Early Total Rout - Rickenbach NHL Game #53 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Washington Capitals vs Minnesota Wild @ 7:05 ET - The Capitals have scored an average of 4.1 goals per game their last dozen games. The Wild have had some trouble in the goal-scoring department of late but a visit to Washington should provide the perfect remedy. The Caps have allowed 5 or more goals in 3 of their last 5 games. The over is 4-1 in the Capitals last 5 games. Washington is 18-6-2 to the over this season when they are off a game in which they allowed 4 or more goals. The Wild are 13-8-1 to the over this season when they are off a divisional game. Minnesota has allowed 3 or more goals in 7 of its last 9 games. The Wild have scored 3 or more goals in 11 of their last 14 road games. Of course if both teams get to 3 goals here we've got ourselves nothing less than a 4-3 final since there are no ties in hockey. In other words, look for this to one fly over the total! Minnesota has been scoring better away from home ice and only 3 of their last 8 road games against Eastern Conference foes have resulted in an under. Look for at least 7 goals in this one. 10* OVER the total in Washington

Early ATS Smash - Rickenbach NBA Game #506 Friday 10* Top Play Cleveland Cavaliers (+) vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 7:35 ET - The Cavaliers are 4-0 SU and ATS in their last 4 home games and that included knocking off the Raptors and the Bucks! Now they host a Clippers team playing the first game of an eastern road swing. These road trips tend to be tough on west coast teams. Even if the Clippers find a way to notch a road win here I expect it to come by the slimmest of margins. Certainly with the Cavaliers confidence growing with each late season win they are playing their best basketball of the season and have a chance at the outright upset here. Kevin Love has been cleared to play and that was a key for me in backing the Cavs here. The Clippers are off a win and cover but, prior to that big home win versus the Pacers, the Clips had failed to cover 3 straight games. The Cavaliers are 10-4 ATS this season when off a divisional game. Los Angeles is 12-21 ATS when the Clippers enter a game having played each of their 3 prior games at home. 10* CLEVELAND

1st Round Game of the Year - Rickenbach CBB Game #813 Friday 10* Top Play Ohio State Buckeyes (+) vs Iowa State Cyclones @ 9:50 ET - Having Kaleb Wesson back is a key for the Buckeyes and had he not had foul trouble and been limited to just 16 minutes versus Michigan State who knows how that eventual 7 point loss might have turned out. Keep in mind Wesson missed the final 3 games of the regular season and all 3 of those were losses. Certainly Wesson is an important player for Ohio State and he entered the Spartans game having scored 17 points or more in 3 of his 4 prior games. Also, Wesson had notched 5 steals, 7 assists, and 4 blocks in his 2 prior games. In his 5 prior games he had averaged 9.8 rebounds per game! The Buckeyes are 6-0 all time against the Cyclones and while I certainly respect Iowa State, did they use up all their magic in the feverish run through the Big 12 tourney? The fact is the Cyclones entered the tournament having lost 6 of their 8 prior games. I feel we're getting great line value here with the sizable points being offered to Ohio State. Iowa State is on an 0-4 ATS run in games with a posted total between 132 and 142 points. The Buckeyes physical style could take the Cyclones out of their game and Iowa State certainly is not known for their defense either so if their shots aren't falling on the other end they're in trouble here! We're getting line value here with Ohio State because they have an ugly ATS record on the season including a poor late season run at the betting window. Take advantage of the value with a team that is built well for some tournament upsets! 10* OHIO STATE

1st Round Total of the Year - Rickenbach CBB Game #797 Friday 10* Top Play OVER the total in Duke Blue Devils vs North Dakota State Bison @ 7:10 ET - The Bison are known for their hot shooting ability but they also are horrible defensively. I expect that to lead to plenty of points in this one. North Dakota State is now 6-2 to the over this season in neutral site games after their game versus North Carolina Central on Wednesday easily went over the total. The Bison have scored an average of 79 points per game in their 8 neutral site games this season. ND St has shot better than 40% from three point land in EACH of their last four games. The way I see this game playing out is that Duke will score a ton of points and get out to a huge lead and then will be able to relax defensively. This will open up the scoring for the Bison in "garbage time" as this game goes on. North Dakota State has proven all season long they have sharpshooters and that will help send this one over the total because Duke might get to triple digits on their own in this one! The over is 4-1 in Bison NCAA Tournament games. The Blue Devils are a long-term 16-10 to the over in games with a posted total in the 140s. Also, just two of Duke's last 6 NCAA Tournament games have resulted in an under. The Blue Devils averaged 88 points per game this season in games where they were favored by 13 or more points. 10* OVER the total in Duke

Daytime Dominator - Rickenbach CBB Game #825 Friday 8* Oregon Ducks (+) vs Wisconsin Badgers @ 4:30 ET - This is another 12 through 5 match-up where even the odds makers are telling you an upset would not be a surprise. Yesterday we saw Murray State upset Marquette and New Mexico State very nearly upset Auburn. The Aggies 1 point loss to the Tigers easily got them the cover. Look for another ATS win here for a #12 seed and I expect another Wisconsin team to go down just like the Golden Eagles did against the Racers yesterday. Just a few days ago the Ducks were a 1.5 point favorite in this match-up and now they are a 2-point dog. As I so often do, I am going against the line move here and taking advantage of the value on the other side. The Badgers are led by front court star Ethan Happ but there are two issues with that in this match-up. First off, Oregon starts a point guard an then 4 guys all with height and this includes plenty of length and athleticism. They will be able to frustrate Happ to a degree. The other issue with the big man is he can't hit free throws as he is below 50% from the charity stripe. I respect the Badgers and their coach and their solid defense. But the Ducks, led by coach Dana Altman, also certainly deserve a ton of respect here and they are the much hotter team and, in my opinion, also match-up very well in what is expected to be a defensive-minded low-scoring battle. The Ducks are hot at the right time as they've won 8 straight both SU and ATS! The Badgers are a long-term 5-14 ATS in neutral court games where their line ranges from pick to a -3 and that includes 0-3 SU and ATS in recent seasons. Ride the hot Ducks! 8* OREGON

Afternoon Annihilation - Rickenbach CBB Game #828 Friday 8* Kansas State Wildcats (-) vs Cal-Irvine Anteaters @ 2 ET - This line was as high as a 5.5 and is now as low as a 4 as of game day morning. I am happy to lay this number with the much superior and more battle-tested team. As you would expect, Kansas State has played a much tougher schedule than Cal-Irvine has. Also, the Catamounts come of out of the Big West and certainly won't surprise the Wildcats as they just saw them last season in November. The Cats demolished the Anteaters by a margin of 22 points. Most importantly was how consistent Kansas State was in the victory. They led at half by 13 and then won the second half by 9 points too. UC-Irvine is a popular choice for an upset here because they have a great record this season and enter the tourney on a huge long-term SU winning streak. However, those backing the Anteaters on the merits of those two factors are overlooking the difference in level of competition these two programs face. The numbers support that importance too as Cal-Irvine is a long-term 0-7 SU and 1-5 ATS in games against Big 12 opponents! UC Irvine is known for their defense but Kansas State can certainly play some D as well! Note that the Anteaters are just 1-3 ATS the last 4 times they've faced a team allowing 64 points or less per game. As for the Wildcats, they are 3-1 ATS when facing a team that is allowing 64 points or less per game. Also, the Cats are 10-4 ATS L14 games against teams with a winning record while Cal-Irvine went a modest 6-6 ATS against teams with a winning record this season. 8* KANSAS STATE

Earliest Cash - Rickenbach CBB Game #805 Friday 8* Iowa Hawkeyes (+) vs Cincinnati Bearcats @ 12:15 ET - The Hawkeyes enter the Big Dance having lost 5 of their last 6 games SU and also on a 1-9 ATS run. However, the NCAA Tournament can be a "season" in and of its own and is like a fresh start. Post-season tournaments are also known not to go well under Mick Cronin at Cincinnati. I give Iowa a big coaching edge with Fran McCaffery and, keep in mind, he missed a couple of those late season Hawkeyes losses due to a suspension. The Bearcats finally got past Houston in the AAC Tournament and I won't be surprised if they now fall flat after that highly coveted win over the Cougars. Yes, this game is being played "close to home" for Cincinnati but the line opened up at a 3 with good reason and now that is moving to as high as a 5 in some spots, it is "go time" with the underdog Hawkeyes. The Bearcats are on a 4-11 ATS run in games against teams with a winning record. Iowa went 7-3 ATS this season as an underdog of 5.5 points or less and all 7 wins were outright upsets. I expect another upset win here but am grabbing the points with the Hawkeyes for "insurance" in this one should they fall just short. 8* IOWA