Parlays

The Sunday slate always brings us AAC action, and we are looking at a noon tip-off between the UAB Blazers and the Memphis Tigers. Memphis sits higher in the metrics rankings, but UAB has the advantage in the real-life standings. This is a key game though in the AAC, as these teams are among 6 teams separated by 1 game or less in the middle of the conference standings. The Blazers are a surprising 8-2 on the road, while the Tigers enter the game on a 3-game losing streak. Memphis has also recently suspended a couple of guys for violating team rules, and things just seem messy (again) in this program. I think UAB may be a sneaky cover in this one, and I’ll take the Blazers +4.5.

These teams played a few weeks ago, with Memphis taking the road victory, 90-80. There were a couple of anomalies in that game though. One is that Sincere Parker put up 40 points (he averages 12 ppg). The other oddity was that Memphis shot well above 50% from the floor. Otherwise, UAB had the better of most of the game stats. Between the turmoil in the Memphis program, their 3-game losing streak, UAB’s road prowess, and the oddity of the first matchup, the smart play here may be to back the Blazers catching a couple of baskets.

UAB vs Memphis Prediction: UAB +4.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will travel to Madison on Sunday for a Big 10 Conference game against the Wisconsin Badgers. Iowa has had a good season under head coach Ben McCollum, but they still need a few more wins to punch their ticket into the big dance. Wisconsin will return home after losing to Ohio State on the road in their last game. That result was surprising, considering the Badgers won back-to-back games against Illinois the Michigan State before that. Wisconsin still has some of the best wins in all of college basketball and I expect them to take care of business here.

Wisconsin is currently a 2.5-point favorite in this game and that is my best bet. I like the Badgers to cover the spread in Sunday’s matchup since they have been one of the best teams in the conference recently. They have one of the best backcourts in the country led by John Blackwell and Nick Boyd, which I think will be too much for this Iowa team. Wisconsin’s offense has been lethal and should be able to lead them to a home victory here. According to Bart Torvik, Wisconsin has the #6 ranked adjusted offensive efficiency since January 1^st and are 9-4 over that span. I believe their offense will be too much for the Hawkeyes and I will back the Badgers here.

*Wisconsin -2.5 available at time of publishing. Playable at -5*

The Ohio State Buckeyes hit the road for Breslin Center in East Lansing for a matinee Big Ten battle against the ranked Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes pounded No. 25 Wisconsin last time out, but that was also at home. On the road, Ohio State is just 1-3 SU in the past four games, while 2-2 against the spread (ATS). However, we’re focusing more upon the total. The Under has cashed in four of the past five games for Ohio State, while also going low in four of the past five outings on the road, too. The Under has cashed in three in a row in this series, while going 7-2 across the past nine meetings.

For Michigan State, the Over has cashed in six straight games, so pump the brakes and don’t get carried away with betting the Under. However, the defense has struggled for Michigan State lately, but it isn’t likely to give up much against a mediocre Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes average 81.2 PPG, 102nd in the nation, but it struggles in the perimeter game at 130th, or 34.9 percent. And, the Spartans have a fantastic defense, ranking 16th in the nation with just 66.4 PPG allowed, while holding teams to 39.6 percent from the field, which is 14th in the nation. Look for scores to be down, especially with the early tip time.

Under 147.5 (-120) at time of publishing. Playable to 146.5.

It will be a potential NBA Finals preview when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. Right now, however, Oklahoma City does not resemble the championship team from last year. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal) is out for at least another week and Jalen Williams (hamstring) is not particularly close to returning. The Thunder are still in decent enough form with 3 wins in their last 4 games, but they are also just 6-6 in their last 12. Given OKC’s current malaise and the extremely tough competition level on store for Sunday, my Cavaliers vs Thunder pick is for the visitors to win and cover.

Cleveland is in spectacular form at the moment. Donovan Mitchell and company are 12-1 in their last 13 games and they are undefeated in 5 outings since acquiring James Harden prior to the trade deadline. Harden is shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, 48.1 percent from deep and 89.3 percent from the free-throw line with his new team. Evan Mobley was rested for Friday’s victory over Charlotte, so the big man will be in good shape for this much more important showdown against the defending NBA champs. Meanwhile, Mitchell has scored 30 points or more in 4 of the last 5 contests. The Cavs simply have a ton of weapons — especially with Harden now on board. When healthy, Oklahoma City has as many if not even more. For the time being, though, that is not the case. Cleveland is solid on the road (17-10 SU overall, 7-3 ATS in its last 10 on the road), so it won’t be afraid of going into OKC.

Cavaliers vs Thunder prediction: Cleveland -1 (-108) available at time of publishing. Playable to -2.

You can bet on our Cavaliers vs Thunder pick at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has thousands of betting options available and a great new customer offer where you can get $200 in bonus bets instantly if your first $5 wager is a winner! Click here 👈🏼 to sign up for a DraftKings account now.

Nikola Jokic and co. finally got their act together and demolished the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103, winning their 21st road game of the season. They’re looking to connect back-to-back wins for the first time in the month of February, going up against the shorthanded Warriors. They’ve dominated this match-up in large part over the past several seasons, winning 10 of the last 12 games and 4 of the last 6 at Chase Center. Not having the likes of Jalen Pickett, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon and potentially Jamal Murray will make life difficult, but as long as Joker is playing I am not too concerned.

What I am concerned with, at least from the Warriors’ perspective is the fact that Stephen Curry remains out. When he doesn’t play they’re a mediocre team at 6-11 SU in 17 games played, on top of that they could also be without their newest addition Kristaps Porzingis who is unable to consistently stay out there on the court. In their first game after the break the Warriors got smacked by the Celtics at home, being down as much as 34 points at one point. The offense without Steph is too stagnant and forces too many three point shots, it’s hard to win against elite teams playing this way.

Denver dominated the most recent meeting 129-104 in a game in which the Warriors had Jimmy Butler available. With him and Steph gone this is a lottery team at best, if the Nuggets take this game seriously, which I expect them to do, this should be one of the easier picks on Sunday night. Take Denver.

Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors Predictions: Nuggets -5.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Starting off their 4-game West coast road trip with a big win in Golden State did wonders for the confidence of the Celtics, who now face their all-time rivals the Lakers. Jaylen Brown absolutely dominated the Warriors with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, I’m surprised he isn’t getting more love in the MVP conversation these days. The Celtics are 7-1 SU in 8 games going into Sunday, they’ve also won 4 of 5 on the road and in head-to-head meetings they’re 5-2 SU in 7 played, including a 126-105 triumph at home back in early December. The only concern when backing this team is the three-point shot, but with the Lakers ranking only 22nd in opponent three-point percentage this season, that shouldn’t be an issue here.

The Lakers will take the underdog roll with open hands here, as they finally have their big 3 back and playing together. In 11 games with Doncic, Reaves and LeBron they have an 8-3 SU record which does look elite on paper. However, the defense is what’s concerning if you’re a supporter of this team. Having a high scoring trio like that masks a lot of deficiencies they have on the other end, we saw exactly that in their first game after the break when Doncic went nuclear and they took down the Clippers 125-122. Can they do the same against Boston? The Celtics are a much more consistent defensive unit, in order to beat them you almost have to play a perfect game.

As good as the Lakers have looked with their trio of stars, I am just not able to trust them against elite opposition. Boston has done it on both ends consistently, maybe even better on the road than at home this season. They’re 18-10 ATS in away games and also have the superior head-to-head record. Containing Luka could be problematic, but then again the Lakers are in the same boat with Jaylen Brown. I’ll take the men in green here.

Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions: Celtics -2 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.