Wise n' Shine: NHL best bets, NBA and NCAAB picks for Thursday, January 12

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Keith

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Lead MLB Writer for Pickswise. A Bostonian with a love for stats and baseball. Using knowledge and passion to find the right bet in MLB, NBA, NFL, and more. A lover of bold sports takes and sweat-free plus-odds picks. For Keith Schmelter media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

Welcome to another terrific Thursday of sports, Pickswise Nation. We are still without playoff football, but we have excellent slates in the NBA, NHL and college basketball, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better!

About Last Night

College basketball parlay winner
It was only 2 legs, but our college basketball parlay cashed at +264 odds. It was originally 3 legs, but Xavier -3 was our 3rd leg which pushed as Xavier won 90-87. Our 2 legs that did cash were Alabama ML and Pittsburgh +8.5, but the good news doesn’t stop there for our college basketball picks! Our best bet of Alabama ML was an easy winner as they took down Arkansas 84-69.

Celtics hammers Pels
The Celtics continued to prove their dominance as they moved to 30-12 following an 11-point win over the Pelicans. Boston -9.5 bettors were made to sweat but they pulled off the win as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 72 points.

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Today’s Slate

Super 6 games in the NBA
We have a smaller, yet exciting, slate of 6 games in the association today. Top games include Eastern Conference showdowns between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks against the Miami Heat, while the Luka Doncic and the Mavericks battle LeBron James and the Lakers out West. You can read all of today’s NBA predictions.

Massive night on the ice
We have a dozen games in the NHL on Thursday with a handful of marquee matchups. Eye-catching matchups include the Seattle Kraken against the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars facing the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild battling the New York Islanders. We have NHL picks for today’s games.

Top 25 action in college basketball
There are 3 top-25 teams in action on Thursday night. Teams ranked #7, 8 and 9 are taking the floor in what should be several exciting matchups. Take a look at today’s college basketball predictions.

Best Bet of the Day

NHL: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 (-120) over Chicago Blackhawks
8:30 pm ET, ESPN+

Chicago is actually coming off of back-to-back wins for the first time since mid-October, but they simply don’t have the firepower to sustain a true winning streak. Patrick Kane has very little help around him, hence why Chicago has scored just 2.57 goals per game at home this season, the 2nd-fewest in the NHL. They’ve also allowed the 5th-most home goals per game this season, so if the Avs can’t use this game to get back on track, then it may soon be time for some real concern. Read our full Avalanche vs Blackhawks predictions.

Must-read

Our NBA mega parlay is ready for a read, and you’re not going to want to miss it at +790 odds!

As for the NFL, we’re still a few days away from Wild Card Weekend, but that doesn’t mean the content stops. Prop Holliday has analyzed the player prop market for this weekend and has his Seahawks-49ers player prop bets, as well as Chargers-Jaguars player prop bets, and even Sunday’s Dolphins-Bills player prop bets!

Be sure to head over to the Analysis tab for even more great sports betting content as it arrives throughout the day.

Must-watch

Don’t forget 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 Jared Smith are your hosts today and they will be joined by Pickswise NFL props expert Bobby “Prop Holliday” Stanley. The trio will play an NFL Would You Rather segment, discuss the NBA props for tonight with Prop Holliday, analyze the NFL trends in play for Wild Card Weekend before you find out their Plays of the Day.

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

Stat of the Day

The Celtics are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in the second game of a back-to-back. They are -3 against the Brooklyn Nets tonight.

 

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

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