Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#6473) Brandon Nakashima | Set Spread | . 

Probably not known as much as some of the other American players. But, Brandon Nakashima is one of the most consistent men's players on tour and I believe that he's going to continue to grow as a player over the next few years. He's more than capable of competing with some of the best in the game. Camilo Ugo Carabelli, today's opponent, doesn't really have what it takes quite yet to play with some of these bigger names. He's in and out of the ATP & Challenger competitions going back and forth. I know that he was able to win his first round matchup in straight sets. But, this is a significant step up in quality. Nakashima should be able to win this one in straight sets himself and move on. 

Burns' Prediction: 6-3, 6-2 Nakashima.

(#508) Phoenix Suns | ATS | . 

Both of these two teams played on Thursday. Phoenix remains at home though. Even after the loss, I believe that the Suns will come out ready to play on Friday evening. They are on the bubble of being a 1-6 playoff team at the moment and these twins are crucial if the Suns want to avoid the play-in tournament. Phoenix is already 3-0 against NOP this season and although I don't love that, that's the case, (given that it's hard to clean sweep a team 4-0) it's been so long between games that these recent meetings don't mean too much. 

The Pelicans won last night's game and I'm not expecting too many more wins for a team that's got 44 losses in 64 games this season. The Pels are definitely not "eliminated" from the playoffs yet. But, it's highly unlikely given its results so far this year. I expect more rest from the starters as the season gets older. Phoenix has much more to play for and I like the situation having seen it lose against Chicago on Thursday. Lay the points at home. 

Burns' Prediction: 113-101 Suns.

(#13) Minnesota Wild | ML | . 

I like Minnesota quite a bit here. Vegas is dealing with minor injuries at the moment with Stone being placed on the IR and Howden/Karlsson already on the IR-LT. Having said that, this is the perfect chance for the Wild to get some revenge on the team that knocked them out of the playoffs a season ago. Minnesota's also getting quite a bit of depth as it looks to keep rolling in a very tight race at the top of the Central standings.

Even though Vegas has 10 less points than Minnesota, it leads the poor Pacific Division at the moment, giving it a massive advantage. I do like the VGK to start winning again in the near future. But, without Stone for a couple of games, it's going to be tough over this next three game stretch. I like the Wild here. 

Burns' Prediction: 4-1 Wild.

(#873) Denver Pioneers @ (#874) North Dakota Fighting Hawks | OVER | . 

While neither of these teams play at an extremely fast pace, I'm expecting a ton of points in this basketball game on Friday evening. Both teams struggle on the defensive end. As. matter of fact, Denver ranks 357th in defensive efficiency this season while North Dakota ranks 334th. Not to mention that they are both also significantly better on the offensive end. 

When these teams have met up this year, both meetings went "over" the number which was similar to today's. While that's not always something that I like to point out, as there's always going to be change. However, considering that UND shot 3/21 from deep in the last game and was still able to score 79 on Denver's defense means that it should cause much more damage this evening. I've got the "over." 

Burns' Prediction: 88-86 Denver.

(#871) Nebraska Omaha Mavericks | ATS | . 

If you've followed me this season, you will have seen that I think that this Omaha team is much better than its record suggests. Well, I'm actually 5-0 on Omaha this season, while successfully playing my SUMMIT GOY and DOY on it this season. The Mavericks have had an off-year, given the fact that they were in the NCAA Tournament a year ago and have fallen in the standings. But, there's no question that they shouldn't be in the conversation when picking a winner in this conference tournament. They are experienced and definitely have the capabilities of doing so. South Dakota is not great and relies on shooting a ton of FT's. Omaha doesn't foul a whole lot. Give me the Mavs to move on. 

Burns' Prediction: 85-77 Omaha.

(#854) Bradley Braves | ATS | . 

Although Valparaiso had a fantastic comeback win to reach this point in the MVC. tournament, I believe that it's time has come to get sent home packing. The Beacons did finish the year quite well. However, they are 350th in 2pt FG % this season and that could be a real issue if the three ball isn't falling. 

I know that the Braves aren't great against 3pt shots, which is a bit worrisome. But, they have a fantastic player in Jaquan Johnson who was on this team last year and is ready to explode as the superstar of this tournament. Remember that Bradley made the final in this tournament a year ago. Bradley is much better offensively and I expect it to get the job done here this evening. 

Burns' Prediction: 77-66 Bradley.

(#306605) Florida Gulf Coast Eagles | ATS | . 

Upset alert. I know that FGCU had lost a pair of games coming into this tournament. But, the Eagles brushed those games off and really stepped it up on Wednesday in their domination of North Alabama. That's right, the Eagles managed to win by double digits while shooting 4/21 from three point land. I expect a much better shooting performance from the guys who shoot the ball quite effectively from all three levels. 

Lipscomb might have had the better regular season. But, this is a tough spot for the Bisons who haven't played in more than a week. I know that rest could very well help some teams. But, this is the longest stretch without a game since January and the Bisons lost that game on the same amount of days rest vs. Jacksonville. These kids want to play and having so much time off could come back to cost them. I'll grab the points. 

Burns' Prediction: 76-70 FGCU.

(#852) Murray State Racers | ATS | . 

I'm not sold on this Illinois Chicago team one bit. I know that the Flames had an eight game winning streak during conference play in this tournament. I know that it's difficult to beat a team three times (which Murray State will have to do.) But, the Flames are not great offensively, percentage wise, and that's going to be a problem on Friday afternoon. 

Murray State, on the other hand, is great offensively and will push the pace. The Racers haven't been at their best to end the season, which is most likely the reason for being only slight favorites. But, they have phenomenal athletes, who I think can compete among the best of the best in the country (if they were to make the tournament) and this might just be the coming out party for French freshman Roman Domon. They've had all week long to prepare for this game and I expect Murray State to explode to a big time victory here on Friday. 

Burns' Prediction: 88-75 Murray State.