Sports Handicapper Matt Fargo's Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the GOLDEN ST. WARRIORS for our Thursday Free Play. The Warriors are coming off a one point loss against Sacramento on Tuesday as their average season continues. Golden St. was eliminated from the In-Season Tournament with the one point loss but even if it had won last second it would not have mattered as the Warriors had to win by at least 12 points to win a tiebreaker if there was a three-way tie. Golden State led by as many as 24 points but got outscored by 18 points in the second half. They are now 8-10 and sitting at No. 11 in the Western Conference with injuries and suspensions taking away some continuity but are close to full strength with the exception of Chris Paul now being out. We are getting some value here with the Warriors being 0-6 ATS as favorites. The Clippers are coming off a win at Sacramento last night which was a letdown for the Kings following their win over Golden St. and are now playing their third back-to-back of the season and this is the first with both being on the road. It has been an underachieving season for Los Angeles as well as it is 8-9 and just a half-game ahead of Golden St. The Clippers are 5-2 over their last seven games after a 0-5 run when James Harden joined the team and is off his best game with 26 points but will not duplicate that. Play (518) Golden St. Warriors

18-5 overall hoops run. College basketball is coming off a 4-1 Wednesday and is currently on a 14-3 run. 185-153-3 (+$17,120) last regular season and another big night on tap with THREE Winners! NBA 4-2 run with another Top Play Enforcer going tonight. 105-83-2 (+$12,360) NFL run extended tonight.

This is a play on the CHARLOTTE HORNETS for our NBA Thursday Enforcer. Brooklyn has won three straight games which snapped a three-game losing streak to get back over .500 and is currently sitting right on the playoff line with a ton of basketball left. The Nets have covered four straight games and remain home where they are just 6-4 which is nothing special. Brooklyn has won the games it has supposed to win as it is a perfect 6-0 as a favorite and has covered all of those games as well but the difference now is that the Nets are laying their biggest number of the season. Charlotte has dropped two straight games following a two-game winning streak and it has been a rough start overall as the Hornets are 5-11. They played their first game without LaMelo Ball who suffered a sprained ankle against Orlando after playing only 14 minutes and their offense struggled with their lowest point total with just 91 points scored on 41.6 percent shooting but now a second game in they should be more comfortable as Terry Rozier is a very capable backup. Here, we play against home favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points with a winning percentage between .501 and .600 off a win against a division rival. This situation is 34-10 ATS (77.3 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (507) Charlotte Hornets

This is a play on the SE MISSOURI ST. REDHAWKS for our CBB Ultimate Underdog. SE Missouri St. hits the road for the fourth time and while it is catching its biggest underdog number, it is still ridiculously high. The Redhawks are 1-5 to start the season including a 0-6 ATS mark after making the NCAA Tournament last season. They have played a tough schedule but catch a low rated opponent here and one that might not be taking them too serious. They lost some great guards from that team and have two starters back which means it may take time but this is the first of five straight winnable games to turn their season around. UMKC is off to a 2-5 start but have lost five straight games as the two wins to open the season came against non-Division 1 teams which have been their only two home games in what of the worst home environments in the country based on location. The Kangaroos are coming off an 11-21 season and while three starters are back, they lost their two top scorers and are having trouble defending with scoring not making up for that. UMKC is home for just one game as it has a game at Kansas on deck so the focus here could be lacking with their biggest game of the season upcoming. 10* (753) SE Missouri St. Redhawks

This is a play on the HOFSTRA PRIDE for our CBB Signature Enforcer. Hofstra is coming off a tournament championship at the Gulf Coast Showcase winning three games in the three days to move the Pride to 4-2, losses coming against Princeton and on the road at George Washington. They return home for just their third home game and it is a big one with a three-game road trip upcoming including games at St. Louis and Duke. Hofstra shared the CAA regular season title with a 16-2 record and made it to the NIT second round and the Pride will be contenders again. The lost two-time CAA Player of the Year Aaron Estrada but bring back three starters led by Tyler Thomas who is averaging 25 ppg. South Florida is 2-2 to start the season with all four games being played at home and now hit the road for the first time up north. Two losses came as favorites so the Bulls have underachieved early on following a 14-18 season including a 7-11 record in the AAC. It is a rebuild in South Florida as the Bulls have a new head coach with Amir Abdur-Ramin and have just one starter back and only three players from the roster from last season. The talent looks to be there but chemistry is an early issue and now the first road game will be a test. 10* (742) Hofstra Pride

This is a play on the BUTLER BULLDOGS for our CBB Star Attraction. Texas Tech is off to a 5-1 start following a 2-1 record in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament as it lost to Villanova by 16 points in the opener before beating Northern Iowa, which is the top team in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Michigan. The Red Raiders were a fringe NCAA Tournament team last season before losing their final three regular season games and dropping the opener in the Big 12 Tournament and now it is a fresh start with a new head coach in Grant McCasland, who won the NIT with North Texas. This is their first true road game of the season. Butler is 5-2 to start the season with losses to likely NCAA Tournament teams Michigan St. and Florida Atlantic, both away from home. The Bulldogs followed that up with impressive wins over Penn St. and Boise St. and they are back home where they are 3-0. Last season was a tough one as injuries killed them from the start and they never found continuity resulting in a 14-18 season including 6-14 in the Big East Conference. Head coach Thad Matta cleaned house with just one starter back but in his second season, this is now his team with his players and are in a good spot for another quality win. 10* (740) Butler Bulldogs

This is a play on the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS for our NFL Thursday Primetime Dominator. We won with the Cowboys on Thanksgiving as they ran away from Washington in the second half as this team is rolling right now and has been dominant at home. The Cowboys are 5-0 at home and have outscored opponents by 29 ppg but those have been against some poor teams with the Rams being the best of the bunch and none possessing a winning record. Despite that, this looks like they are laying a number to another losing team but they are putting it down against a competent team. Dallas is now 8-3 but has played only two teams with a winning record and lost both of those so we are not comparing San Francisco and Philadelphia to Seattle, this is way too aggressive. Dallas has played the second easiest schedule in the league and has moved up to No. 4 in net DVOA and No. 2 in net EPA so the numbers back up the record which has been helped by the easy slate. Dallas is 7-19 ATS in its last 26 games after a win by 28 or more points. The Seahawks are coming off a Thanksgiving loss to the 49ers and while that was a bad call, we are back on the Seahawks again despite hitting the road. They have lost two straight games and three of their last four and have San Francisco and Philadelphia on deck so there has to be a win in their somewhere to avoid falling out of the playoff hunt. The health of Geno Smith has been a concern but he has had another week to help his injured elbow and Seattle hopes to get Kenneth Walker back after missing the last two games. This line has gone up four points since opening at 5.5 a week ago in some spots and this is simply a massive overreaction. Here, we play against favorites averaging 360 or more total ypg, after gaining 450 or more total ypg over their last three games. This situation is 32-11 ATS (74.4 percent) over the last five seasons. 10* (303) Seattle Seahawks