Scott Rickenbach

CBB Tuesday 10* Top Play Miami Hurricanes -4 @ Virginia Tech Hokies @ 7 ET - The Hokies are off B2B wins but they were at home. One of the wins was an upset of Duke so now this Virginia Tech team getting a little too much respect on the road here. Not only have they struggled in true road games all season long, the Hokies had lost 7 straight games overall prior to those B2B wins. So, yes, they started the season 11-1 but a lot has changed since then. Now they face a Miami team that is angry off a home loss to Pittsburgh in which the Panthers scored the final 11 points in the 3 point defeat! Ironically, the Hurricanes also blew their home game against the Hokies late last season in a game in which Virginia Tech rallied from a big 2nd half deficit. So the point is that this is a great spot to back a very angry Canes team! Also, Miami has gone 4-0 this season when off a loss. They will respond here and the point spread is small enough at 4 points that this is a very manageable number. The Hurricanes will be very determined off a loss and they catch Virginia Tech at the right time as Hokies on the road after B2B home wins following a 7-game slide. This one gets ugly. 10* MIAMI -4 

NBA Tuesday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Clippers -3 @ Chicago Bulls @ 8 ET - The Bulls are off a win but had lost 5 of 8 games before that win. Also, each of last 8 games for Chicago came against teams that currently have a losing record entering Tuesday's action. This will be the Bulls toughest test in awhile and, making matters even tougher, the Clippers enter this game fired up off a loss. LA had been hot before the loss and they also are a perfect 3-0 the last 3 times they have been off a defeat in which they scored less than 110 points. In this case, Los Angeles off an ugly loss in which they were held to just 99 points and I fully expect a huge response here as a result. The Clippers had won 5 in a row before that loss and get right back on track here. 10* LA CLIPPERS -3

NHL Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 6 in Carolina Hurricanes vs Los Angeles Kings @ 7 ET - I know the Hurricanes are a strong team that generally gets good goalie work and does not allow a lot of goals. However, this could be a bit of a flat spot for them off of the hard-fought win over the Bruins. That was a key 1-2 battle in the Eastern Conference and could leave the Canes perhaps still celebrating here. So don't be surprised if the Kings put Carolina on their heels a bit here early and get some goals but then the Hurricanes should come roaring back of course. This Carolina team has been so strong in the offensive zone. The Canes, before the 4-1 win over Boston, had seen 10 of their last 12 games total at least 7 goals! Incredibly, Carolina has averaged scoring 4 goals per game last 20 games! The Kings also have been solid in the goal-scoring department with 3.2 goals scored per game last 15 games! Also, 12 of last 15 Los Angeles games have totaled at least 6 goals so excellent line value with this rather favorable posted total given the recent trending. 10* OVER 6 in Carolina

English Carabao Cup, Semifinals, Tuesday 10* Top Play OVER 2.5 in Newcastle United vs Southampton @ 3 ET - These clubs met last Tuesday at Southampton and Newcastle United prevailed 1-0 in that match. Though that was low-scoring, there were numerous big saves plus a goal disallowed by VAR. The fact is I liked the chances that both clubs had on the attack and I expect more of the same here and this time it leads to a total of at least 3 goals. Southampton is at the bottom of the table in Premier League action this season but outside of the EPL they continue to perform well. Look for another strong effort here but Newcastle is a large favorite with good reason. I look for Southampton to score at least once here but the home club to prevail and win this at least 2-1. Note that Southampton, in EPL action, have 0 draws in 10 matches. So if they get at least 1 goal here and you know the hosts should ultimately prevail in this one, then we are talking about at least a 2-1 final. Again, I like the way Southampton played in the last match plus they have averaged scoring 1.3 goals per match in last 6 matches across all competitions. Southampton's last 4 matches away from home across all competitions all have totaled 3 or more goals! Newcastle, generally speaking, is not a high-scoring club but they know they should have had much more than 1 in last Tuesday's match-up at Southampton and with this one now at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, they will be relentless on the attack! 10* OVER 2.5 in Newcastle