Wise n' Shine: NBA picks, NHL predictions, XFL and college basketball best bets for Sunday, March 5

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Phil Agius

NBA

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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.

Good morning Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another super Sunday of sports. We have NBA, NHL and college basketball slates today, plus XFL, soccer, F1 and NASCAR action, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

Sixers snap Bucks’ 16-game win streak
The Bucks’ 16-game winning run was ended by the 76ers last night as the Sixers rallied from an 18-point deficit to win 133-130. The Timberwolves beat the Kings 138-134 and the Heat overcame the Hawks 117-109 in Saturday’s other key games.

Super Saturday of NHL picks
The Pickswise NHL team had a super Saturday, going 8-5-1 on our picks and cashing both of our 3-star plays — on the Senators’ 3-way ML as they beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 and over 7 in the Oilers vs Jets game, which Winnipeg won 7-5.

Alabama, Kansas and Baylor lose
Some high-ranked teams were beaten in Saturday’s college basketball action with Alabama losing 67-61 to Texas A&M, Kansas going down 75-59 to Texas and Baylor beaten 73-58 by Iowa State.

Great day of MLS picks
The MLS soccer season is in full swing now, and our cappers cashed all 3 of our 3-star plays on Saturday’s slate, thanks to wins by New England, Columbus and Seattle. That made it 4-0 on soccer Best Bets as our top EPL play of over 2.5 goals in Brighton vs West Ham also cashed. We also combined the 3 plays in our Saturday MLS parlay, which cashed at +317 odds.

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Today’s Slate

NBA doubleheaders on ABC and ESPN
You can watch NBA games all day today if you wish, with ABC showing Suns vs Mavericks at 1:00 pm ET and Warriors vs Lakers at 3:30 pm ET, while ESPN has Knicks vs Celtics at 7:30 pm ET and Grizzlies vs Clippers at 10:00 pm ET. There’s no shortage of storylines today with Steph Curry set to return for the Warriors while Kyrie Irving faces Kevin Durant for the first time after they were both traded from the Nets. Read today’s NBA picks.

5 games in the NHL
Today’s 5-game NHL slate starts with Lightning vs Hurricanes at 3:00pm on TNT, with Red Wings vs Flyers being shown on NHL Network at 6:00 pm ET. Read today’s NHL predictions.

Unbeaten teams clash in the XFL
Seattle fought back to cash our Sea Dragons -3 pick in a 30-26 win over the Vipers in yesterday’s XFL game and today we have the final games of Week 3 including a battle of unbeaten teams as the Battlehawks play the Defenders on FX and ESPN+ at 1:00 pm ET. Read our XFL predictions.

There’s college basketball, soccer, F1 and NASCAR too
Houston and Purdue are among the top college hoops teams taking the court today. Read today’s NCAAB predictions. We also have soccer picks for today’s EPL games, including Liverpool vs Manchester United at 11.30am ET on USA Network. It’s also a big day of auto racing, and we have F1 picks for the Bahrain Grand Prix and NASCAR predictions for today’s Pennzoil 400 race.

Best Bet of the Day

NBA: Milwaukee Bucks -4 over Washington Wizards
7:30 pm ET

Both these teams played last night but the Wizards lost to the Toronto Raptors in OT, so the rest advantage could be on Milwaukee’s side. Kyle Kuzma left the arena with a limp and losing their 3rd-leading scorer would be a huge blow for the Wizards. The Bucks were finally beaten last night and now they have to respond. They’re far more talented than the Wizards in every position, and Giannis and co. should bounce back in a big way. Check out our full Bucks vs Wizards predictions.

You can bet on Bucks -4 at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has thousands of betting options available and a great new customer offer where you can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your team wins! Click here to sign up for DraftKings.

Must-read

Today’s NHL mega parlay and hockey player props are ready to read and there’s a ton of help available for your NBA bets today with our NBA mega parlay and Same Game Parlays for the Suns vs Mavericks, Warriors vs Lakers and Grizzlies vs Clippers matchups. There’s also an XFL mega parlay which covers all 3 of today’s games.

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

Stat of the Day

The Warriors have covered the spread in their last 5 games.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook, check out Bet365, the world’s #1 sportsbook. They have an amazing sign-up offer where you can bet just $1 and instantly get $200 in bonus bets! There’s no catch, it’s really that simple. Click here to join Bet365 right now.

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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