Bruce's Picks (5 Live)
We've used Queens and over several times together in the past few years and Grant Leonard's go-go team is still performing in the same uptempo style. The Royals are popping once again at a near 84 ppg clip, shooting better than 48% from the floor and nearly 38% beyond the arc. Help from 6-9 Georgia Southern transfer Avantae Parker (10.4 ppg) has provided an interior scoring presence that has helped Queens spread out the floor better ion halfcourt sets, and taking advantage is bombs-away G Chris Ashby, hitting better than 41% of his triples. Meanwhile, SCSU is winless at 0-10 and absorbing some heavy beatings while allowing 88.2 ppg, ranking 355th nationally. Play SCSU-Queens Over
Last Friday's 79-74 win over Cincy in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout was the latest indictor that Richard Pitino has Xavier on the ascent. FAU transfer F Tre Carroll's 30 points was another reminder of the match-winners on Pitino's Musketeers, who have improved 3-point shooting to near 37% after the X was hovering around 25% earlier in the season. Well-traveled G Richie Anderson III also scored 28 in a recent cruise past St Francis-Pa. Meanwhile, not sure how much progress Cuonzo Martin is making at Mizzou State, as the Bears have taken some lumps away from Springfield, such as the 98-74 loss at Tulsa last Saturday. Cuonzo's team also isn't helping itself with subpar 29.7% shooting beyond the arc. Play Xavier.
We can't resist getting Florida at this sort of a price, even plus a goal. The Panthers seem to have righted their ship with wins in three straight, including last night in Salt lake City over the Mammoth. The offense has started to percolate, scoring 15 times (including an OT goal) in the three-game uptick. Paul Maurice has tabbed Daniel Tarasov to start in goal after stopping 20 of 21 shots in a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Ave are still scary but they have lost games lately (3 of 7) and have been involved in three OT/shootouts, plus another one-goal game, in the past two weeks. Play Panthers on Puck Line
Perhaps NDSU is one of the Summit League favorites, and the Bison have been winning lately, but recent successes haven't been always comfy, such as last Saturday's 1-point escape vs. Northern Arizona. Western Michigan transfer G Markhi Strickland is leading NDSU with 14.6 ppg but doesn't shoot 3s, where the Bison (barely 32% from deep) could use some more help. Meanwhile, Rod Barnes' Bakersfield has taken a few lumps but also hasn't lost yet on the blue floor of its Icardo Center, where it is 3-0 this season. Barnes might have found a nice sleeper from the portal in ex-Alabama A&M G Dailin Smith, leading the Roadrunners at 17.1 ppg. Play CS Bakersfield
ACC sources suggest the 'Cuse's trio of losses at the Players Era were more the result of top-tier opposition. Perhaps; in last week's ACC/SEC Challenge, the Orange returned home to take down 13th-ranked Tennessee, with frosh Nate Kingz leading the way with 19 points. With 6-9 Donnie Freeman (17 ppg) reportedly still sidelined, Adrian Autry is finding offense from Kingz and soph G JJ Starling, who has five straight DD scoring efforts coming into tonight. Meanwhile, St Joe's still adjusting after HC Billy Lange left for the NBA Knicks on the eve of the season (ex-Penn HC Steve Donahue now in charge). Three games away from Hawk Hill have resulted in losses by nearly 20 ppg. Play Syracuse.
The Rockets have a chance to respond after a poor effort last Saturday in a 122-109 loss vs. the Mavs. Five days off since might prove a perfect re-set opportunity, and Houston has also fared very well off of defeats this season, winning and covering in impressive fashion after their last four losses. The Rockets also were victimized by uncommon 60% Dallas FG shooting last weekend. Importantly, the Rockets are also mostly healthy into tonight. As for the Clips, a few improved efforts lately, and they do have Kawhi Leonard available, but they've lost 8 of their last 9 with Kawhi on the floor, and LA has dropped 16 of 19 overall in a numbing fall from grace. Play Rockets.
It's fair to speculate if the Hawkeyes can really keep pace in "Hoops Cy-Hawk" after Iowa lost contact vs. Michigan State last week. The task of slowing ISU's offense (better than 94 ppg and hitting north of 54% from the floor) will likely come down to how well Ben McCollum's offense controls pace and tempo, and preventing the Cyclones from deploying their devastating transition game that helped bury top-ranked Purdue last Saturday. Easier said than done, but even if winning the game might a real stretch for Iowa, McCollum's team can slow the pace as good as any, and with four starters (including star G Bennett Stirtz) hitting better than 50% from the floor, the Hawkeyes can afford to be patient. Play Iowa-ISU Under
Winnipeg is not to be trusted as a favorite at the moment. Losses in four of five are the evidence, and there have been some reasons for the downturn, mainly the injury to GK Connor Hellebuyck, which continues to keep him on the shelf. Eric Comrie is doing his best but he's not Hellebuyck, and his December stat line isn't great...only one win in five, with a 3.77 GAA and .878 saves. Meanwhile, the Bruins hit the Jets tonight having won three straight, and GK Joonas Korpisalo (in the nets tonight) is off of one of his best efforts, stopping 37 of 39 shots in a 5-2 win over the Blues last Thursday. Play Bruins on Money Line
The Preds bottomed out a couple of weeks ago but have been on the ascent since. Wins in five of seven, including recent successes at defending champ Panthers and home vs. the mighty Avs on Tuesday, suggest the worst is behind as the offense has certainly shifted gears. Steven Stamkos was recently on the scoresheet in consecutive outings and looks to be very much into the offensive flow as Andrew Brunette suddenly appears to be pushing the right buttons. Meanwhile, just when it looks like the Blues might be ready for a turnaround, they stumble as they did on Tuesday at home vs. Bruins. Jordan Binnington also up-and-down in goal, as his uninspiring season-long stats (3.29 GAA, .875 saves) suggests). Play Preds on Puck Line
It's been a pretty potent under combination for the Sharks ..good work in goal and subpar work on offense. Three straight San Jose games have landed on 4-1 scorelines, all under results, as has been the case in 13 of the Sharks' last 17 games. Alex Nedeljkoic has been serviceable enough when in goal as he is tonight, with a GAA of 2.66 and saves at .908 since the beginning of November. As for the Leafs, with Joseph Woll now on the shelf, and Anthony Stolarz out for the past four weeks, Dennis Hildeby has been getting a look in goal and hasn't responded badly, with a 2.16 GAA and .936 saves in six starts. Play Sharks-Maple Leafs Under