Scott Rickenbach

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NHL Rotation #37 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Toronto Maple Leafs vs Colorado Avalanche @ 7:05 ET - Each team could get some firepower back on the ice tonight and already a high-scoring game was expected here so players coming back is simply an added boost. Why were plenty of goals expected here? The Maple Leafs are in the second game of a back to back and that means back-up goalie Michael Hutchinson is expected to get the start here for Toronto. Hutchinson has gone 0-5-1 with an ugly 4.55 goals against average and poor .876 save percentage in seven games this season. He'll be facing a high-flying Avalanche team that is among the top scoring teams in the league even as they have battled through some injury issues. Toronto will be very hungry here after a late collapse against the Flyers as the game was much closer than the 6-1 final would indicate. However, though the Maple Leafs will battle back and should have a strong game in the offensive zone here (especially with Mitch Marner expected back) tonight, the problem for Toronto will be keeping the puck out of their own net. The Leafs have allowed 4 or more goals in 7 of their past 11 games. Prior to last night's loss the Maple Leafs had won 4 of 5 and scored an average of 4 goals per game. You can see why it would not be a surprise to see each team get to 4 goals in this one and yet all we need is each team to get to 3 goals apiece and we're in good shape here as the game would have to end with at least 7 goals - a 4-3 final. The Avalanche have won 8 of 11 games and have averaged scoring 4.4 goals per game during this hot streak. When these teams met in Colorado a week and a half ago a total of 8 goals were scored and I expect a similar result tonight. 10* OVER the total in Toronto

PA Insider - Rickenbach CBB Rotation #808 Wednesday 10* Top Play Villanova Wildcats (-) vs Pennsylvania Quakers @ 6:30 ET - This is part of The Big Five in Philadelphia and the other teams are LaSalle, St Joseph's, and Temple. Last year the Quakers upset the Wildcats and that ended a 25-game winning streak for Villanova in Big Five games. It also allowed Pennsylvania to win the Big Five Championship for the 2018-19 season. These teams come from different conferences, etc but the City of Philadelphia embraces the rivalries the "Big Five" has created and this "unofficial" Big Five city championship series extends back to the mid-fifties! It means a lot to these schools and I look for Villanova to get a big dose of payback on their home floor in this game. Yes the Wildcats have losses to Ohio State and Baylor this season but this is a strong Villanova team that will get even stronger as the season goes on. They were ahead by 20 points against LaSalle at halftime Sunday and then only won the game by 11 points as they allowed the Explorers to make a few runs in the second half. Considering what happened at Penn last season I don't look for the Cats to be so generous in the second half here. Look for Villanova to put their foots on the throats of the Quakers early and never take their foot off the gas. Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school, has a long break from basketball coming up because of semester final exams. However, they still enter this game at a disadvantage as they just got back from a West Coast trip while Nova was already at home facing LaSalle this past weekend. The last time the Wildcats hosted the Quakers they won by 28 points. I am expecting another huge win in this revenge game. Penn is a scrappy and respectable team but there is a talent disparity here and the Wildcats are highly motivated. I don't often lay big points but this is one of the rare exceptions due to the great situational value. 10* VILLANOVA

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NBA Rotation #557 Wednesday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Charlotte Hornets vs Golden State Warriors @ 7:05 ET - With the Warriors off a game in which they scored a season-low 79 points Monday and the Hornets off a game in which they were held to just 39 points in the first half Monday, it may seem enticing to take the under in this match-up. However, in typical contrarian fashion I am backing the over in this one as it is actually those low-scoring results that are leading to excellent value with this total. Both teams are determined to bounce back on the offensive end in this one and will be willing to push the pace all game long. Golden State was averaging 108 points per game their past 11 games on the road before that awful effort against the Hawks. Charlotte is averaging 109 points per game at home this season. The over is 9-5 this season when the Warriors enter a game having lost 3 of their last 4 games. The over is 6-3 this season when the Hornets enter a game on a losing streak of 2 or more games. Two teams hungry to bounce back here and you'll see that first-hand here with good tempo and plenty of scoring in this match-up. 10* OVER the total in Charlotte