Wise n' Shine: NBA picks, NHL predictions and college basketball best bets for Thursday, January 19

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Phil Agius

NFL

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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Good morning, Pickswise Nation! The NBA heads across the Atlantic to Paris for a game today, while back at home there’s an NBA Finals rematch, plus NHL and college basketball. We also have EPL soccer, golf and tennis on the schedule, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

4-1 night on NBA props
Pickswise props expert Bobby “Prop Holliday” Stanley crushed his NBA player props on Wednesday’s slate, going 4-1. On the court, the Grizzlies edged out the Cavaliers 115-114 while Nikola Jokic’s 31-point triple-double gave the Nuggets their 15th straight home win, 122-118 over the Timberwolves.

Goal glut in the NHL
At least one team scored 4 goals in all 5 of Wednesday’s NHL’s games, including the Senators beating the Penguins 5-4 in a shootout, while the Sharks upset the stars 5-3.

College hoops Best Bet wins
Our 3-star play of over 141 in Colorado State vs San Diego State cashed as the Aztecs won 82-76. It was not a great day for ranked teams, with UConn, Xavier and TCU all losing.

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Today’s Slate

NBA heads to Paris
There are just 5 NBA games tonight, but that includes the Bulls vs Pistons matchup in Paris at 3:00pm ET on NBA TV, plus an NBA Finals rematch between the Warriors and Celtics at 7:30 pm ET on TNT. Nets vs Suns is also on TNT at 10:00 pm ET. Check out today’s NBA picks.

Big slate in the NHL
We have a strong Thursday slate in the NHL with 13 games, including Lightning vs Oilers on ESPN at 9:00 pm ET. Read today’s NHL picks.

College hoops, soccer, golf and tennis action
Purdue, UCLA and Gonzaga are among the NCAAB teams taking the court tonight and you can read today’s college basketball picks. There’s also a big EPL game at 3:00pm ET on Peacock with Tottenham vs Manchester City and you can read our soccer picks. We also have golf predictions for the American Express from our expert Diane Knox Balas, and Australian Open tennis picks from Ricky Dimon, who has made a red-hot start to the tournament.

Best Bet of the Day

NHL: Nashville Predators vs St. Louis Blues Over 6
8:00 pm ET, ESPN+

This game is evenly matched and should be tight the whole way. The Predators have a great chance to up their scoring rate against a weak defense, while they are mediocre defensively and in net themselves. It’s not likely that either team will reach 5 or more goals, but there’s a strong chance that they will go over this number between them. Check out our full Predators vs Blues predictions.

You can bet on today’s NHL slate at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has a great sign-up offer where you can bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets instantly! Click here to take advantage and get your bonus bets right now. 

Must-watch

Enhance your betting knowledge by watching our daily show Let’s Bet It!, available at 10:00 am ET on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise.

Lauren Jbara and Jared Smith are your hosts today and they will be joined by Jim Root (@2ndChancePoints), of 3 Man Weave, The Field of 68 and Action Network, to look at the best bets for today’s college basketball before the team look ahead to the weekend NFL and reveal their Plays of the Day.

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

Also, don’t miss the Week 18 episode of Pickswise Playbook, as Lauren, Jared and ex-NFL star Tank Williams dive into the key matchups for this week.

Must-read

You can read our Thursday NBA mega parlay and Same Game Parlays for Bulls vs Pistons and Warriors vs Celtics in our NBA section, while today’s NHL mega parlay is also available.

Looking ahead to the weekend NFL playoff games, our coverage is starting to build up including Prop Holliday’s best prop plays for Saturday games between the Jaguars vs Chiefs and Giants vs Eagles.

Look out for more great betting content as it comes in throughout the day on our Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The 76ers have beaten the Trail Blazers only once in the teams’ last 9 meetings at the Moda Center..

Quote of the Day

“That’s a game that you’re gonna remember for forever, so to do that and have that story to tell for years to come was pretty special”

— Lightning captain Steven Stamkos scored his 500th career goal on his way to a hat-trick against the Canucks.

You can bet on all today’s sports at PointsBet Sportsbook, which has a great new customer offer where you can get up to $500 in second-chance bets! Click here to take advantage.

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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