Sean Murphy

Tuesday CBB Free play. My selection is on Pittsburgh plus the points over Minnesota at 7 pm et on Tuesday.

Pitt is off to a tough 2-4 start to the season and enters Tuesday's clash with Big Ten foe Minnesota on a two-game skid. The Panthers looked like a deflated balloon coming off a blowout loss to Vandy, suffering a stunning double-digit defeat at the hands of Maryland-Baltimore County last time out. Expect a response from Jeff Capel's Panthers on Tuesday as they host Minnesota in a winnable contest before heading on the road for their ACC opener against Virginia on Friday. The Golden Gophers will be playing their first true road game of the season on Tuesday as they try to stay undefeated on the campaign. That's notable as they went winless in true road games last season, 0-10 to be exact (1-9 ATS). We can expect some regression to the mean in terms of both teams' defensive play. Minnesota has held its last two opponents to 32.8% and 31.7% shooting. Meanwhile, Pitt has been lit up over its last two contests, allowing the opposition to shoot 48.1% from the field. Noting that the Gophers are a miserable 19-40 ATS when coming off four ATS wins in their last five games while the Panthers are 12-2 ATS the last 14 times they've come off consecutive home losses, we'll back Pitt in this spot. Take Pittsburgh.

My selection is on Florida over Washington at 7:05 pm et on Tuesday.

We missed the mark fading the Capitals on Sunday in Carolina as the Hurricanes came out flat only to rally from 2-0 down to tie the game before eventually falling 4-2. I won't hesitate to go back to the well again on Tuesday, however, as Washington continues its road trip against the revenge-minded Panthers in Sunrise. Florida dropped a 4-3 decision in Washington on November 26th. That sets the Panthers up well here, noting that they've gone 19-8 the last 27 times they've been in a revenge spot, outscoring opponents by an average margin of 0.7 goals along the way. Off a stunning 4-1 loss to Seattle on Saturday, it's also worth noting that Florida has gone 9-1 the last 10 times it has come off a game in which it was held to a goal or less, outscoring opponents by 1.1 goals on average in that spot. The Capitals can match a season-high with a fourth consecutive victory on Tuesday. Note that their previous four-game winning streak included victories over the likes of Buffalo and Detroit. Florida enters this contest trying to avoid a third straight defeat. It did lose four in a row earlier this month but all four of those losses came on the road. The Panthers check into this game sporting an incredible 11-1 home record, outscoring the opposition by an average margin of 2.0 goals. Take Florida (5*).