Sports Handicapper Matt Fargo's Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the UTAH UTES for our CBB Thursday Late Night Cash. Utah returns home following a pair of losses against Oregon and Oregon St. to fall to 5-8 in the Pac 12. The Utes fell to 1-8 on the road but they are 10-1 at home with the only loss coming against 20-6 Oregon. The home team is 18-2 in Utah games this season including a 12-1 record in the Pac 12. They are +16.7 ppg in scoring differential at home. Utah is tied with Arizona and Arizona St. with seven Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories according to the NET Rankings, which is the third highest total in the Pac 12. UCLA enters the game Thursday 15-11 overall and 8-5 in Pac 12 action while riding a three-game winning-streak with wins coming at Arizona followed by a sweep of the Washington schools this past week. Unlike the Utes, UCLA is 3-4 in true road games this season and 3-3 in conference games on the road. The Bruins are getting outscored by an average of 6.0 ppg away from home. 9* (678) Utah Utes

This is a play on the TEMPLE OWLS as part of our CBB Thursday Trifecta. Temple had won two straight games before facing Villanova in a Big Five matchup which resulted in a 20-point loss. The Owls are 5-7 in the AAC and while they are just 7-5 at home, only one of those losses came against a team with a losing record. Temple has been one of the top teams in the country defensively this season and currently ranks 32nd nationally in field goal percentage defense at 39.5 percent). The Owls also are third in the AAC (37th in NCAA) in three-point pct. defense at 29.8 percent. The Huskies have won four of their last six games with the current stretch starting with a home win over the Owls, 78-63, on Jan. 29 which brings revenge into play. Connecticut is also 5-7 in the conference following a 1-5 start but the road has been a problem as the Huskies are just 1-6 overall. This includes a 1-5 record in the AAC, getting outscored by 9.2 ppg. 9* (628) Temple Owls

This is a play on the IOWA HAWKEYES as part of our CBB Thursday Trifecta. Iowa is coming off a win at Minnesota on Sunday which snapped a three-game conference road losing streak. Iowa registered its sixth victory away from home despite scoring a season-low 58 points. The Hawkeyes enter Thursday's game having won eight of their last 11 contests to improve to 9-6 in the Big Ten which is good for a tie for third place with four other teams. Iowa is 12-1 at home, winning its last 11 straight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since its only loss to DePaul. Iowa leads the Big Ten in scoring offense at 78.2 ppg. Also, in Big Ten games only, Iowa leads the league in scoring at 76.5 ppg, field goal percentage (.444), and assists (16.5). Ohio St. has won two straight games but both of those came at home where the Buckeyes are 12-2. They are just 3-5 on the road, 2-5 in the Big Ten with one of those wins coming against 1-14 Northwestern. 10* (624) Iowa Hawkeyes

This is a play on the DREXEL DRAGONS as part of our CBB Thursday Trifecta. Drexel will be out to snap a three-game losing streak with the last two coming on the road where it is just 1-11 overall including a 1-6 record in the CAA. The Dragons are 10-3 overall at home and have won five of their seven conference games. Drexel will play its next two games in the DAC before closing the season on the road. The Dragons begin play with a 13-14 overall record and a 6-8 mark in in CAA play. Six of those losses have come in their last seven games making this a big homestand to close the season. Hofstra has won six straight games to increase its lead in the CAA to a game and a half over William & Mary. Four of those games were at home with the streak starting against Drexel in a 13-point win so the Dragons will be out for revenge. The Pride are a solid 9-4 on the road but that is clearly taken into account in this number. 9* (618) Drexel Dragons

This is a play on the COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS for our NHL Thursday Breakaway. Columbus has lost six straight games to fall into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. This includes three losses at home where the Blue Jackets scored just one goal in each so clearly the offense needs to pick it up. That should happen since Philadelphia allows 3.65 gpg on the road which is fourth most in the league. Columbus is still a solid 18-11-3 at home and it is 20-9 in its last 29 games off a road loss by 2 goals or more over the last 3 seasons. Philadelphia is coming off a win on Tuesday against Columbus so it is a quick turnaround for the Blue Jackets to get their revenge. The Flyers are just 13-15-3 on the road and going back, they are 3-9 in their last 12 games as a road underdog. Here, we play on home teams when the money line is -100 to -150 that are revenging a loss where they scored one or less goals, off two consecutive losses against division rivals. This situation is 30-8 (78.9 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (4) Columbus Blue Jackets

This is a play on the PHILADELPHIA 76ERS for our NBA Thursday Enforcer. Philadelphia closed the first half with three straight wins to snap a four-game slide. The Sixers remain in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but has gained ground on Miami, trailing the Heat by just a game and a half. Philadelphia is 25-2 at home which is the best home record in the NBA and the Sixers are 10-2 ATS in home games against teams averaging scoring 110 or more ppg this season. Brooklyn closed the first half with two straight wins as well as five straight covers. The Nets wins were against Toronto and Indiana and that makes it just five wins on the season against top five teams compared to 13 losses. Brooklyn is just 9-16 on the road and the Nets are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games as a road underdog. Here, we play on home favorites after failing to cover 5 or 6 of their last 7 against the spread going up against an opponent after having covered 4 or 5 of their last 6 against the spread. This situation is 118-72 ATS (62.1 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (508) Philadelphia 76ers