Bruce's Picks (1 Live)
In the Billikens' last game, an 85-75 win over USF last Saturday, we got a good idea what HC Josh Schertz preaches, as SLU racked up an impressive 20 assists compared to just 9 TOs. That's the latest example of how the Bills continue to be a smooth-running offensive machine, scoring at a 91 ppg clip with five DD scorers, all between 10-13 ppg, with BC transfer G Dion Brown leading the way. Meanwhile, Reggie Theus might have a SWAC contender at BCU, but the Wildcats aren't slowing the pace vs. top-shelf opposition, allowing 94 ppg vs. the five best foes (Auburn, Miami, Dayton, Indiana, Mizzou) faced thus far. Play BCU-SLU Over
Who's in...who's out? Questions here regarding both Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards as each listed as gametime decisions due to injuries tonight. In Ja's case, he returned two games ago for the Griz and didn't help in a loss to Utah, but Memphis weathered his distractive presence and whipped the Clips on Monday despite Ja twisting his ankle in 4th Q. As for Edwards (foot), the T-wolves have won their last two minus him. Which way to turn? The Grizzlies have definitely turned a corner in recent weeks, winning 8 of 11, and in case Ja doesn't feature that might even be a plus. If Edwards doesn't go for Minnesota, and with Mike Conley out, the Wolves could be thin in the backcourt. Play Grizzlies
There's no doubt it's a different Preds team lately, with more goals flying into the net and the over suddenly in focus. Clearing a number like 5.5 goals tonight looks well within Nashville's boundaries these days considering Pred scorelines have exceeded 5.5 in ten of the last eleven games. It's also overs in five straight, with Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg both having erupted within the past week, suggesting the higher-scoring might be here to stay for awhile. The most-recent meeting between these two ended 6-3 in Carolina's favor on December 6, and can envision a similar goal haul tonight in Music City. The Canes have scored at least three goals (with three shootouts, it must be added) their last four games. Play Canes-Preds Over
The past few weeks, only the powerhouse Avs have really slowed down the Preds, and even so, Nashville won last Tuesday over Colorado in OT at Bridgestone Arena before Nathan MacKinnon & Co reversed the result on Saturday in Denver. For the Preds, it's wins in seven of ten, a turnaround of significant proportions after languishing the first month-and-a-half of the season. The offense has come alive, scoring 18 times in the recent four-game span, with Filip Forsberg back in rhythm after his hat-trick in Monday's win over the Blues. The Canes enter Bridgestone Arena having won four straight but they are flying awfully close to the flame, with the last three of those requiring shootouts. Play Preds on Money Line
Penny Hardaway's untouchable status in Memphis might be due for review if the Tigers can't climb above .500 (they haven't yet). The latest indicator things might be amiss in the Bluff City was a blowout loss to Louisville, while Penny's latest portal forays don't seem to have replaced explosive G PJ Haggerty, now scoring in bunches for Kansas State, as an effective "trade" with the Wildcats for G Dug McDaniel (14.1 ppg) is tilted much in K-State's direction. (McDaniel is also Penny's only DD scorer.) Mark Byington's explosive Vandy looks a bad matchup, with the Dores rocketing at better than 95 ppg, with athleticism thru the roof since the addition of G Duke Miles (recently Oklahoma, but now on fourth school; 16.6 ppg). Play Vandy
It took a couple of weeks, but Richard Pitino finally has the X on course and on the ascent into Big East play. Five straight wins look a buy signal on the Musketeers, who among other things have been shooting their 3-balls a lot better than the first two weeks, hitting another 12 last Friday vs. Mizzou State and now better than 37% for the season, while ex-FAU PF Tre Carroll looks a potential "Beast of the Big East" after a recent 30-point show vs. crosstown Cincy. Meanwhile this looks a very downgraded Creighton side as Greg McDermott hasn't effectively replaced four DD scorers from last year's latest Big Dance qualifier, and missing the defensive presence 7-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner (now NBA Hornets) provided. Play Xavier
With a new coach and a mostly-new lineup, few Big West onlookers were expecting UCSD to replicate its 30 wins of a year ago. Yet promoted HC Clint Allard effectively mined the portal for a new look, including F Leo Beath (19.1 ppg) via FAU, and the Tritons still seem the best side in their loop. Scoring better than 84 ppg and hitting better than 50% from the floor and 40% beyond the arc, UCSD can connect from all angles, and has only stumbled at Nevada in a challenging early slate. Meanwhile, LMU's recent back-to-back losses vs. Stony Brook & Saint Louis suggest the Lions might be losing some steam. Play UCSD.
We're thinking that was a bit of an outlier (and that might be a big understatement) for a Sharks scoreline on Saturday in Pittsburgh, when San Jose made that whirlwind rally from 5-1 down in the third period to win 6-5 in OT. The previous four games had all landed exactly on five goals, and the Sharks could only mange 1 or 2 goals in four of the previous six games as they continue to look for consistent scoring from someone other than Macklin Celebrini. Meanwhile Calgary continued its low-scoring tendencies in Saturday's 2-1 win at LA, and GK Dustin Wolf has a 1.61 GAA in five December starts. Play Flames-Sharks Under
The Sharks probably didn't need a plane to fly home from Pittsburgh after that rousing 6-5 OT win on Saturday over the Penguins, rallying from 5-1 down in the third period. John Klingberg ended up scoring twice (including the winner) as San Jose got some offense from someone other than Macklin Celebrini. They're back at the Tank tonight facing a hot Flames bunch that's won three of four, but hard to trust Calgary's offense that's only scored more than Seattle in the West. Let's see if Sharks GK Yaroslav Askarov rediscovers his November form when posting a 1.88 GAA (December 4.55), and he's 10-4 his last fourteen starts. Play Sharks on Money Line
By a rather healthy margin, the Kraken remain the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, wallowing at just 74 goals into tonight. Having played just 30 games. Seattle has a couple of games in hand against most of the rest of the league, which might account for some of the disparity, but this sluggish offense is still scoring less than 2.5 goals pg. Joey Daccord (2.89 GAA) is doing his best in goal to keep scorelines respectable, but tonight he might have to blank the powerhouse Avs, as his Kraken teammates can't be expected to put many shots past Colorado counterpart Mackenzie Blackwood, considering his 2.19 GAA and .920 saves in 10 starts into tonight at Climate Pledge. Play Avs-Kraken Under
BYU is again being asked to chop lots of lumber in Provo, but results in recent weeks suggest the Cougs are up to the task. Competent recent visitors to the Marriott Center like Cal Baptist and UC Riverside have been run off the court as BYU has made it back into the top ten, fueled by last week's wild comeback win vs. Clemson at the Jimmy V Classic. Super frosh 6-9 AJ Dybantsa (20.9 ppg) is more than living up to the hype, and the Cougs kept extending the lead vs. UCR on Saturday as they hit 59% from the floor. Meanwhile, though UOP might be competitive at its own level in the middle of the WCC, matchups don't look promising here. Play BYU.
As Queens plays at only one speed--fast--the Royals might as well have Lando Norris as coach. The Formula 1 style preferred by Grant Leonard puts up lots of points (85 pg) but gives them up just as fast (86 pg), and Queens is even less inclined to touch the handbrake against power conference opposition, most recently throwing caution to the wind on Sunday at Wake Forest. The result was a 111-73 loss, the fourth time in six games that someone in a Queens game hit the century mark. We suppose many Razorbacks have eyes as big as saucers at this chance to score points, which John Calipari won't discourage, as the Porkers score even more rapidly (88.1 pg) than the Royals. Play Queens-Arkansas Over.
We've thought the Knicks could win the NBA Cup from the outset so not terribly surprised they've made it to the finals at T-Mobile. A veteran team that has knocked on the door in the playoffs, this is a chance to win something for NY and lay the groundwork for bigger things next spring. The Knicks are mostly healthy and the big guns are firing, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combining for 69 points in the semis win over the Magic on Saturday. Meanwhile we wonder if the Spurs are going to exhale after pitching a near perfect-game when knocking off favored OKC on Saturday, and Wemby, though activated, is likely still on a minutes restriction for SA. Play Knicks (at Las Vegas)
Friday turned into a double whammy for the Grizzlies. First, Zach Edey, whose return to active duty in November coincided with a Memphis revival, was out with an ankle injury. More impactful, negatively, was the return of Ja Morant from his calf strain. Maybe not coincidentally, the Griz has surged to seven wins in nine minus Ja's distracting presence, but upon his return on Friday, he continued his subpar 35% FG shooting (just 7 for 20) in a loss to the Jazz. Simply, Morant is an overwhelmingly negative presence that needs to be traded; in the meantime, we'll even back the Clips, who have had their own issues but did push Minnesota and Houston at the end of their recent road trip. Play Clippers.