point, 22-rebound outing in a 122-115 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

Houston, which boasts a 14-7 mark against Western Confernce foes, is sitting third in the West with a 25-11 mark and has that offense that produces 119.4 points per game. The Rockets put a 116-spot on the Thunder in the first meeting, as James Harden erupted for 40 points against his former team.

Harden scored 41 points, including 22 in the first quarter, plus 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second straight triple-double last night against the Hawks to warm up for this one.

Russell Westbrook will be ready for this one, as he was held out of last night's game in Atlanta, specifically so he'd be ready for his first game in Oklahoma City since being dealt to the Rockets. The Rockets were already limiting Westbrook to one game when the team plays back-to-back nights, part of a maintenance plan following offseason knee surgery, but this fell in line perfectly.

Both have won eight of their last 10, but I'm more impressed by the Rockets - who have also won three in a row - considering the personnel they put on the floor.

5* ROCKETS

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Chris Jordan

I'm back on the Columbus Blue Jackets with my complimentary play, as I like the number I see in San Jose, against one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL.

Talk about resiliency, these Blue Jackets have fought through injuries and put together a 10-1-4 run over the past month. Even further, of the 10 wins during the win streak, Columbus has allowed the first goal in six of them - including three straight.

The Blue Jackets have outscored teams by more than one goal per game in the run, with a 46-30 edge in tallies.

As much of a nutjob coach John Tortorella can be a cartoon character in his press conferences, he knows how to get his troops fired up. And if there was ever a game he would have them jacked up for, it's going to be this one, as San Jose just claimed a 3-2 victory last Saturday in Columbus - the lone loss during that winning 15-game stretch.

I was shocked by that victory, and don't believe the Sharks will be ready for this grudge match.

Not knowing how they've struggled at both ends of the ice, placing 27th with 2.64 goals per game and 28th in defense with 3.33 allowed. This is a team that has shown its age this season, as the current squad is on average nearly two years older than the average team.

Because the revenge factor is in play, you can expect to see fast start by the Jackets - both offensively and defensively.

It'll be hard for the Sharks to slow down Zach Werenski, who scored two goals on Tuesday in Anaheim, upping his tally to seven in a five-game span. Werenski now leads NHL defensemen with 15 goals.

All Columbus tonight.

1* BLUE JACKETS

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Tony Karpinski

FREE PLAY

Oakland vs. Youngstown State, 01/09/2020 19:00 EDT

Money Line: +125 Oakland

Sportsbook:
TopBet

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies have been an underwhelming basketball team up to this point in the season. The Golden Grizzlies have a 6-10 record and enter this game on a low note after losing to Northern Kentucky by 11 points at home in their last game. In that game, Oakland's offense was awful as it only scored 64 points while shooting just 30.4% from the three-point line. Look for them to play and shoot much better tonight and OAKLAND to get the win and cover here on Thursday night!

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Tony Karpinski

FREE DOG

Purdue vs. Michigan, 01/09/2020 19:00 EDT

Point Spread: +6/-110 Purdue

Sportsbook:
Bodog

Purdue is a defensive-minded team that plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, with 69 possessions per game. The Boilermakers are also only averaging 54.2 per contest on the road this season and coming off a horrendous game. Michigan will most likely be without their second-leading scorer and that will hurt. Take Purdue tonight as a live underdog.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Chip Chirimbes

Chip's FREE Winner

Minnesota vs. Michigan State, 01/09/2020 21:00 EDT

Total: -110/+145 Under

Sportsbook:
Bodog

FREE NCAA WINNER
Minnesota (+) over Michigan State
Golden Gophers /Spartans UNDER- Without a doubt No. 8 MSU is the strongest Big Ten component this season and the numbers show it. But, here we have a side with the total as Minnesota is 19-7-1 Under in their last 27 road games and under is 20-8 when they are an underdog. The Spartans are 19-7 under in their last 26 games against a team with a winning record...play UNDER!