Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#624) SMU Mustangs | ATS | . 

Don't get me wrong, Butler has looked very strong so far this season. However, the Bulldogs have played little to no competition and all three of their contests have been easy home games. Today, they go on the road for their first test of the season and we're going to see if they have any sort of response to an ultra strong offense and fast paced team.

SMU is quietly one of the most underrated teams in the country. Sitting in the #53 spot in the KenPom efficiency rankings, the Mustangs should be right in the mix come March. They dropped 102 on Murray State in a double digits win in their last game and I expect more points in this one. Considering the Mustangs shoot tremendously better than the Bulldogs from the charity stripe (81% opposed to 68.6%) I'm laying the points on the home fav. 

Burns' Prediction: 94-75 SMU.

(#658) Nebraska Cornhuskers | ATS | . 

As we are still very early into the season, there's still not much to compare with certain schools. That being said, Oklahoma has not impressed me all that much so far. The Sooners do have two blowout home wins, which is expected. However, the game against Gonzaga simply wasn't close. OU looked like boys amongst men in that game and I have a feeling that this game could turn similar. 

No, this isn't a home game for the Cornhuskers. But, Nebraska is the closer team to home in this game. It's plenty experienced and I believe it could be one of the top sleeper teams in the Big Ten this season. The Cornhuskers have completely shut down their opponents, allowing an average of 56.3 PPG so far. I'll lay the small number. 

Burns' Prediction: 86-77 Nebraska.

(#523) Toronto Raptors @ (#524) Indiana Pacers | OVER | . 

All season long, the Raptors have struggled to defend. Yes, they are in the middle of the pack in PPG allowed. However, there's some games where it's simply unacceptable. Toronto has a winning record at the moment and will be the favorites for today's game. But, I don't see it blowing the Pacers out, if it ends up victorious. 

One thing we know for sure is that Indiana's going to want to run. The Pacers love to play fast and even though they don't score a ton of points, they are definitely able to be competitive at times. You may be thinking.. William. this team is 1-11. What are you saying? Well, the problem is on defense. Indiana's allowing 122.7 PPG this season and that's fourth worst in the NBA. 

Neither of these two teams are great defensively and both play at respectable speeds. This game has all the means of a high scoring affair and I'm all for it on Saturday evening. Hammer the "over." 

Burns' Prediction: 126-121 Raptors.

(#654) Connecticut Huskies | ATS | . 

The Cougars definitely have the hype of having one of the best freshman's in the 2025 class as well as a very good returning team from last year. However, I believe that there's still plenty of work to do for this team to be ready to compete come March. BYU does have a 3-0 record and has looked strong. But, the Cougars didn't cover against Nova in the first game of the season which was their only tough contest up until now. Kennard Davis (a starter) also got arrested yesterday. That's not what BYU fans were looking forward to hearing about. UCONN, on the other hand, is strictly business this season. Head Coach Dan Hurley has the guys playing dominant level basketball and each game hasn't been close. I get that the Huskies haven't played anyone. But, this is a great spot to be in for UCONN, playing its first tough game against a team with a young superstar. Give me the Huskies at TD Garden on Saturday. 

Burns' Prediction: 81-66 UCONN.

(#30) Florida Panthers | ML | . 

It hasn't been a pretty season for Tampa Bay so far. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a GAA under 3.00 which is always good but it definitely hasn't been his strongest season. Nikita Kucherov has also been very, very underwhelming. That being said, the Lightning are currently in 6th place in the Atlantic and aren't really moving up or down at the moment. 

Florida has been dealing with lots of injuries which is always tough. But, the Panthers remain higher than Tampa nonetheless and will be playing at home in this game. These games are always intense with both teams in the same state. But, the Panthers are 6-1-1 at home this season and have been one of the best teams at home in hockey over the past few seasons. 

I do believe that Tampa will pick it up come the end of the month and into December throughout the rest of the year because it always ends up figuring things out. But, Florida is the better team in this situation and this is a great spot to play on it. This is my DIV. GAME OF THE YEAR. 

Burns' Prediction: 5-3 Florida.

(#200933) Exeter City @ (#200934) Leyton Orient | OVER | . 

Exeter City and Leyton Orient share the same record with 15 matches played this season. Exeter might not be the best offensive team at all in the league, but it's capable of scoring goals and this might be an opportunity for it to open up and get on the scoresheet a few times against a poor defensive side. 

That's right, Leyton Orient isn't the greatest at all at defending having allowed 27 goals this season. It's scored 22 though so it's definitely got attacking play of its own. Leyton just gave up four goals to an average Wycombe team last weekend. At home, I expect it to score so this game should finish with plenty of goals. 

Burns' Prediction: 3-2 Leyton Orient.

(#369) Utah Utes | ATS | . 

Although Utah is on the road and is a slightly bigger favorite that I would've hoped for this weekend, this is a completely different Utes team from squads of the past few seasons. They are built to score and dominate on defense, exactly how Kyle Whittingham wants this team to play. Every single win of the Utes this season has been by 20+ points & I'm expecting another double digit win this evening. 

Baylor is fresh off an excellent performance against the Knights of Central Florida. However, the Bears have four losses including consecutive defeats on the road. They can't stop the run and that's going to be a massive issue on Saturday, even at home. This game could get ugly if the Baylor offense isn't clicking. 

Burns' Prediction: 38-17 Utah.

(#320) Georgia Southern Eagles | ATS | . 

Coastal Carolina has won four consecutive games coming into this game. However, the Chanticleers simply aren't anything special. Their offense ranks near the bottom in total yards gained, especially the passing game. I don't love their defense either, and they definitely are an overrated 6-3 football team in my books. Just 2-2 on the road as well. 

Last weekend's road win over Appalachian State gives Georgia Southern a huge boost of confidence for the remainder of the season. With four win,s the Eagles need two of the three final games to claim a bowl game. That's definitely doable w/ two games at home. They have a very solid offense and should be able to use home field to their advantage on Saturday. Lay the points. 

Burns' Prediction: 34-20 GASO.

(#392) New Mexico Lobos | ATS | . 

I was lucky to have chosen the right Colorado State game when I had them vs. Fresno State earlier this season. Other than that game, it's been a horrible year for the Rams and it's only getting worse. Over the past two weeks, they've been outscored 70-10 and one of those games was at home. 

On the other hand, New Mexico is on a tear right now. The Lobos just knocked off UNLV on the road and have won three consecutive games to reach the six win mark. Yes, this is a big accomplishment already for this stage in the season. But, there's still lots of work to be done if they want to be crowned MWC champs. With Boise State/SDST playing this weekend, there's still tons to play for. Give me New Mexico by a lot on Saturday. 

Burns' Prediction: 40-16 UNM.

(#331) Memphis Tigers | ATS | . 

It was a bad performance from Memphis last weekend against Tulane in a game that it just played horribly in the first half in. Before that game, the Tigers were the Group of Five program that would've been in the Playoff had the season ended then. However, the loss has put a real speed bump in that happening. That being said though, there's definitely still hope. Needing some help still, a win here would put the Tigers right back in the conversation of the AAC Title Game with just a few games remaining. While the stats aren't all in favor of Memphis in this matchup, I believe that its offense is much better than ECU's. 

Don't get me wrong, this winning streak that the Pirates have put together has been fun to watch. Now 4-1 in conference play and very much in the running for the title game as well, this is a huge test for ECU. However, East Carolina hasn't been completely dominant at home this season as it's suffered a 21 point loss here in Greenville earlier this season (vs. BYU.) I believe that the Tigers are going to be pissed after last weekend and end the season very strong. Give me the points on Saturday. 

Burns' Prediction: 34-27 Memphis.

(#24334) Malcolm Wellmaker | ML | . 

I get that Cody Haddon is expected to be an excellent fighter and has looked great so far in his limited time inside the octagon. However, he's got much less experience and hasn't fought someone with the speed and quickness that Malcolm Wellmaker possesses. His loss was actually against Steve Erceg, many years ago before either made it to the big show. I do respect what Haddon's been able to do. But, he's still young and has a lot to work on in the fighting game before making a run at the title. 

On the other hand, Wellmaker is on an absolute tear. He's a perfect 10-0 in his professional career and has stopped Cameron Saaiman & Kris Moutinho in the first round already this year. I believe that he's going to keep growing as his career progresses and become a force in the Bantamweight Division for many years still. Yes, this might be his toughest test yet. But, I'll grab Wellmaker any day of the week at this price against an inexperienced fighter. This is my BANTAMWEIGHT FIGHT OF THE YEAR. 

Burns' Prediction: Wellmaker via. 2nd Round KO.

(#409) New Mexico State Aggies @ (#410) Tennessee Volunteers | OVER | . 

While New Mexico State probably isn't going to put up much of a fight in this game, I do believe that it will help contribute to today's total. The Aggies don't have the worst offense at all, definitely considering that they've won three out of their nine games this season. They are actually averaging a very respectable 23.6 PPG in their five games since the beginning of October. 

It's going to help that the Tennessee defense has been atrocious this season as well, allowing 31.1 PPG to its opponents. Having said that, the Volunteers are going to want to put on a show on Saturday afternoon, with this being their "freebee" game at the end of the season. Earlier this season, when they played non power-four conference teams, they scored 72 points on ETSU & 56 points on UAB. 

I expect points galore in this game and I wouldn't even be shocked of the Vols crack this total by themselves. Their offense is undeniably excellent and stats should be the only thing on their mind in this game. This is my #1 CFB TOTAL OF THE YEAR in 2025-26. 

Burns' Prediction: 63-14 Tennessee.

(#325) Texas Longhorns | ATS | . 

Well, well, well. Before the season, I had predicted that Texas was going to win the National Title this season. While it didn't look very good to start the year, I still believe that there's a chance. Winning out is necessary though. Otherwise, the Longhorns stand no chance. That being said, this is a massive (multi) revenge game from last season as the Bulldogs knocked off the Longhorns twice last season. 

Georgia has definitely been the stronger team this season, and that's why it owns the better ranking and is the favorite. However, the Bulldogs have definitely not been at their best in recent weeks, beating Florida by just four a couple of weekends ago. This is a spot where coming back home might hurt Georgia considering that it's getting the job done on the road right now. 

I know that the Dawgs have a huge edge in home games. But, they've already lost at home to Alabama this season and there's definitely something in the air that's going to be electric in this game. Sark will have Manning and the guys ready. Are you ready for a big time upset on Saturday night in Athens? 

Burns' Prediction: 31-26 Texas.