Sam Avellone

CBB & CFB Contributor

Sam was born and raised in the Cleveland, Ohio area and now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina after spending nearly a decade in Nashville. He is a sports information and statistics aficionado, providing content to help improve your thought processes and decision-making when it comes to sports betting. He has been handicapping college basketball, college football and NFL for 10+ years, while growing his passion for golf, soccer and F1 in recent years. Sam considers himself a Cleveland sports fan, and, as an alum of South Carolina, is an avid Gamecocks fan - though he's not afraid to bet against his teams if the price is right!

Live Picks 3

Live Parlays 0

Weekly News Articles 0

Location

Nashville, TN

Favorite Sports

Favorite Teams

Greatest Betting Win

My favorite sports betting memory was during March Madness 2018 when Seton Hall hit a “meaningless” buzzer beater to cover the spread against Kansas. It was my first time being in Las Vegas for the tournament, and Hall was quite an unpopular pick in that game. The rollercoaster of emotions between Seton Hall backers and Kansas backers during the game was incredible.

Greatest Achievements

+53.83 units, March Madness 2023 69.23% winning percentage, NCAAF Bowl Season & Playoff 2021 +36.95 units, PGA matchup bets 2020 following COVID break Over +120 units across all NFL wagers since 2018.

Education

Sam hails from Cleveland, OH where he graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in 2010. In 2014, Sam graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Sports and Entertainment management.

Experience

Sam’s love for fantasy football and poker blossomed into a passion for sports betting in 2014 right around when he graduated from college. His focus quickly became college basketball, college football, and NFL in 2016 and he began handicapping those sports daily. Sam started recording his bets publicly in March of 2018 and has maintained overall profitability across all sports in that time. He even created his own sports blog in 2018 and contributed to it for a season, which ignited his passion for sports writing and content. Sam’s first year with Pickswise was in 2021 when he started as a college basketball writer, and he now covers college football as well.

Favorite betting market / type

Underdog Money Line, Anytime TD Scorer (NFL)

Favorite bookmakers

Sam's Picks

Run Line Pick

LA Dodgers -1.5(+116)

Reasoning

The Mets have lost 6 straight to drop to 7-10 after Monday’s 4-0 loss to the Dodgers, and it won’t get any easier for them on Tuesday with Los Angeles sending Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound. Yamamoto has been mortal through his first 3 starts, but he’s still dealing, earning a quality start in all 3 outings. His starts against Toronto and Arizona show his upside – 6 innings each with 3 combined earned runs and 12 strikeouts – as he comes into this game with a 2.50 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP.

The Mets will counter with Nolan McLean, a 24-year old right-handed pitcher that has been pretty good thus far, holding a 2.70 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Through 16.2 innings this season, he has allowed 5 runs and 6 walks among 20 strikeouts and just 8 hits. That said, his games came against Arizona, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. This LA lineup is obviously a different beast.

I’m not going to try to catch a falling knife with New York on this losing streak, especially against Yamamoto and the Dodgers. Only 3 of New York’s 10 losses were by 1 run, while just 3 of LA’s 12 wins were by exactly 1 run. Why would you lay -200 on the ML if these teams aren’t playing close games? If you like the Dodgers, take the run line.

Mets vs Dodgers prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (+116) at the time of publishing. Playable to +105.

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Sam Avellone

Game Totals Pick

Over 8.5(-115)

Reasoning

After a 4-game win streak that included a sweep of the Astros in Colorado, the Rockies have fallen back to Earth. They have lost 4 straight game, a 4-game sweep against the Padres, and will now face the Astros again — this time in Houston. Things haven’t gotten much better for the Astros since last week; they have lost 8 straight games, and they failed to score more than 2 runs in half of them.

Right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen will take the hill for Colorado, while Houston will go with left-hander Colton Gordon. Houston saw Lorenzen last week, but they couldn’t score on him despite 7 hits. Through 5.2 innings, Lorenzen gave up just 1 run. Meanwhile, Gordon will make his first start of the season in the big leagues. Last season was forgettable for Gordon (5.34 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 20 games), but he showed some promise in Spring Training, giving up just 1 earned run in 5.1 innings.

Lorenzen may have had a great showing last week against Houston, but his 8.36 ERA suggests that was an anomaly. He probably should regress back to the mean, but with an xERA at 6.19 and a xFIP at 4.52, he still figures to allow baserunners frequently. Furthermore, I have to see Gordon succeed in the MLB before I can trust him. I’m expecting runs in this game; let’s take the over.

Rockies vs Astros prediction: Over 8.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120.

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National Championship Winner Pick

Notre Dame to win 2027 Nat Champ(+750)

Reasoning

The Fighting Irish are in a prime position to run the table next year, with their most difficult challenge also being a massive revenge spot against Miami – this time in South Bend. You best believe that game is already circled for Marcus Freeman’s squad. Outside of the Hurricanes, Notre Dame’s most challenging games will be against SMU and BYU. Frankly, it would be shocking if the Irish struggled with the rest of their opponents. I expect this squad to be laser-focused and seeking revenge after being left out of the College Football Playoff, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the country, considering Freeman has led the Irish to the title game already.

When comparing Notre Dame’s price to the others around it on the board, it’s a no-brainer. In-state rival and national champion Indiana will have to replace their Heisman-winning quarterback and multiple key contributors, and the Hoosiers will have to play teams like Ohio State, Michigan, and USC along the way. Speaking of Ohio State, the co-favorite Buckeyes will have 3 of the top 5 teams on the odds board on their schedule next year, making their price very unappealing. In addition to OSU, Texas will have to play Oklahoma, Ole Miss, LSU and Texas A&M. Oregon’s path is a bit less daunting than Ohio State’s and Texas’, but the Ducks still have to play Washington, Ohio State, Michigan and USC in their quest to reach their 3rd straight College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame projects to have plenty of returning talent and depth, especially across the offensive line, linebackers and secondary. CJ Carr will be back at quarterback, and while his running mates in the backfield will look a bit different next year, the group is still loaded with highly recruited running backs that have awaited their turn behind Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, as well as stud freshmen like Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne. Carr’s targets will consist of another deep tight end room – a Notre Dame staple – and a very talented wide receiver room led by seasoned veterans in Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison, accompanied by multiple 4-star freshmen. If there were any holes in this roster, Freeman and his staff filled them with a very strong transfer portal class headlined by CB Jayden Sanders (Michigan) and a former 5-star WR in Quincy Porter (Ohio State).

A few other teams stand out to me as solid long-shot bets at their price like Penn State (75/1, bet365) and South Carolina (250/1, BetMGM), but Notre Dame feels like the team with the most win equity heading into the 2026 season.

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Sam Avellone