Thursday 1-23-20 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc

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Jimmy Boyd

Jan 23 '20, 9:00 PM in 4h
NCAA-B | Montana State vs Weber State
Play on: Weber State -3 -109 at GTBets

1* NCAAB - Free Pick on Weber State Wildcats -3 -109
I like the value here with the Wildcats as a slim home favorite against the Bobcats in Thursday's action out of the Big Sky. This is just to good a price to pass up with Weber State on their home floor.
Wildcats are simply undervalued due to playing 4 of their last 5 on the road with their only home game in this stretch against a good Northern Colorado squad (lost by 1). Weber State is just 4-3 at home for the season, but have not lost to a team at home against a team ranked outside the Top 200.
Montana State is ranked 233rd and are just 1-5 in their last 6 true road games. The only win coming against 306th ranked Idaho, who is last in the Big Sky standings. Bobcats are also not playing well. They have lost 4 of their last 5 with the last two losses coming at home.
Wildcats last lost was a 67-92 setback at Portland State, which is worth noting, as they are 42-21 (67%) in their last 63 off a road loss by 10 or more. They are also 13-4 ATS last 17 after giving up 80 or more points and 30-15 ATS last 45 at home with a line of +3 to -3. Take Weber State!

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Cole Faxon

Jan 23 '20, 10:00 PM in 5h
NCAA-B | Portland vs Loyola Marymount
Play on: Portland +7 -109 at GTBets

FREE PLAY on Portland +7 -109

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Dustin Hawkins

Jan 23 '20, 10:00 PM in 5h
NCAA-B | Utah Valley vs CS Bakersfield
Play on: UNDER 136½ -109

1 Dimer on Utah Valley vs CS Bakersfield under 136½ -109

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The Last Call

Thursday's Free Play: Valparaiso + 4

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Easy Money Sports

Lee's Free Thursday Selection Is

UAB -9

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Mitchell Newman

Thursday free play will be Ohio State as the home chalk over Minnesota.

It's as simple as home-and-away this Thursday night, as Richard Pitino's Golden Gophers have played 4 conference road games to date and have lost all 4 of them. They have failed in 3 of those 4 losses against the spread and are just 1-6 overall straight up away from their home campus with the lone away win coming in a neutral site victory.

As for Ohio State, Chris Holtman's squad are losers of 5 of their last 6 games, but that one win in that span did come at home in Columbus where they are 10-1 straight up and 7-3 against the spread in lined home games this season.

Home court means something tonight, as the home team in this series has won 9 of the last 10 series meetings, including Minny handing Ohio State their first loss of the season back in the middle of December when they won 84-71 at Williams Arena as the +7 point home underdog!

The Buckeyes have not only won the past 5 series meetings at home against the Golden Gophers, but they have also covered the last 5 versus Minny on their home floor.

Great spot for the slumping host to get their house in order against the poor-traveling visitor.

Lay it with Ohio State to avenge that December loss to Minnesota.

Buckeyes by a dozen tonight.

4* OHIO STATE

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Jack Brayman

My free play is on the Utah Utes over the Washington Huskies.

Not only are the Utes in last place in the Pac 12, after a promising start during non-conference play that included wins over BYU and Kentucky, but there is double-revenge to consider in this one.

When the Utes and Huskies met last year, Utah fell to Washington twice in close games. But that was when Washington was the leader of the Pac-12. This season it already has as many conference losses as it did heading into last season's postseason tournament.

Last weekend Utah traveled to the desert and lost both in Arizona, where they fell to Arizona and Arizona State. The Utes lost to Arizona on Thursday, then to the Sun Devils on Saturday. Washington lost a heartbreaker on Saturday to Oregon, in front of a packed house at home, and I'm not sure the Huskies have recovered from blowing a 16-point lead late in the second half.

Washington has talent, but relies too much on one player, freshman Isaiah Stewart. As good as he is, he can't do it all.

There won't be any reason to look ahead, either, since Utah owns Saturday's opponent, Washington State. The Pac-12’s second-longest active series win streak will be on the line when Utah hosts Wazzu, as the Utes have won 11 consecutive meetings against the Cougars.

Tonight, first things first, as Utah rolls past the Huskies.

5* UTAH

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Stephen DeAngelo

Easy complimentary winner Wednesday, as Dayton crushed St. Bonaventure, giving me my fifth freebie winner in the last seven days. For Thursday, we’ll turn our attention to the Big Ten and take the points with Indiana, which welcomes Michigan State to Assembly Hall in Bloomington.



I’m not going to try to argue that the Hoosiers are the better team here—they’re not. But it’s impossible to pass up a Big Ten team catching points at home … unless that team is Nebraska or Northwestern. Take out those two bottom-feeders (which are a combined 9-11 at home) and the other 12 teams in the league sport a combined 118-12 home record. That calculates out to a cool 90.8% winning clip. Among those dozen clubs, only Purdue (9-2) and Michigan (8-2) have as many as two home losses.



Indiana enters this one 11-1 on its home floor, the lone setback coming in its final non-conference game on Dec. 29 (71-64 to Arkansas as a 6½-point favorite). In Big Ten home games, the Hoosiers are 3-0; two of those victories were against the aforementioned bottom-feeders (Nebraska and Northwestern), while the other was a solid 12-point win over Ohio State.



The fact Indiana has defeated just two quality opponents on its own floor (Ohio State and Florida State) is the main reason this wasn’t my top play of the day. That said, I still think the Hoosiers offer value, because Michigan State (like every Big Ten squad) hasn’t shown me much as a visitor. The Spartans won at Oakland (big whoop) and Northwestern (by just five points), but in their last road trip they got murdered by Purdue 71-42—in fact, that’s Michigan State’s only road game since December 18 at Northwestern.


Additionally, Tom Izzo’s squad was underwhelming in a trio of neutral-site games, beating a bad UCLA team 75-62; squeaking past Seton Hall (76-73 as a 5½-point chalk); and falling to Kentucky (69-62 as a 3-point favorite). Not only that, but Michigan State has cashed just once in its last seven games away from East Lansing. Finally, Indiana is 3-0 ATS against the Spartans both in the last three meetings overall and the last three battles in Bloomington. The last time Michigan State left Indiana with the money? March of 2015.

3* INDIANA

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Bob Valentino

Thursday's free play is the un-rested Lakers as they make the quick road trip stop in Brooklyn after winning last night's road game at Madison Square Garden by 8 over the Knicks as the -11 point road chalk.

That win by Los Angeles followed their Monday loss in Boston to the Celtics.

The Lakers still have a Saturday stop in Philadelphia to go before they head back home and conclude this east coast road swing, but first a stop in Brooklyn for this Thursday night session with the Brooklyn Nets.

Willing to lay the road wood with Los Angeles who showed a much better defensive effort than their Monday night no-show in Boston against a Celtics team that posted 139 points on them in Anthony Davis' return to active duty.

L.A.'s win last not pushed them to 17-5 straight up on the road this year and they will be facing a Brooklyn team that just has not quite meshed this season after their solid showing last year.

The Nets have lost their last 4 games and have also been on the wrong side of the win/loss line in 11 of their last 13 both straight up and against the spread.

Brooklyn did sweep the 2 meetings last year both straight up and against the spread, as they won each game by 5-points. I don't see that happening this year, I don't see that happening at all!

Lay the road wood with Los Angeles as Brooklyn's disappointing season continues with another straight up and against the spread loss.

2* L.A. LAKERS

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Chris Jordan

My complimentary winner for Thursday is on the Los Angeles Lakers, laying the number on the road in Brooklyn, against the Nets. I rolled with the Lakers last night in Madison Square Garden for my freebie, and it lost. Tonight the number is easier, and I don't think there will be any problem on the second of back-to-back nights.

The Nets have lost four straight and 11 of 13. And while they rank 18th in allowing 111.6 points per game, during their four-game skid they've allowed 117, 117, 117 and 118 points.

And now the Nets are facing one of the league's best defenses, not to mention one of the NBA's best tandems in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

James scored 21 points last night in Manhattan, and enters tonight's game in Brooklyn with 33,599 points - 44 behind Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time scoring list. The question is whether or not he surpasses the mark tonight, or Saturday in Philadelphia, Kobe's hometown.

Davis, who is averaging a team-high 26.6 points per game, had 28 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in 30 minutes at New York.

With Davis, JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard off the bench defending the rim, and James and Danny Green locking things down on the perimeter, I don't see the Nets doing much tonight.

3* LAKERS