(photo: Chicago Tribune)
I will do my best to provide *at least* a daily group of 3-5 picks for all of you snipers out there. The goal is a 2-1 (3-2) night. I recommend you play them individually .. however, never be scared of a little sniper parlay! 20/21 Season: 58%
Season Record: 81-75-6
12/6 Starting Five:
Illinois +3.5
Coastal Carolina -2
Towson +5.5
PC/Morehead St. o121
New Mexico +5
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Illinois +3.5 : I think this is a very bad matchup for Iowa. Especially, if Keegan Murray is forced to miss this one as well. There is nobody on the Hawkeye roster that will be able to compete with Kofi Cockburn & Coleman Hawkins on the glass. Also, the defensive ineptness of a Fran McCaffery coached squad will rear its ugly head tonight. Trent Frazier and Alfonso Plummer will both have the luxury of going at Jordan Bohannon at different times tonight. Iowa has had a surprising start to the season, but the talent and coaching edge are with the Illini in this game. Sprinkle the ML.
Fun Stat Time: Illinois has won its last three Big Ten road games, and 8 of its last 9. Illinois also leads the B1G with a record of (30-11) over the last 41 games. – courtesy of @takhtehchianmd on Twitter
Score Prediction: Illinois 78 – Iowa 73
Coastal Carolina -2 : Things are cooking down in Myrtle Beach! The Chants are coming off back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Winthrop. Cliff Ellis has brought in great pieces to fit with his returning squad this season. Rudi Williams (Kansas State) and Vince Cole (St. John’s) are filling in beautifully for the hole that Devante’ Jones left. In a returning role, Essam Mustafa is building nicely off of his excellent freshman season. He is averaging a 16/10 double-double to start the year. Coastal also has a game changer at the point guard position. Ebrima Dibba is a 6’6 PG that can score, assist and rebound exceptionally well. His game is comparable to Abu Kigab (Boise State) when Kigab takes over the point guard reigns for the Broncos. I like the Chants to keep it cooking tonight against a Mercer team that has disappointed me this season.
Score Prediction: Coastal Carolina 72 – Mercer 67
Towson +5.5 : There was value in this spread above 3.5 in my opinion. I will gladly take +5.5. I do not believe the market is accounting for the returns of Jason Gibson, Antonio Rizzuto and Juwan Gray. Gibson and Rizzuto will greatly help this team that is struggling from distance, and Juwan Gray brings a defensive and rebounding presence back to the lineup. Holden and Nolan Jr. are exceptional at the guard position, and will carry us inside the number of a lower scoring game tonight. Side note: Malique Jacobs missed the last game for Kent State. I can’t find any info on if this will be a lingering issue. That will be a huge factor tonight if he is out again.
Score Prediction: Kent State 65 – Towson 63
PC/Morehead St. 0121 : I think Morehead could have their way with the Blue Hose tonight. However, I do not trust the defense of the Eagles to lay a double digit number. Instead, I will look to the over. PC has nobody that can check Johni Broome in the post. He will likely push 20 tonight. The Eagles are also a team that can get hot from behind the three point line. Tray Hollowell is a Wofford transfer, and you know they are trained to snipe. The Eagles do struggle defensively though. 200th in the nation in defensive efficiency. A bad PC team should find some ways to score. We will easily cross the total of 121 in my opinion.
Score Prediction: Morehead St. 70 – PC 58
New Mexico +5 : I will gladly take the 5 points at home in this rivalry game. I do not agree with the line movement this morning. I just think the Lobos have the better team this season. I know that bettors are probably figuring that NMSU will get the split tonight, but I don’t see that to be the case. Jamal Mashburn Jr. has turned into a star, and Jaelen House has also morphed into a reliable scorer. The NMSU offense can get very stagnant at times with Teddy Allen and Sir’Jabari Rice trying to iso and find their own shot. The Lobos share the ball very well and scored 101 points on this Aggies team a week ago. I think the Lobos run the double on the Aggies..
Score Prediction: New Mexico 78 – New Mexico St. 76
Best of luck! Let’s snipe this one y’all!!
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