Sports Handicapper Scott Rickenbach's Picks & Predictions

NHL Monday 10* Top Play Philadelphia Flyers Money Line +120 vs New York Islanders @ 7:05 ET - The Islanders are off B2B wins but had lost 10 of 11 games prior to that. Also, both those wins were on home ice. On the road, the Isles have lost 5 straight games and 10 of last 12. The home team is 2-0 in the two games between these divisional foes this season. The Flyers have been opposite of the Islanders this season. New York started hot than cooled. Philly had a very rough stretch earlier in the season for an extended period. However, they have since won 10 of 16 games. They did lose their most recent home game however in OT to the Kings. Philly either led or was tied with LA throughout the entirety of that game. They will make up for that home ice loss here and get back into the win column as they continue to exceed expectations of late while the Islanders have truly been mired in a long slump. Yes they acquired Bo Harvat from the Canucks and he is a great player but it could take him some time to "get on the same page" with his  teammates and they could be a bit sloppy on the ice coming out of the All Star break. Don't be surprised if the Flyers are the more cohesive group on home ice here and I look for a huge game from Carter Hart in goal as he has allowed a total of only 6 goals in regulation time of his last 4 starts. 10* PHILADELPHIA +120

NBA Monday 10* Top Play LA Clippers -6.5 @ Brooklyn Nets @ 7:40 ET - The Clippers won in overtime Saturday night. The guys that led them are who you would expect - Leonard, George, Powell. The Nets are off a win over Washington in which they rallied from a 23 point deficit in the eventual 2-point win. Brooklyn had 2 guys have career-best scoring games in that one and their output was ridiculous and will not be repeated here. Not even close. That said, we have a lot of value here because this Nets team is still without Durant and it sounds like Irving has been traded to Dallas. Also, Brooklyn has a lot of other banged up guys, including Curry who will miss tonight's game. Curry and Durant were the only two guys to score more than 13 points when the Nets upset the Clippers in LA by 15 points earlier this season. So this is a revenge game plus the situation is perfect. Normally I do not laying points on the road but I just can not see the Nets as being able to hang in this game. They are too depleted and guys will not repeat the magic they did on the floor against Washington this past weekend. This is a defensive and revenge-minded Clippers team that Brooklyn has to deal with tonight. 10* LA CLIPPERS -6.5

CBB Monday 10* Top Play Kansas Jayhawks -3.5 vs Texas Longhorns @ 9 ET - Great spot for Kansas in this one. They are off a sloppy road loss at Iowa State but perhaps got caught looking ahead to this showdown with the team leading the Big 12. Texas is having a great season, even surviving the situation head coach Beard and now having an interim head coach on the sidelines. I did have the Longhorns here as one of my two plays Saturday but it was not an easy win for them at Kansas State. The Horns were down big to the Wildcats at halftime and had to rally back and it was a physical game and it used a lot of energy for UT in the eventual 3-point win. That makes this is a very tough spot for Texas and their win at Kansas State was their first win over a ranked foe that was not a home game for UT. Prior to defeating the Wildcats, the Longhorns other 3 non-home games versus ranked foes had seen them lose in a neutral site game against Illinois plus the Horns lost by double digits at Iowa State and at Tennessee. I feel sure the Jayhawks are going to bounce back strong here Monday after their ugly loss at Iowa State. Also note that the last 8 times Kansas has been off a loss in which they allowed 79 points or less, they have gone a perfect 8-0 in their next game. The Jayhawks get it done again here coming off a loss as the guys surrounding Wilson do a much better job in this home game than they did against the Cyclones Saturday. Home court matters in this key Big 12 battle and KU gets it done at home! 10* KANSAS -3.5

Romania Liga 1 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 2 goals -130 in Farul vs Universitatea Craiova @ 1 ET - The ability to get a 2 here even at slightly higher juice is well worth it. I feel strongly we see at least 3 goals in this one but just can not imagine anyway possible that it does not get to at least 2 goals which, in this case, would give us a push here. The fact is the last 3 meetings between these clubs have all totaled at least 3 goals and, in fact, have averaged 5 goals apiece! Universitatea Craiova has won 3 of last 4 matches overall and averaged scoring 2 goals per match in those 3 victories. Farul is one of the top clubs in the league and is the highest scoring club in the league and is averaging 2 goals scored per match on the season! The sudden problem for Farul however is that they are allowing too many goals and, in fact, have conceded an average of 2.5 goals per match in their last 4 matches. 17 of Farul's last 18 matches have totaled at least 2 goals so you can see the value in this number here! 10* OVER 2 goals -130 in Farul

Romania Liga 1 Monday 10* Top Play OVER 2 in FC Botosani vs Petrolul Ploiesti @ 10 AM ET - I am fading the line move here and grabbing the over 2 goals as this one has moved down from a 2.5 as of matchday morning. FC Botosani has played better since the winter break and is off B2B victories. They scored 3 goals in those 2 victories. Also, FC Botosani has scored 4 goals in their last 3 home matches and has notched at least one goal in each of those 3 as a host. However, they did lose at  Petrolul Ploiesti 2-1 earlier this season and I am looking for a similar final score here regardless of the victor. Petrolul Ploiesti has scored at least 1 goal in 16 of last 21 matches. 13 of last 16 Petrolul Ploiesti matches have totaled at least 2 goals. In fact, those 13 matches have averaged 3 goals per match! Of course we are not playing this looking for the push and, as you can see per that stat, strong odds on this one getting to 3 goals for the win. Petrolul Ploiesti has had only 3 draws in 23 matches and they are angry off a slow start after the winter break so look for them to fight hard for the full 3 points in the table in this one. 10* OVER 2 in FC Botosani