Sports Handicapper Nick Parsons's Picks & Predictions

This is a CBB DOG OF THE MONTH on North Dakota State.

I think North Dakota State winning this game outright is the most likely outcome, but my official call will be to grab as many points as you can.

With a spread like this, clearly the oddsmakers feel these teams are evenly matched. Or at least they're trying to lead us to believe that. 

Even with the best scouting reports on these teams, you have to be careful about how you approach and handicap the start of the season.

I like being contrarian at the start of the season (in any sport), and I also give teams the good ol' "eye test" a lot of the time as well.

And looking at these two teams, I think that NDSU could/should, in fact, be favored here.

UC Davis is off the relatively simple 96-69 win over lowly Menlo College, while North Dakota State took heavily favored Oregon State down to the wire as a 9-point underdog, but eventually fell 67-65.

The Bison got balanced scoring in their loss, though, led by 17 points from Markhi Strickland.

But more impressive was their defensive play, which kept them in the game throughout and almost allowed them to pull off the outright upset. IF NDSU had won that Opening game, could they, in fact, possibly be favored by 1 point in this spot?

Perception is everything in the eyes of the public, and the bookmakers know it.

As I said, I think the wrong team is favored here. I'm grabbing the points with NORTH DAKOTA STATE.

Good luck, NP

This is a FREE PLAY on the OVER Jackets/Flames.

I base my picks on many different things, but for the most part ,I base my Over/Under releases on what I perceive to be great "situations." 

And that's the case with this one, as I believe a faster-paced affair will lead to plenty of pucks finding the back of the net on Wednesday night in Calgary.

The Flames enter hungry, just 3-9-2 overall, including 1-3-1 at home, but off a 2-1 victory at Philadelphia to salvage the finale, clearly, Calgary can't look past this favorable opportunity.

And Calgary is favored here slightly, yet nearly 70% of the early money and bets are on the visiting side.

Columbus is 7-5 overall, including 4-2 on the road. That includes going 6-0 on the road with the puckline option, by the way.

Either way, while the Flames have clearly not lived up to expectations whatsoever this season so far, the Blue Jackets have exceeded, as they're now looking to bounce back after a 3-2 loss at the Islanders snapped a four-game win streak in which they combined to score 18 goals.

Columbus will be a bigger underdog in each of its remaining three road games at Vancouver, Edmonton, and Seattle, so this is a game for sure that the Blue Jackets will feel that they have a legitimate shot at winning.

This is the first game of the year between the clubs, but it appears to me to be one that will be fast-paced and wide-open offensively.

Consider the OVER.

Good luck, NP

This is a MAC TOTAL OF THE YEAR on the OVER Kent State/Ball State.

Both teams are 3-5, and each team only has four games remaining to become eligible. 

Kent State is 0-4 straight-up on the road this year and 2-2 against the spread, while Ball State is 3-0 SU and ATS at home.

When these teams played at Kent State last year, the Cardinals came out on top by a score of 37-35, unable to cover the three-point spread. 

While I don't think we'll see 72 combined points this season, because of the circumstances that each side finds itself in coming into this one, combined with a few other situational factors, and despite not playing to many high-scoring affairs of late, I believe this O/U line is way too low, and I look for these teams to easily eclipse the posted number well before the final whistle sounds.

Kent State has been trading wins/losses over its last four games and off a 24-21 win over Bowling Green at home as a 7.5-point underdog last time out, the Golden Flashes will be hoping that pattern doesn't continue today. 

Bowling Green is terrible, though. In its loss at home to Central Michigan the week before, they lost 27-6, and in their following contest against Buffalo, the Green Falcons lost 28-3 as 3-point favorites.

The fact that Kent State allowed Bowling Green to score 21 points says a lot about the Flashes' defense, I think.

Dru DeShields did more than enough for the Flashes under center as well, going 13 of 22 for 160 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. One other player to keep your eyes on today for Kent State is Gavin Garcia, who rushed six times for 53 yards, including a long of 45 and one touchdown.

Ball State has been trading wins and losses though for seven straight games, and the Cardinals WILL be hoping that that pattern continues after a 21-7 loss at Northern Illinois last time out.

The game, previous to that, here at home, though Ball State destroyed Akron 42-28 as a two-point underdog.

With tough road games at Toledo and Miami Ohio, to close out the season, these next two games at home for Ball State are critical, with a favorable home matchup against Eastern Michigan next week.

I expect Ball State quarterback Kiael Kelly, who was 10 of 23 for 136 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in last week's loss, to settle down and return to form. Note that he also added 86 rushing yards in the loss to NIU as well.

I see two motivated teams pushing the pace from start to finish on Wednesday night, and because of that, this becomes my MAC TOTAL OF THE YEAR on the OVER.

Good luck, NP