Wise n' Shine: NBA picks, NHL predictions and college basketball best bets for Wednesday, January 4

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Ricky Dimon

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Since graduating from Davidson (The College That Stephen Curry Built), I have been writing about sports -- just about any and all you can think of! -- and coaching tennis in Atlanta, GA. Beyond the four major sports, I am an avid tennis fan and cover the ATP Tour on a daily basis. If I'm not busy writing, you can generally find me on a tennis court or traveling the world wherever a sporting event takes me. For Ricky Dimon media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Good morning, Pickswise Nation. College football bowl season is on hiatus until Monday’s National Championship and we are in between weeks in the NFL, but there is still plenty to discuss for Wednesday. The menu is full when it comes to the NBA, NHL, college basketball and soccer. It’s another big day in the world of sports, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine! 

About Last Night

Oklahoma City pins 150 on Boston
Even without SGA, OKC destroyed Boston 150-117. The Thunder put 7 players in double figures, including 5 guys with at least 21 points. In other results, Milwaukee held off Washington 123-113 and Sacramento scraped past Utah 117-115.

Tkachuk gets a hat-trick
One of our best NHL player prop bets was on Matthew Tkachuk over 1.5 points in Florida’s game against Arizona. Well, he had no trouble doing that! Tkachuk delivered a hat-trick and also recorded an assist as the Panthers prevailed 5-3.

College basketball parlay cashes
It was a successful day at the offense for Pickswise’s college basketball experts. They were a combined 8-4 on sides and totals while cashing a +612 parlay thanks in part to Tennessee’s resounding 87-53 blowout of Mississippi State. 

Super soccer picks
The Pickswise soccer team went 3-1 on Tuesday EPL plays including plus-money wins by Brighton (+110) and Leicester (+145).

Today’s Slate

12 games in the NBA
To say that the NBA is beginning the new year with a bang would be an understatement. A whopping 12 games are on Wednesday’s schedule, headlined by a doubleheader on TNT. The Bucks are going up against the Raptors and the Lakers are facing the Heat. Don’t miss any of our NBA picks. 

NHL doubleheader on TNT
There are only 3 games in the NHL on Wednesday, but 2 make up a doubleheader on TNT. The Devils are visiting the Red Wings before the Wild entertain the Lightning. You can find our hockey coverage on the NHL page.

Duke, North Carolina both taking the court
It is another big night in the ACC; Duke is visiting NC State, North Carolina is hosting Wake Forest and Clemson is paying a visit to Virginia Tech. Here are our college basketball predictions.

Don’t sleep on the Premier League
The World Cup may be in the rearview mirror, but soccer never stops. English Premier League action has resumed and there are 4 games on Wednesday’s menu. The schedule includes a London derby game between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace (3:00 pm ET, USA Network). Check out all of our soccer picks. 

Best Bet of the Day

NCAAB: Missouri Tigers +7.5 (-110) over Arkansas Razorbacks
8:30 pm ET, SECN 

Arkansas has two respectable losses: one to Creighton and the other to LSU last Saturday. Missouri has only one loss, and that was to Kansas. Since then the Tigers have beaten UCF, Illinois and Kentucky. They should have the nation’s attention. Mizzou can cover on Wednesday for several reasons. First, the Tigers are better than people think they are. The market is still treating them like pretenders and it looks like we have enough evidence now that we need to take them seriously. Second, Arkansas is missing 2 really important players in Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith Jr. Missouri features a top-5 scoring offense, so it’s hard to see them losing by more than 7. Check out our full Missouri vs Arkansas predictions. 

Must-read

As the new year begins, we are both reflecting back and looking forward at the same time. Here is our list of worst “bad beats” of 2022 — a special end-of-year story documenting some of the toughest losses for bettors – while Jared Smith has already analyzed the NFL Week 18 betting market and we have previews for Titans vs Jaguars that will decide the AFC South title and for the TCU vs Georgia National Championship. 

Meanwhile, be sure to read our NBA mega parlay, college basketball mega parlay, NHL player props and Diane Knox Balas’ best bets for the Sentry Tournament of Champions. 

Check out more great content as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab. 

Must-watch

Don’t forget to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It! on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET. 

Jared Smith and Mark Zinno are your hosts today and they will be joined by Jim Root (@2ndChancePoints), college basketball analyst for 3 Man Weave, The Field of 68 and Action Network. There will be a breakdown of NFL line moves and conference championship odds, college basketball discussion and – as always – Plays of the Day.

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

Stat of the Day

The over is 8-0 in the Spurs’ last 8 games. 

Quote of the Day

“We’re trying to be perfect and we’re trying to do everything that we can to make every play perfect. And when it’s not — win or lose — we’re not happy with it.”

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is setting high standards

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

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