Tim Michael

T.M. Selection: Vancouver Canucks.

I like the Vancouver Canucks to win this game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. The Canucks have lost 2 games in a row but I think they are due for a bounce back win here. They have kept both games close, losing by 2 goals to the Blues in their most recent game and losing in a shootout to the Panthers the game before that, a game where they led 1-0 for most of the game before letting the Panthers tie it in the last 5 minutes of the game. This is the last game of a homestand for the Canucks before they go on a road trip and they have lost all their games on home ice during that time. I think the Canucks are going to want to end their homestand with some points here and I expect them to play hard to get that win before starting their road trip right after. The Oilers just ended a 7 game losing skid with a win in their most recent game but that doesn't mean that their problems are fixed up there. The Oilers have been dealing with a lot of covid issues lately and their fans have really been harping on the team about all the losses, with the local media adding fuel to the fire by asking their star players like Leon Draisaitl why they are being so pissy. This is not a good situation in Edmonton right now and if things don't change soon they could be looking at a McDavid exit at the end of his contract. The Oilers finally won a game against the Flames but I think they put a lot of extra effort into that game with it being the battle of Alberta and I expect them to be tired from that win. The Canucks have looked great on defense since turning their team around with a new coach and I think they can keep the struggling Oilers out of the net here after keeping the red hot Panthers out for most of that game. I think the Canucks can take advantage of the Oilers in their current situation here and I expect them to finish off their homestand with a win here. i like the Canucks to win this game. 

T.M. Prediction: 3-0 Canucks.

T.M. Selection: Carolina Hurricanes.

I like the Carolina Hurricanes to win this game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. The Hurricanes just lost their most recent game and that ended a run of 3 wins that they had strung together. They were looking great in their games until getting stopped by the Devils on Saturday losing that game 7-4. They let in a lot of goals in that game and I expect them to play better on defense in this game since Vegas can score goals and the Hurricanes will be looking to get that game back that they lost. The Hurricanes have been great at home this year and I think they are going to smack the Knights around here. Vegas just played their 1st road game in January the previous night after playing 8 games in a row at home. They are dealing with a lot of their players in covid protocol right now and they don't have their team at full strength here. This is also a B2B game for them and I think they are going to be a bit tired from that. They haven't really looked good in their games lately, they have won 2 games in a row but 1 was against the Canadiens at home who are the worst team in the league but they needed OT just to get by, and then their most recent game was a win on the road against the capitals that they scraped out 1-0. I think their good fortune has come to an end here though and I expect their injuries and absences from their lineup to start catching up to them. The Knights should have lost in Washington last night but they will definitely be taken down by the hot Hurricanes here. The Hurricanes have looked much better in their games lately and will be looking to bounce back after a bad loss in New Jersey. I like the Hurricanes to win this game.

T.M. Prediction: 4-2 Hurricanes. 

T.M. Selection: Auburn.

I like Auburn to cover the spread against Missouri in this game on Tuesday. Auburn just took over the 1st ranked spot in the country after continuing their huge run and winning 15 games in a row. I said that this team was the best in the country about a week ago and I still think they are by far the best with the crazy run they have gone on and how they have played in those games lately. They just played the ranked Kentucky in their most recent game and they left them in their dust winning that game by 9 points. Auburn hasn't just been winning games though, they have been winning against very good ranked teams lately and they have been beating up on the really bad ones which is what I expect them to do to against Missouri here who is 1 of the worst teams in the conference. Missouri has not looked terrible in their games lately but they also haven't been playing any great teams. The few great teams they have played against though have won by 10+ points and Missouri was not able to even keep the games close. They lost to Kentucky earlier this year by 25+ points and Auburn is a lot better than Kentucky, Auburn did just beat them by 9 points. Auburn is just too good at the moment and they are not a team that you can bet against since they just keep winning games. They are the best team in the country and they are on the longest active win streak in the country too. I expect them to extend that to 16 games here. I like Auburn to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 85-65 Auburn.

T.M. Selection: Rhode Island.

I like Rhode Island to cover the spread against Richmond in this game on Tuesday. Rhode Island has been a very good home team this year only losing 1 of 9 games at home this year. That loss at home came in their most recent game losing by 2 points at home to George Washington and that was an embarrassing loss for them to suffer on their own home court. That loss also ended a 3 game win streak and I think they are going to be angry about the way they lost that game and how close it was considering how bad the team they were playing is. I expect Rhode Island to bounce back in this game and get a big win against Richmond here. Richmond has won 2 games in a row but the teams they have been playing have not been very strong teams. They have played 6 games in a row in conference play and they have won 3 of those games, losing the other 3. The 3 teams that they won against in conference play were all teams that were below .500 with 1 exception, the best team they beat was Fordham at 9-8. The teams they lost to though were all teams with much better record than them, except for 1 team with a losing record that also beat them. I think Rhode Island is going to be hungry to bounce back in this game after that bad loss on their home court and I think Richmond has had a weaker schedule that is going to hit them in the face when Rhode Island comes out and starts dominating from tha start. I like Rhode Island to cover the spread in this game.

T.M. Prediction: 69-61 Rhode Island.

T.M. Selection: DePaul.

I like DePaul to cover the spread against Villanova in this game on Tuesday. DePaul have really been struggling since the start of January, they have only won 1 game in their previous 8. They have looked better in their games lately though and I think they are going to start turning things around soon and start winning more games breaking out of this funk they are in. Their previous 3 games have been 1 win for them, 1 loss at home by 1 point to Xavier who is having a great year, and a bad loss to Creighton in their most recent game where they lost by 13 points. They were looking much better before that loss to Creighton though and I think they are going to bounce back with a much better performance here. Despite being so bad lately and losing a lot of games, DePaul is not really getting blown out in their losses with a lot of them being by less than 10 points and only 1 of their losses in their previous 8 games was by 16+ points. They have already played Villanova earlier this year and they lost that game at home by 15 points but that was right after they were coming back from a covid break and Villanova caught them when they were at their worst still recovering from the illness. I think they have been playing much better and I expect them to put up more of a fight here and keep this game much closer than their last meeting. Villanova has also looked a lot better in their games since hitting conference play but lately they have not been as strong and I don't see them blowing out DePaul here. Villanova has only won 1 game by this many points in their previous 5 games and most of their conference wins have been closer games by less than 10 points. They just beat Georgetown in their most recent game but struggled to take the lead for a lot of that game and Georgetown has really been struggling against conference teams this year. I think DePaul is going to start turning things around now that they have been playing better and I expect them to keep this game with Villanova close at least. I like DePaul to cover the spread here.

T.M. Prediction: 73-67 Villanova.