Sports Handicapper Big Al McMordie's Picks & Predictions

At 3 pm, our selection is on the Jackson State Tigers + the points over SMU.  The Tigers are 6-1 ATS their last seven (and 10-3 ATS their last 13) as double-digit road dogs.  Take Jackson St. + the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 2 pm, our selection is on the Evansville Purple Aces + the points over Northern Iowa.  Double-digit favorites are a dreadful 78-119 ATS in Missouri Valley Conference regular season games if they are off a SU loss.  With the Panthers in off a 15-point loss at Bradley, we'll grab the points with Evansville.

At 3 pm, our selection is on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies + the points over Fort Wayne.  The Mastodons were upset by Detroit, 75-66, on Thursday.  We'll go against Fort Wayne this afternoon, as it's a dismal 15-27 ATS in conference games off a loss, when priced as a favorite of -11 or less points.  Take Oakland.

At 1 pm, our selection is on the Fairleigh-Dickinson Knights + the points over St Josephs.  The Hawks are a poor 21-38 ATS as a home favorite of -5 to -12.5 points.  Take the Knights + the points.

At 12 Noon, our selection is on the St. Francis-PA Red Flash + the points over Ohio St.  The Buckeyes come into this game off an 81-72 loss at Duke.  And now they're favored by double-digits against a St Francis PA team off back-to-back SU/ATS losses to American and Bucknell.  Unfortunately for Ohio St, it's 13-27 ATS at home when favored between -23 and -32 points.  Take St. Francis PA + the points.

At 8:30 pm, our selection is on the S. Dakota St. Jackrabbits + the points over Alabama.  Nate Oats' Crimson Tide won a thrilling, 4-overtime game vs. North Carolina last Sunday, 103-101.  We'll fade Alabama tonight, as it's a wallet-breaking 3-18-1 ATS after scoring more than 75 points, while the Jackrabbits are 27-11 ATS on the road vs. a foe off a win.  Take South Dakota St. + the points.

At 9:30 pm, our selection is on the St Mary's Gaels + the points over Houston.  This game will be played in Fort Worth, Texas, at a neutral site.  The Cougars have ascended to the #1 spot in the College Basketball rankings.  But this will be a tough test for Kelvin Sampson's men, as the Gaels check in off back to back SU/ATS losses.  And St. Mary's is 38-29 ATS in non-conference games off a SU/ATS loss.  And Houston's a soft 41% ATS away from home the past 33 seasons, off back to back wins, if its opponent was off back to back SU/ATS losses.  Take the Gaels + the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 5 pm, our selection is on the Vanderbilt Commodores minus the points over Wofford.  Vanderbilt lost at VCU, 70-65, on Wednesday, as a 2.5-point underdog.  We'll take Vandy to bounce back this evening, as it's 20-10-2 ATS its last 32 as a favorite.  Take the Commodores minus the points.

At 7:05 pm, our selection is on the Edmonton Oilers over the Montreal Canadiens.  The Glory Days of both the Oilers and Canadiens are clearly behind them now, although Montreal made a surprise visit to the Cup Finals in the Pandemic-shortened 2020-2021 season.  But if one of these two were to hoist the Cup anytime soon, it would likely be Edmonton, which features some very talented players -- both veterans and youngsters.  The Habs' biggest problem right now is staying healthy.  No fewer than seven Montreal players are either questionable for tonight or out for an extended period of time.  Having said that, they Habs have managed to win three of their last four -- all of which have been on the road as is tonight's contest.  This would appear to be a much better match-up for the Oilers, who are 6-1 in their last seven games against teams from the Atlantic whereas the Habs are 6-16 in their last 22 vs. teams from the Pacific.  Montreal is also 11-23 in its last 34 games following a win and 17-38 in its last 55 road contests.  Take Edmonton.  As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

At 2 pm, our selection is on the Grambling Tigers + the points over Incarnate Word.  The Cardinals edged the Tigers, 63-61, last Sunday, in the 210 San Antonio Shootout.  This afternoon, I look for Grambling to avenge that defeat, as the Cardinals are 1-5 ATS their last 6 vs. revenge-minded foes.  And Grambling also falls into 173-95 and 213-112 ATS revenge systems of mine.  Lay the points with the Tigers.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8 pm, our selection is on the Purdue Boilermakers + the points over Michigan.  Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines won their school's biggest game since they defeated Washington State on January 1, 1998 to earn their last National Championship.  Michigan was a 9-point road underdog, but routed its biggest rival, Ohio State, 45-23, last Saturday in a dominant performance.  It's widely accepted that even a loss to Purdue won't injure Michigan's chances to be in the 4-team playoffs later this month.  So, given this backdrop, we'll have no problem pulling the trigger on the double-digit underdog Boilermakers.  Last week, we had our Big 10 Conference Game of the Year on Purdue, and it rewarded us with a 14-point win over Indiana.  We'll grab the points with the Boilermakers here, and note that Michigan is an awful 0-7 ATS off an upset win over a previously undefeated Big 10 foe.  Additionally, the underdog has gone 7-3-1 in Big 10 Championship games.  And Purdue is 14-1-1 ATS away from home as an underdog of more than 12 points in Big 10 games, if its opponent was off a win.  Take the Boilermakers + the points.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.

At 8 pm, our selection is on the North Carolina Tar Heels + the points over Clemson.  The Tar Heels come into this ACC Championship game off back to back losses to Georgia Tech and NC State.  I look for North Carolina to rebound on Saturday night, as it's 37-19 ATS off back to back losses, including 22-10 ATS as an underdog of 7+ points.  Meanwhile, Clemson is a soft 19-36-1 ATS as a favorite of -7 (or more) points when playing a foe off back to back losses.  Even worse:  the Tigers are 11-30 ATS as a favorite away from home, if it was off an ATS loss in its previous game (and 1-12 ATS if the Tigers were off a SU loss).  Take North Carolina.  Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.  

At 3:30 pm, our selection is on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers + the points over Troy.  Coastal Carolina was bombed, 47-7, by James Madison last week, while Troy routed Arkansas State, 48-19.  We'll take Coastal Carolina to bounce back, as road underdogs of more than 4 points in Sun Belt Conference games have gone 83-42 ATS off a loss, if they failed to cover the spread by 5+ points in that defeat.  Take Coastal Carolina.

At 12 Noon, on Saturday, our selection is on the Toledo Rockets + the points over Ohio.  Last week, Toledo mustered just 14 points, and was upset, 20-14, by Western Michigan, as a 9.5-point road favorite.  Meanwhile, Ohio put up 38 points in a blowout win over Bowling Green.  We'll lay the points with Toledo, as it's 11-0 ATS as a favorite of -3 (or more) points, if it scored less than 17 points in its previous game.  Even better:  NCAA teams have covered 71% of Conference Title games since 2009 if they scored 20+ less points in their final regular season game than did their current opponent.  Take the Rockets minus the points.