Wise n' Shine: College football picks, NBA predictions and NHL best bets for Saturday, December 31

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Phil Agius

NCAAF

Show Bio

I've been writing about the NFL and a host of other sports for the UK's top daily betting paper the Racing Post for more than 20 years. An incurable Browns fan (1-31 survivor), I also specialise in all kinds of motorsport betting including F1, MotoGP, IndyCar and NASCAR. For Phil Agius media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Welcome to a super Saturday of sport as we say goodbye to 2022 in style. We have a New Year’s Eve lineup headlined by the College Football Playoff semifinals and supported by NBA, NHL, college basketball games and EPL soccer. Let’s get straight to making your next bet better!

About Last Night

Perfect night of NBA props
Pickswise props expert Bobby “Prop Holliday” Stanley set up a strong end to the year with a 3-0 night on his NBA prop picks, We also went 6-3 on our over/under picks including easy overs on the high-scoring wins for the Kings over the Jazz (126-125) and the Lakers over the Hawks (130-121).

NHL parlay cashes on a 5-1 day
We went 5-1 on our Friday NHL picks, including a 3-star play on over 6.5 in Oilers vs Kraken, which the Kraken covered on their own in a 7-2 win. Our NHL parlay (Predators ML, Hurricanes 3-way ML and the over in Seattle) also cashed at +461 odds.

Tennessee crushes Clemson in Orange Bowl
There were some close finishes in Friday’s bowl games, with Maryland beating NC State 16-12, Pittsburgh beating UCLA 37-35 after losing the lead with 34 seconds left and Ohio squeezing past Wyoming 30-27 in overtime, while Tennessee crushed Clemson 31-14 in an all-orange Orange Bowl.

NCAAB Best Bet wins
Our 3-star NCAAB Best Bet of Miami -2.5 was a no-sweat bet as the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame 76-65.

Today’s Slate

It’s semifinal Saturday
The College Football Playoff games are finally here, with TCU vs Michigan at 4:00 pm ET followed by Ohio State vs Georgia at 8:00 pm ET, both on ESPN. Check out today’s NCAAF picks.

9 games in the NBA
We have a 9-game slate today in the NBA, including Clippers vs Pacers at 3:00 pm ET and Pelicans vs Grizzlies at 8:00 pm ET. Check out today’s NBA predictions.

Huge NHL slate
The rinks will be busy across the NHL with 12 Saturday games, including Sabres vs Bruins at 1:00 pm ET and Jets vs Oilers at 10:00 pm ET. Check out today’s NHL picks.

There’s college hoops and soccer too
UConn, Arizona, Kansas, Houston and Texas are among the top college basketball teams in action today and we have NCAAB picks for all the big games, while we also have soccer predictions for today’s 6 EPL games.

NFL Week 17 Promo Codes

Find all the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes and Bonuses for NFL Week 17, including sportsbooks live in your state.

Best Bet of the Day

NCAAF: Michigan Wolverines -7.5 over TCU Horned Frogs
4:00 pm ET, ESPN

TCU gives up nearly 150 rushing yards per game and, combined with the size of the Wolverine offensive line, the biggest mismatch is in the trenches, where Michigan has a clear physical advantage. TCU will need to be explosive to have any chance to win, but the Horned Frogs have not faced a defense of this caliber this season. There likely will be little running room for TCU running back Kendre Miller, as Michigan has the 3rd-best run defense in the nation. Michigan averages the 4th-best time of possession in the nation and their run game should be too much for TCU to slow down. The Wolverines are more physical and can grind down the smaller Horned Frogs’ defense. Read our full TCU vs Michigan predictions.

Must-watch

Be sure to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET.

Lauren Jbara and Mark Zinno are your hosts today and they will be focusing on every angle of today’s huge college football games before giving out their Plays of the Day.

You can also access the show at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).

The Week 17 edition of Pickwise Playbook, our weekly NFL preview show, is also available, featuring former NFL star Tank Williams, so be sure to check that out, too!

Must-read

We have NCAAF best bets for today’s college football games, plus Same Game Parlays for TCU vs Michigan and Ohio State vs Georgia. Our Saturday NBA mega parlay is also available, along with our NHL mega parlay and hockey player props.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s NFL Week 17 games, we have a Week 17 NFL mega parlay and Prop Holliday’s best NFL prop bets.

Read all of our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

Nine of Ohio State’s last 10 games have gone over the total.

Boost of the Day

Both Alabama and Michigan to win

FanDuel Sportsbook has enhanced the odds of a college football parlay today of Alabama (vs Kansas State) and Michigan (vs TCU) both winning their games, boosting the odds from -130 to +150.

Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, MLB Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.

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