Wise n' Shine: NFL picks, NBA predictions, NHL and college basketball best bets for Thursday, December 8

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Phil Agius

NFL

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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. For Phil Agius media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Good morning, Pickswise Nation! NFL Week 14 starts tonight and we also have NBA, NHL and college basketball on the schedule today, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

Awesome day on the ice
Our NHL experts were in fine form on Wednesday, going 6-2-1 on picks, 2-1 on best bets, 2-0 on NHL player props, and cashing our Wednesday NHL parlay at +686 odds! The Bruins beat the Avalanche 4-0 and the Sabres scored 6 goals in the first period of a 9-4 win over the Blue Jackets.

Totals domination in the NBA
The Pickswise team went 8-3 on the over/unders for Wednesday’s 11-game NBA slate, including cashing our 3-star play of over 235.5 in Pacers vs Timberwolves, which just got home as the Pacers won 121-115. We also went 3-1 on NBA player props. The Celtics beat the Suns 125-98 to move to 21-5, while the Magic got their 6th win of the season after overtime against the Clippers.

Purdue and UConn stay perfect
Purdue (9-0) and UConn (10-0) both stayed unbeaten in Wednesday’s college hoops action, but while the Huskies covered a 4.5-point line in a 75-54 win over Florida, the Boilermakers fell just short of covering 22 points in an 85-66 victory over Hofstra.

Today’s Slate

NFL Week 14 is here
The Super Bowl champions feature on Thursday Night Football, but the 3-9 Los Angeles Rams don’t look like the team that lifted the Lombardi Trophy. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp will again be missing as the Rams take on the 5-7 Las Vegas Raiders at 8:15 pm ET on Amazon Prime. Read our expert’s Raiders vs Rams predictions.

NBA TV has a doubleheader
There are just 3 NBA games tonight, but NBA TV is showing Clippers vs Heat at 7:30 pm ET and Nuggets vs Trail Blazers at 10:00 pm ET. Check out today’s NBA picks.

Exciting NHL matchups
We have only a 5-game NHL slate today, but there are some decent matchups including Predators vs Lightning, Kings vs Maple Leafs, Red Wings vs Panthers and Jets vs Blues, with the action starting at 7:00pm ET. Read today’s NHL picks.

College hoops action
Rutgers plays Ohio State at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN2, while it’s Iowa State vs Iowa on FS1 at 7:30 pm ET. Read today’s college basketball picks.

Best Bet of the Day

NCAAB: Michigan Wolverines -4.5 over Minnesota Golden Gophers
9:00 pm ET, BTN

The Michigan Wolverines are on the road at Minnesota in an early Big 10 bout and Michigan should be favored by much more than 4.5 points. Minnesota has not beaten a significant opponent yet and has lost 3 straight to Virginia Tech, Purdue and UNLV. The Golden Gophers might get better as the year goes on, but right now, they have one dependable player in Jamison Battle and a mostly young, new, or inexperienced supporting cast. On the other side of the ball, Michigan has one of the better big men in the country in Hunter Dickinson. Check out our full Michigan vs Minnesota predictions.

NFL Week 14 Promo Codes

Find all the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes and Bonuses for NFL Week 14, including sportsbooks live in your state.

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 Pickwise NFL props expert Bobby “Prop Holliday” Stanley to look at the best bets for Thursday Night Football. They’ll also be finding the best bets for today’s college basketball games and revealing 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 14 episode of Pickswise Playbook, as Lauren, Jared and ex-NFL star Tank Williams dive into the key matchups for this week. You can watch the full show on our YouTube channel or watch the section on Thursday Night Football below:

Must-read

Our Thursday Night Football package includes Clevta’s best bets for the game, our Raiders vs Rams Same Game Parlay, TNF player prop picks from Prop Holliday and our best TD scorer bets.

We have a Clippers vs Heat Same Game Parlay in our NBA section, while today’s NHL mega parlay and NHL player props are also available. The World Cup soccer quarterfinals start tomorrow morning and you can check out our World Cup predictions for all 4 games.

There’s always plenty more great betting content on our Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The Raiders are 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games as a favorite.

Quote of the Day

“It would be unprecedented. But I do think that he’d be capable of it, if we asked.”

Rams head coach Sean McVay on the idea of starting newly-arrived QB Baker Mayfield against the Raiders.

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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