Bruce's Picks (3 Live)
Bruce's Past Picks
Not sure what has gotten into the Sharks lately, but goals have been flying into the net in this wild road trip. After losing their first ten away, and scoring all of SIX goals in the process, San Jose has won three of four on this road swing, and scored an improbable 22 goals across these last four road games. Vet Tomas Hertl scored twice in the OT win at Detroit on Friday, with the emerging Fabian Zetterlund scoring again as well. None of these last four games has landed beneath nine goals, either, and wondering if Vegas will be as intense as Saturday when rolling the Stars in Dallas. Play Sharks-Golden Knights "Over"
Recent Cowboys-Eagles games have tended to be higher-scoring affairs and have in fact landed on the "over" side in six straight matchups, including last month's 28-23 Birds win in Philly. The number has increased a bit for the rematch but Dallas looks well capable of upholding its end of the bargain as Dak Prescott has enjoyed good success at home in his career vs. the Eagles. Note how many points the Cowboys have been scoring at home this season while going "over" 5-1 the first six at Arlington (41.5 ppg as host). Jalen Hurts will surely have the Birds in chase mode as this game is likely played in the 30s...or higher. Play Eagles-Cowboys "Over"
Big points here, but we go ahead and lay them anyway with Wazzu, which to this point has been better than anyone could have envisioned. Credit HC Kyle Smith after the Cougs seemed to be strafed by the transfer portal, but instead they're scoring 80.1 ppg, have only lost vs. ranked Mississippi State, and have uncovered a couple of stars-to-be in frosh G Myles Rice (16.3 ppg) and Idaho transfer PF Isaac Jones (15.1 ppg). Note that Grambling has lost all six vs. D-I non-SWAC opposition by nearly 27 ppg. Play Washington State
With just one win in their last eleven, picking the right spot with the Ducks can be treacherous. Effort, however, has not been lacking from Greg Cronin's troops, off of a couple of bitter losses on the road after beating the AVs in their last home game at Honda Center. The Puck Line with the Ducks has also worked four straight times, and John Gibson (2.82 GAA) still very capable of keeping Anaheim in a game. Fair to wonder about a possible flat spot here for Winnipeg after back-to-back wins over the Canes and Avs. Play Ducks on Puck Line
Tough quick turnaround here for the Kings who were beaten in overtime at Belmont Park by the Isles last night. The same could be said for the Rangers, who also must get back to Manhattan from D.C. after last night's loss to the Caps, but that 4-0 blanking ought to serve as a wake-up call for Peter Laviolette's troops, who have now lost two straight for the first time this season. The Rangers are 8-2 at home, however, and Artemi Panarin should be extra-focused after his own rare blanking on the scoresheet last night. Play Rangers on Money Line
The Broncos' 5-game win streak came to an abrupt halt last week at Houston, but not until Russell Wilson came within a few yards of stealing the game in the last minute. Denver's defense has been stout enough across the past six weeks, and once figuring out CJ Stroud last week had the Texans offense in a strait-jacket. Not impressed with much of anything about the Chargers right now, fortunate as they are to walk out of Foxborough with a 6-0 win last week. Justin Herbert has been apt to make mistakes, and this is the AFC West side that Denver has had some success against lately (Broncos 5-3 SU and vs. line since 2019 vs. Bolts). Play Broncos
Hanging on the edge of the AFC playoff picture, the Raiders can be effectively knocked out with another loss. That's coming, but maybe not here, especially as Vegas has been tougher to beat at Allegiant Stadium, where it ahs won four of its last five. Off of a bye week, the Raiders are also off back-to-back losses to the Dolphins and Chiefs, but Josh Jacobs did get going again vs. KC, breaking off a 63-yard TD run. The Vikings are also off of a bye but wobbling, as the Joshua Dobbs magic has run out the past two games vs. the broncos and especially the Bears the previous Monday, with turnover problems now arising. Play Raiders
Chris Beard is already making a difference at Ole Miss, with the Rebs off to a flying 8-0 start this season. They're still awaiting eligibility word on Georgetown transfer G Brandon Murray, but ex-Ok State C Moussa Cisse was recently cleared and has already helped the Rebs on the stop end, where Beard can also plus in 7-5 Jamarion Sharp (ex-WKU). Beard's other portal adds, ex-Auburn G Allen Flanigan (18 ppg) and ex-St Peter's G Jaylen Murray (15.3 ppg), have both plugged in effectively. Meanwhile, Johnny Dawkins' UCF has stumbled vs. its toughest tests and can expect more problems when it enters rugged Big 12 play. Play Ole Miss
Jim Larranaga back in his long-ago stomping grounds with this Sunday feature at the Barclays Center. So far, so good for the Canes save for one poor effort vs Kentucky, and Coach L pleased that former support pieces like Gs Wooga Poplar (team-best 16.5 ppg) and Bensley Jospeh (9.1 ppg) plus Florida State transfer wing Matthew Cleveland (15 ppg) have smoothly stepped into featured roles. Miami is also shooting 51.3% from the floor, one of the best marks (10th) in the country, giving PG deluxe Nijel Pack plenty of options. Need more convincing on Tad Boyle's Buffs, who have dropped their two toughest games to date (Florida State and CSU). Play Miami
It's been a couple of weeks since we've seen Alcorn State, but at that point we were definitely looking "over" for games involving the Braves, who had crashed that way in six of their first seven against D-I opposition. Defense, or lack thereof, is the big issue; allowing 85.1 ppg, Alcorn ranks a lowly 347 out of 351, while foes hit almost 49% of their FG tries, which ranks 337. Not good! Ryan Odom's VCU, off of a high-scoring loss to Memphis, will welcome the chance to get clearer looks, and a chance for Utags transfer G Max Shulga to snap an 8 for 29 FG funk the past two games. Play Alcorn State-VCU "Over"
They haven't been this excited for a while at Princeton, with the 8-0 start causing some oldtimers to dream wistfully of the Bill Bradley days. But there have been some close calls for Mitch Henderson's troops and this might be the toughest test yet. That's because St. Joe's is back, with the Hawks showing life for the first time post-Phil Martelli, as Billy Lange looks to have finally turned the corner on Hawk Hill. St. Joe's has already won the Big Five, pushed Kentucky to OT in Lexington, and features five double-digit scorers led by jr G Erik Reynolds II (16.2 ppg). Note sure he Tigers survive this one after the recent one-point win over Furman. Play St Joe's
The Rams have reappeared in the NFC wild card race after three straight wins, but those successes deserve some examination. The home win over Seattle was fortunate on November 19; the win at Arizona expected on Nov. 26, as Sean McVay has yet to lose a game in Glendale. Last week, LA was gifted the Browns with Joe Flacco making his first start after signing just days previously. No such luck this week vs. the rested Ravens, in position to secure home-field playoff edge on the AFC side and unlike last year with a healthy Lamar Jackson for December. The last two NFC entries that visited M&T Bank Stadium, the Lions and Seahawks, were beaten a combined 75-9. Play Ravens