Sports Handicapper William Burns's Picks & Predictions

(#536) Brooklyn Nets | ATS |. 

Both of these teams are simply very bad. New Orleans has won three games all season long and still has as many injuries as some teams do in an entire season. The Pelicans will be without Poole, Zion, Herb Jones, Murray & possibly Missi for this matchup. Playing on the road isn't going to help NOP's cause this weekend. 

Brooklyn, on the other hand, actually has won two of its three games in December so far. The Nets are without Cam Thomas, but still has the majority of its group and the young guys are starting to come alive. This is another great matchup for the Nets who are heating up. I'll lay the points. 

Burns' Prediction: 121-109 Nets.

(#40) Tampa Bay Lightning | ML | . 

Even though the Islanders have been very respectable in the highly competitive Eastern Conference this season, I do believe that they are one of the lesser teams in the Metro still at this point. New York does not do well on the power play whatsoever and that's not going to change here against the best penalty killing team in the NHL. 

Tampa Bay has lost consecutive games, but this is a revenge spot given that NYI just won on Tuesday vs. them. But, this time we're in Florida where the Lightning should in theory be much better. After the very slow start, Kucherov has been brilliant over the past few weeks and he's led the Lightning back to the top of the Atlantic. I've got Tampa here. 

Burns' Prediction: 5-2 Lightning.

(#24530) Maycee Barber | ML | . 

Although Karine Silva has a very solid record for the women's flyweight division, I do believe that she's a step below some of the top names. Silva suffered a loss not long ago against Viviane Araujo and followed it up by barely beating in her next fight (who's 8-4 now.) 

On the other hand, Maycee Barber is on a mission to claim UFC Gold. She's built up another phenomenal winning streak of six consecutive including fighters like Maverick, Eye & Ribas. Now, it's time for Barber to fully unleash her skillset and keep rising in the ranks. Although a KO is definitely on the cards, I'll go the safe route and just say Barber to win on Saturday. 

Burns' Prediction: Barber via. U-DEC.

(#34) Florida Panthers | ML | . 

Columbus has won consecutive games entering this matchup. However, the Jackets haven't been great defensively and gave up eight goals over those two games. They give up more than 30 shots per game which isn't going to help that cause slow down. Let's also note that CBJ has lost eight straight times against Florida dating back to December of 2022. 

I've been unsuccessful with the Panthers recently and that's not going to stop me from playing on them. I still firmly believe that this is a playoff team and that they will turn things around and very quickly. Florida's the B2B champs of the NHL. It's going to be back and better than ever and it begins today with a massive home win. 

Burns' Prediction: 4-2 Panthers.

(#686) California Golden Bears | ATS | . 

Even though Pacific has been outstanding through nine games, winning seven including four consecutive, I do believe that there's still a big gap between it and the higher levelled schools from the better conferences. The Tigers have played maybe two tough games all season long. One was a loss against Nevada and the other was a blowout defeat vs. FAU. 

For California, it's led by a guy that should turn some heads this season by the name of Dai Dai Ames. He's an absolute beast to pair with Justin Pippen (son of Scottie.) That being said , this Golden Bears team is filthy and not getting the credit that they deserve quite yet at this point in the season. 

The Cal Bears have beaten UCLA & Utah in consecutive games, both by more than a few buckets. This is an easier matchup and I've got Cal winning this one by double digits on Saturday without much trouble. 

Burns' Prediction: 84-62 Cal.

(#115) Georgia Bulldogs @ (#116) Alabama Crimson Tide | UNDER | . 

During the regular season when these teams met in Athens, Bama was able to secure the victory winning 24-21. I'm expecting another game that features 45 or less points. UGA knows that this is a chance to put doubt in the Tide's playoff hopes and I believe that a win for UGA would definitely do that. Georgia's only mess up was during that game and have looked insane ever since. Defense has been the key as well as the Dawgs don't give up much yardage at all. 

Bama, on the other hand, is going to need to rely on its defense as well. The Tide didn't score a single point in that first game in the second half and very well could have trouble against Kirby Smart's adjustments in this game. I'm definitely happy to see this line at where it is and I'm all over the "under" on Saturday afternoon. 

Burns' Prediction: 23-17 Georgia.

(#621) Ohio State Buckeyes | ATS | . 

I know that Ohio State is on the road. However, I do believe that it's the better team by a significant margin in this matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes, who are #36 in KenPom's efficiency rankings through seven games, just lost their first game of the season which was bound to happen eventually. However, the second half performance on the road really gave me the idea of what team this is. A team that will never give up and fight against any program in the country. Northwestern has not looked so good in consecutive games now, losing both of those contests. The Wildcats don't shoot enough threes to keep up with the Buckeyes in a game that should be controlled by OSU. I'll grab the point and a half. 

Burns' Prediction: 81-74 OSU.

(#308975) Prairie View A&M Panthers | ATS | . 

With the FBS being (essentially) like a "Division 1" and FCS being a "Division 2" for CFB fans, not too many people pay attention to the FCS during the season. College Football is fantastic to watch no matter the teams and these guys are still playing for a title. Well, more than just one. This one goes in the SWAC Championship Game. 

Prairie View A&M went 9-3 this year while Jackson State went 9-2. Yes, the Tigers are at home and have been unbeaten on this field for a couple of years now. However, the Panthers have been absolutely dominant defensively over the past six weeks and I believe that this line is way too high. I wouldn't be shocked whatsoever if A&M pulls off the upset (and will predict one) but I'll take the points. 

Burns' Prediction: 24-20 A&M.

(#202453) FC Bayern Munich @ (#202454) VFB Stuttgart | OVER | . 

All season long, Bayern Munich has supplied the ability to score, against any team. Even though it was a loss against Arsenal that it suffered in the UCL recently, the kings of Germany didn't take too much time to dwell on that performance and scored three goals in consecutive games/wins since that match already. 

Stuttgart has been piling up the goals itself as of late. Over its past six contest across all competitions, it's been able to put 16 goals in the back of the net. That's excellent for any team in the Bundesliga. Having said that, I like its chances to put at least one past Bayern. 

Both of these teams are capable of scoring and have shown meltdowns defensively in recent weeks. I'm hammering the "over" in this contest on Saturday in Stuttgart. 

Burns' Prediction: 4-2 Bayern.

(#201201) ACF Fiorentina @ (#201202) U.S. Sassuolo Calcio | UNDER | . 

Practically dead last in the Serie A, Fiorentina has been very, very bad this season. It's quite shocking considering that it hasn't been horrible in the UECL whatsoever. But, during 13 games this season, Fiorentina has yet to win a single game within Italia. At least its defense hasn't been horrendous, like most teams in Italy, keeping the scores much lower. 

Sassuolo has fared much better than its opponent today and is at home for this match. It should be considered the favorite but given that it just got shut out vs. Como in its last game, I wouldn't be shocked if Sassuolo had a harder time scoring here on Saturday. I don't expect much goal scoring in this one. 

Burns' Prediction: 1-0 Sassuolo.