Scott Rickenbach Handicapper Reviews & Picks

CBB In the Zone Sunday Top Play 10* OVER 133 in Lehigh Mountain Hawks vs Loyola Maryland Greyhounds @ 6 ET - This total has moved lower than it should be in my opinion and we have excellent line value here as a result. The Greyhounds have won 4 straight and 9 of last 11 so they are playing with a lot of confidence. Loyola Maryland, and not including OT points, has had only 3 games out of last 10 that have totaled less than the posted total on this game. The odds are in our favor to top this total because Lehigh also playing with added confidence from winning 5 of last 6 games. No the Mountain Hawks are not a great team by any stretch of the imagination but winning games and now playing again at home here, it all adds up to confidence and a good pace of play. Lehigh has averaged 78.4 points scored per game in those 5 wins. 10* OVER 133 in Lehigh

NHL Early Annihilation Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 5.5 in Washington Capitals vs Vancouver Canucks @ 2:05 ET - Both teams off low-scoring efforts yesterday and I feel that has given us excellent line value here with this total dropping to a 5.5 in some of the big books. We'll take it in a non-conference match-up and with the Capitals off a 2-0 win in a very tightly-played physical low-scoring battle with the division rival Islanders yesterday. They now go from that to a non-conference opponent and plus the Canucks have allowed at least 4 goals in each of their last 3 games. Before yesterday's 4-1 loss, each of Vancouver's last 3 games - which did include a 5-2 win - totaled 6 or more goals. The Capitals, before the shutout win yesterday, had lost 4 straight and allowed 4.3 goals per game in those defeats and I feel strongly that we are going to see a game with a lot of open ice and quality scoring chances here given the back to back situation. Also, back to backs tend to test a teams goalie situation and that is another strength here as the shutout was from Vanecek yesterday and plus the Canucks used their #1 netminder, Demko yesterday. 10* OVER 5.5 in Washington

NFL Wild Card Total of the Year Sunday 10* Top Play OVER 46 in Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers @ 8:15 ET - Decent football weather expected for this one with no precipitation, temperatures right around freezing and winds around a moderate 10 mph. Both offenses will have the playbooks wide open for this one. Now I know that the Steelers offense has struggled but the way I see this game playing out is the Chiefs getting a big lead and then we're going to see some extra scoring in garbage time for sure. Just like Big Ben had a big game in his final home game of his career two weeks ago, the Steelers also want to give him a good send off here and everyone will likely be doing their part in that regard. That means more points than you would likely expect from the Steelers here. Keep in mind, the Chiefs have allowed at least 24 points in 3 of last 4 games and that is part of the reason the over trend is 5-0 last 5 Kansas City games. Also, about that Steelers defense, it has not traveled well. Pittsburgh has allowed 33.4 points per game in last 5 road games. The Chiefs are favored by about two touchdowns here and given the above numbers and the situation with Roethlisberger airing it out in this game I feel certain, look for a 35-21 or 38-24 type game here. This should fly over as a 6th straight KC game tops the number. 10* OVER 46 in Kansas City

NFL Contrarian Crusher Sunday 10* Top Play San Francisco 49ers +3 @ Dallas Cowboys @ 4:30 ET - You all likely know the traditional factor of a home team generally having a factor of 3 points in the line in the NFL. That said, this line is saying that these teams are equal even though Dallas finished 12-5 and won their division while the 49ers barely made the playoffs! San Francisco's 10-7 record placed them 3rd in their 4 team division. With all this said, you know where that places me on this game. When something does not look right most will just line up on that side where they feel there is a mistake and now they miraculously have some gift from the odds makers. It just does not work that way folks. Many may be enticed to play Dallas at home -3 here but in typical contrarian fashion I am on the other side of the public in this one. The Cowboys went only 5-3 at home this season and the Niners went 6-3 on the road. Also, SF won 7 of last 9 games and Dallas - other than 2 wins against Eagles in divisional battles - went 1-4 in games against playoff teams. This is another game where all the pressure is on the home favorite. In fact, the expectation is that if Cowboys don't make a run in this post-season there will be some coaching staff shake-ups. This is a lot of pressure on a team and Dallas has never been known for handling pressure well. Upset alert! 10* SAN FRANCISCO +3

NFL Earliest Dominator Sunday 8* Philadelphia Eagles +8 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 1 ET - The big underdog Eagles getting some help from mother nature in this one as very windy conditions expected in Tampa for this one. This could limit the passing games a bit and when you compare the running games of these teams the Eagles certainly hold the big edge. Since Philadelphia went to their heavy ground attack, that is when the team has flourished. Prior to their loss in a season-ending finale that had no meaning to them (guys sat, etc) Philly had won 7 of 9 games. Of course the Buccaneers are the defending Super Bowl champs and finished the season red hot so I am not saying the Eagles win this outright of course. I am simply saying that getting more than a TD is offering great value here. Before their blowout win over the Panthers in the season finale, only 5 of Tampa Bay's last 14 games were Bucs wins by more than a TD! The Eagles know they must get after Brady in this game and between the wind and QB pressure, I think Tom Brady and Company will be held in check more than usual in this game. The "we have nothing to lose" Eagles come into this game loose and relaxed knowing nothing is expected of them while all the pressure is on Brady and Company as one of the Super Bowl favorites. Glad to grab the big points here. 8* PHILADELPHIA +8