Stephen Nover;
Sharks -110
It's not often a spot sets up better for the road team, but it does in this instance. San Jose is rested. This marks the Sharks' first road game of the season. They've enjoyed an extended homestand that ended with a 5-2 victory against Montreal on Tuesday. New Jersey beat Ottawa, 5-4, in overtime on the road last night. This is the Devils' third game in four nights. New Jersey has failed to win six of the past seven times it has played without rest. The Devils have been a major surprise opening the season with a 6-1 record after finishing 29th in the NHL last season with 28 victories. The Devils definitely are improved. They have some promising young talent. They've also been fortunate with four of their victories coming by one goal. The Sharks' Stanley Cup window probably has closed, but they still are a respected, veteran team that definitely is playoff-worthy. It remains to be seen if the Devils can keep up their surprising pace. The Devils are likely to have backup Keith Kinkaid in goal after regular netminder Cory Schneider suffered a lower-body injury last night. The Sharks have dominated this series winning seven of the past nine meetings. They are 5-0 in their last five visits to New Jersey.
Sharks -110
It's not often a spot sets up better for the road team, but it does in this instance. San Jose is rested. This marks the Sharks' first road game of the season. They've enjoyed an extended homestand that ended with a 5-2 victory against Montreal on Tuesday. New Jersey beat Ottawa, 5-4, in overtime on the road last night. This is the Devils' third game in four nights. New Jersey has failed to win six of the past seven times it has played without rest. The Devils have been a major surprise opening the season with a 6-1 record after finishing 29th in the NHL last season with 28 victories. The Devils definitely are improved. They have some promising young talent. They've also been fortunate with four of their victories coming by one goal. The Sharks' Stanley Cup window probably has closed, but they still are a respected, veteran team that definitely is playoff-worthy. It remains to be seen if the Devils can keep up their surprising pace. The Devils are likely to have backup Keith Kinkaid in goal after regular netminder Cory Schneider suffered a lower-body injury last night. The Sharks have dominated this series winning seven of the past nine meetings. They are 5-0 in their last five visits to New Jersey.
Stephen Nover's MLB Playoff “GOY”;
Astors -131
The Yankees have been dominant at home going 19-3 in their last 22 games at Yankee Stadium. The Astros have been equally dominant at home winning 15 of their last 17 games at Minute Maid Park. This includes a 4-0 playoff record. This game is at Minute Maid Parik. The Yankees are 1-4 in their five playoff road games. Home field certainly means a lot here. But there are other factors why I'm so strong on the Astros in this game. The pitching matchup is Luis Severino versus Justin Verlander. Severino had a breakout season reaching his high ceiling. But he's largely untested in playoff, pressure games. Verlander is a proven pro. The former AL MVP is 10-5 with a 3.18 ERA all-time in postseason action. Verlander has been the absolute nuts since joining the Astros going 8-0 in eight sarts. He's been at his finest during the playoffs, too, going 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA. The Astros finished the regular season with the No. 1 offense in the majors. They are batting a puny .147 in this ALCS. Masahiro Tanaka has been a huge problem for them. Tanaka has held the Astros to two runs in 13 innings. But the Astros aren't facing Tanaka here. The Yankees not only lose their huge home field advantage, but also their momentum with Thursday's travel day. This also gives the Astros a much needed day to regroup. If the Yankees do indeed beat Verlander and the Astros here in Houston, they are most deserving of the American League pennant. I don't see that happening, though, in this Game 6.
Astors -131
The Yankees have been dominant at home going 19-3 in their last 22 games at Yankee Stadium. The Astros have been equally dominant at home winning 15 of their last 17 games at Minute Maid Park. This includes a 4-0 playoff record. This game is at Minute Maid Parik. The Yankees are 1-4 in their five playoff road games. Home field certainly means a lot here. But there are other factors why I'm so strong on the Astros in this game. The pitching matchup is Luis Severino versus Justin Verlander. Severino had a breakout season reaching his high ceiling. But he's largely untested in playoff, pressure games. Verlander is a proven pro. The former AL MVP is 10-5 with a 3.18 ERA all-time in postseason action. Verlander has been the absolute nuts since joining the Astros going 8-0 in eight sarts. He's been at his finest during the playoffs, too, going 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA. The Astros finished the regular season with the No. 1 offense in the majors. They are batting a puny .147 in this ALCS. Masahiro Tanaka has been a huge problem for them. Tanaka has held the Astros to two runs in 13 innings. But the Astros aren't facing Tanaka here. The Yankees not only lose their huge home field advantage, but also their momentum with Thursday's travel day. This also gives the Astros a much needed day to regroup. If the Yankees do indeed beat Verlander and the Astros here in Houston, they are most deserving of the American League pennant. I don't see that happening, though, in this Game 6.
Stephen Nover;
Jazz / Wolves Over 198.5 -105
There is too much star power here for these teams not to combine to break 200 points. Yes, Utah plays tough defense. But Minnesota doesn't. The Timberwolves ranked third-from-the-bottom in defensive field goal percentage last season. Adding Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford isn't going to help their defense. But the Timberwolves do have plenty of offense with Teague, Crawford, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler joining Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The Jazz are down their two leading scorers from a year ago, Gordon Hayward and George Hill. Utah's new point guard, Ricky Rubio, is a former Timberwolf and is better for the Over than Hill was. Rubio will be motivated for a big performance as this is his first trip to Minnesota since being traded. The Jazz have balanced scoring and a strong bench to make up for Hayward. Alec Burks finally is healthy and contributed 16 points off the bench in just 15 minutes in Utah's 106-99 home win against the Nuggets two nights ago. Utah played at a quick pace during preseason when it averaged more than 112 points a game. The Jazz aren't so half-court inclined anymore with Quin Snyder.
Jazz / Wolves Over 198.5 -105
There is too much star power here for these teams not to combine to break 200 points. Yes, Utah plays tough defense. But Minnesota doesn't. The Timberwolves ranked third-from-the-bottom in defensive field goal percentage last season. Adding Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford isn't going to help their defense. But the Timberwolves do have plenty of offense with Teague, Crawford, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler joining Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The Jazz are down their two leading scorers from a year ago, Gordon Hayward and George Hill. Utah's new point guard, Ricky Rubio, is a former Timberwolf and is better for the Over than Hill was. Rubio will be motivated for a big performance as this is his first trip to Minnesota since being traded. The Jazz have balanced scoring and a strong bench to make up for Hayward. Alec Burks finally is healthy and contributed 16 points off the bench in just 15 minutes in Utah's 106-99 home win against the Nuggets two nights ago. Utah played at a quick pace during preseason when it averaged more than 112 points a game. The Jazz aren't so half-court inclined anymore with Quin Snyder.
Stephen Nover
Magic +2 -105
Orlando actually looked impressive in holding off Miami during its opening game victory. That was the first time the Magic had won its season opener since 2012. The Magic really would like to build off that momentum. They have a great opportunity here in their second game. Brooklyn is even worse than Orlando and just lost sparkplug point guard Jeremy Lin. The Nets lost 39 of 46 games that Lin missed last season. It was extremely depressing for the Nets to see Lin ruputre the patella tendon in his right knee during their 140-131 season-opening loss to the Pacers. As you can tell by that score, the Nets still aren't playing any defense. Orlando has the better lineup with Elfrid Payton, Terrence Ross, Even Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, who is primed for a breakout season.
Magic +2 -105
Orlando actually looked impressive in holding off Miami during its opening game victory. That was the first time the Magic had won its season opener since 2012. The Magic really would like to build off that momentum. They have a great opportunity here in their second game. Brooklyn is even worse than Orlando and just lost sparkplug point guard Jeremy Lin. The Nets lost 39 of 46 games that Lin missed last season. It was extremely depressing for the Nets to see Lin ruputre the patella tendon in his right knee during their 140-131 season-opening loss to the Pacers. As you can tell by that score, the Nets still aren't playing any defense. Orlando has the better lineup with Elfrid Payton, Terrence Ross, Even Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, who is primed for a breakout season.
Al DeMarco;
20 DIME play on Colorado State at New Mexico. The Rams are -7 1/2 as of 9 am pacific. Go ahead and buy down the 1/2-point on Colorado State if your price is either -7 1/2 or -7.
After opening the Mountain West portion of its schedule with easy road wins at Hawaii (51-21) and Utah State (27-14), Colorado State returned to its new on-campus stadium for homecoming last Saturday and needed to rally from a 13-point deficit to escape with a 44-42 victory against a 1-5 Nevada team in a game where its fans were leaving with the outcome still in doubt.
Colorado State isn't Ram-tough when it comes to playing defense, but how a team that held Alabama to 41 in Tuscaloosa and Colorado to 17 in Denver allowed Nevada to ring up 42 on in Fort Collins is unfathomable. The good news is CSU won't be seeing the Wolfpack's Air Raid attack tonight in Albuquerque where the Lobos are having problems running the ball let alone thinking about the forward pass.
New Mexico returns home following a 38-0 loss at Fresno State last Saturday, a game in which its ground game managed only 109 yards on 37 carries and the offense as whole was 2-for-14 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth down tries. No surprise considering the Lobos have converted at a 27 percent clip on the season when trying to get a new set of downs.
Inconsistency has plagued New Mexico this season. This is a team that lost at Boise, 28-14, and got upset at home by New Mexico State, 30-28, but managed to outscore a defenseless Air Force squad at home, 56-38.
While the Lobos have struggled offensively, Colorado State has had no such problem with quarterback Nick Stevens (63.8 percent completions, 2,255 yards, 18 TDs) and wide receiver Michael Gallup (59 receptions, 16.1 yard per catch) powering one of the nation's most potent aerial attacks. The latter is coming off a 13-catch, 263-yard, 3-TD performance in the comeback win against Nevada.
What makes the Rams so tough to stop is the diversity because Dalyn Dawkins (career-high 195 yards vs. Nevada; 6.5 ypc on the season) and Izzy Matthews (4.8 ypc) have combined nearly 1100 yards rushing this season. They're a big reason Colorado State is ranked 4th in the nation in third down conversions.
The Rams, as stated earlier, had all kinds of problems stopping Nevada's Air Raid attack as the Wolfpack shredded their defense for 526 yards with 299 of them through the air. New Mexico is not going to have that type of success passing the ball so Mike Bobo's squad can sellout against the run in an effort to contain the Lobos' option attack. However, their best defense might actually be a sustained, time-consuming ground game of their own to keep New Mexico's offense on the sideline.
Colorado State scored its seventh straight win in the series last season by rolling 49-31 at home, a game where the Rams were up 32 before New Mexico scored a couple of late garbage-time TDs. They're on ATS rolls of 9-1 in conference play and 20-8 on the road.
20 DIME play on Colorado State at New Mexico. The Rams are -7 1/2 as of 9 am pacific. Go ahead and buy down the 1/2-point on Colorado State if your price is either -7 1/2 or -7.
After opening the Mountain West portion of its schedule with easy road wins at Hawaii (51-21) and Utah State (27-14), Colorado State returned to its new on-campus stadium for homecoming last Saturday and needed to rally from a 13-point deficit to escape with a 44-42 victory against a 1-5 Nevada team in a game where its fans were leaving with the outcome still in doubt.
Colorado State isn't Ram-tough when it comes to playing defense, but how a team that held Alabama to 41 in Tuscaloosa and Colorado to 17 in Denver allowed Nevada to ring up 42 on in Fort Collins is unfathomable. The good news is CSU won't be seeing the Wolfpack's Air Raid attack tonight in Albuquerque where the Lobos are having problems running the ball let alone thinking about the forward pass.
New Mexico returns home following a 38-0 loss at Fresno State last Saturday, a game in which its ground game managed only 109 yards on 37 carries and the offense as whole was 2-for-14 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth down tries. No surprise considering the Lobos have converted at a 27 percent clip on the season when trying to get a new set of downs.
Inconsistency has plagued New Mexico this season. This is a team that lost at Boise, 28-14, and got upset at home by New Mexico State, 30-28, but managed to outscore a defenseless Air Force squad at home, 56-38.
While the Lobos have struggled offensively, Colorado State has had no such problem with quarterback Nick Stevens (63.8 percent completions, 2,255 yards, 18 TDs) and wide receiver Michael Gallup (59 receptions, 16.1 yard per catch) powering one of the nation's most potent aerial attacks. The latter is coming off a 13-catch, 263-yard, 3-TD performance in the comeback win against Nevada.
What makes the Rams so tough to stop is the diversity because Dalyn Dawkins (career-high 195 yards vs. Nevada; 6.5 ypc on the season) and Izzy Matthews (4.8 ypc) have combined nearly 1100 yards rushing this season. They're a big reason Colorado State is ranked 4th in the nation in third down conversions.
The Rams, as stated earlier, had all kinds of problems stopping Nevada's Air Raid attack as the Wolfpack shredded their defense for 526 yards with 299 of them through the air. New Mexico is not going to have that type of success passing the ball so Mike Bobo's squad can sellout against the run in an effort to contain the Lobos' option attack. However, their best defense might actually be a sustained, time-consuming ground game of their own to keep New Mexico's offense on the sideline.
Colorado State scored its seventh straight win in the series last season by rolling 49-31 at home, a game where the Rams were up 32 before New Mexico scored a couple of late garbage-time TDs. They're on ATS rolls of 9-1 in conference play and 20-8 on the road.
bettingresource
Oct 20: NBA: Cleveland - Milwaukee
Back: Milwaukee +1.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 10 Units Return:
Oct 20: NBA: Orlando - Brooklyn
Back: Brooklyn -1.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 10 Units Return:
Oct 20: NBA: Sacramento - Dallas
Back: Sacramento +5.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 8 Units Return:
Oct 20: NHL: Winnipeg - Minnesota
Back: Ot included: Winnipeg win Odds: 1.91
Risk: 8 Units Return:
Oct 20: NBA: Cleveland - Milwaukee
Back: Milwaukee +1.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 10 Units Return:
Oct 20: NBA: Orlando - Brooklyn
Back: Brooklyn -1.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 10 Units Return:
Oct 20: NBA: Sacramento - Dallas
Back: Sacramento +5.5 Odds: 1.91
Risk: 8 Units Return:
Oct 20: NHL: Winnipeg - Minnesota
Back: Ot included: Winnipeg win Odds: 1.91
Risk: 8 Units Return:
