Sunday 1/6/2019 ... Comps / Bonus Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Requests Etc

[bmd1803]

SCOTT DELANEY

My Bonus Play is on the Vegas Golden Knights on the Puck Line, against the New Jersey Devils.

Vegas returns home after scooting out to Anaheim for a 3-2 victory on Friday, when the defending Western Conference champs overcame a 2-1 deficit with back-to-back second period goals in less than a minute to secure their fifth straight victory. Today they make it six in a row by thrashing a team that handed them the worst home loss in franchise history.

The Golden Knights are the hottest team in the Western Conference and the second-hottest team in the league behind only Tampa Bay (18-1-1) over the last six-plus weeks, with an impressive 16-3-3 record in that span.

This is a team that has found its offensive rhythm, more so because of the defense it's employed. Vegas has allowed just five goals total over its last five games.

And goaltender four-time All-Star netminder Marc-Andre Fleury has been outstanding of late, as he's won a league-leading 24 games, including Friday's victory over Anaheim. I expect him to be in net today against the banged up Devils, who sorely miss Hart Trophy Winner Taylor Hall.

What I like about this Vegas team is its third-period prowess once again. The Golden Knights have outscored opponents 47-32 in the third period, and their plus-15 goal differential over the final 20 minutes ranks fifth in the NHL behind Calgary (+31), Colorado (+19), Winnipeg (+17) and Nashville (+16).

Big win for Vegas, which opens a three-game homestand today.

3* GOLDEN KNIGHTS PUCK LINE

 

[bmd1803]

CHRIS JORDAN

If I wasn't playing the NFL Playoff game in Baltimore today, this American Athletic Conference clash between the Memphis Tigers and Houston Cougars would be on my radar as a premium selection. The 19th-ranked Cougars are one of four unbeaten teams and ride a 27-game homecourt winning streak into this game.

And while you think offense when hearing "Houston Cougars," the identity of this team is its aggressive defense, getting after people, staying on them with a physical approach and using that tenacity to create its ofefnse. The Cougs have some good guards and scorers, but everybody plays by committee, starring in their own roles.

The Cougars sit atop the AAC with the nation's ninth-best scoring defense that yields 58.1 points per game, while ranking third in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 35.8 percent. Led by senior guards Corey Davis Jr. and Galen Robinson Jr., and junior Armoni Brooks, the trio is putting in 39.1 points per game. Brooks leads Houston in rebounding while Robinson averages a team-high 5.4 assists per game.

Coach Kelvin Sampson has his team walking on to the court for every game with a mindset is going to win, no matter how stagnant the offense may be, or how big a deficit the team falls into - the Cougars play with a confidence swagger that helped them stay undefeated.

All that could pose problem's for the Tigers, who like to think of themselves as an offensive juggernaut, leading the AAC and ranking 17th nationally in scoring at 85.1 points per game. And while I know Memphis has shot 50 percent or better in six of its last seven games, it scored just 76 points in its lone true road game this season, on a mere 40.6 percent shooting. The Tigers hit a meager 70 percent from the free-throw line on the highway.

And, in its only road game - an 85-76 loss at LSU - it was nearly two months ago, on Nov. 13. Since then, the Tigers have played four others on the road, all on neutral courts.

The fact this team's first game away from Memphis in more than a month - it last played Texas Tech on a neutral court on Dec. 1 - is at defensively sound Houston, is trouble.

Take the Cougs.

1* HOUSTON

 

[bmd1803]

JACK BRAYMAN

My Bonus Play for Sunday is in College Basketball, where I head to Los Angeles for the Pac 12 battle between Stanford and Southern Cal.

The Trojans (8-6, 1-0 Pac 12) welcome Stanford (7-6, 0-1) to the Galen Center while they ride a season-best three-game win streak for a second time this season. USC will win its first two Pac-12 contests for the first time since the 2010 season, as I have it smashing an outmatched Cardinal squad that is in off a 92-70 loss at UCLA on Thursday. The 92 points allowed were a season high, and now the Cardinal has to deal with a team that is averaging 80.9 at home this season.

Nick Rakocevic dropped a career-high 27 points and Derryck Thornton produced his first career double-double to lead USC to an 82-73 victory in its league opener against California on Thursday. Rakocevic scored 20 of his points in the second half, as the Trojans enjoyed one of the best offensive outings of the season, hitting 53.4 percent of its field goal attempts.

Rakocevic is tied for 19th in the nation in double-doubles while his 10.1 rebounds per game rank 15th nationally and are best in the Pac-12. He's averaging a double-double with 15.2 points per game.

What was impressive, though, considering the Trojans had only seven scholarship players available for the game due to injuries, is they had 21 assists and turned the ball over just five times as a team. USC has averaged 20.5 assists in its wins and leads all Pac-12 teams with 231 assists this season.

That could pose a problem for Stanford, which gives up 81 points per road game, has given up an average of 84 points per game during a 1-2 slide. Conversely, USC has scored an average of 82 points during a three-game win streak.

I like Rakocevic a lot, and like the way this team plays as a unit to support its star forward.

Lay the points with USC here.

5* USC

 

[ACP]

MARC LAWRENCE

Play: Bears-Eagles UNDER (Game 107-108).

Edges - Eagles: 9-17 UNDER versus NFC North opponents in games with a total of 47 or fewer points … Bears: 0-4 UNDER last four games … With the last 12 Wild Card Round games between No. 3 and No. 6 seeded team having gone 1-11 UNDER the total, we recommend a 1* play on the ‘Under’ in this game. Thank you and good luck as always.

buyer beware,,,, here is a guy who thru the first 156 days of football has not one documented total when there were 30 cab and 16 pros weekly and he decides now is the pimento start betting football totals...it might win, it might lose, but this tells me he's reaching...go ov 41 philly-Bears now