SIU and SFTC Picks for Wed. Feb. 20

My picks did pretty well today.  Unfortunately, I missed all of my NCAAM picks.  In all three games that I picked on, the team I chose failed to play well down the stretch.  It really annoys me when teams do that!  Oh well.  I hope I do better on my picks for tomorrow, for everyone's sake.

The following are my picks for tomorrow on SFTC.  The * indicates that the same (or very similar) prop is also featured on Streak It Up.  

NCAAM:

1)  Gonzaga wins by 15+ over Santa Clara 

        Reasons:  Gonzaga is clearly the best in their conference.  They are just demolishing teams.  BYU beat Santa Clara by nearly 20 and Gonzaga beat BYU by almost 20, so I expect Gonzaga to easily cover the 15+.  The Bulldogs are simply on a different level than the Broncos.

          Confidence:  90%

*2)  Washington Free Throws Made over Arizona Winning Margin

        Reasons:  Washington will probably make about 15 free thows.  I just don't see Arizona winning by that much.  They have lost the last two at home, lost to Colorado on the road, and barely escaped at Utah.  They will look to rebound and get back to winning ways, but the Huskies are not pushovers.  They have lost 7 of their last nine, but all losses were by single digits.

          Confidence:  80%

NBA:

1)  Detroit Pistons over the Charlotte Bobcats

          Reasons:  The Bobcats are the worst team in the league.  They have been accumulating some wins as of late, but the Pistons are clearly the better team.

          Confidence:  80%

2)  Cleveland Cavaliers over the New Orleans Hornets

          Reasons:  Kyrie Irving and the Cavs are on a roll.  I look for them to make a push down the stretch toward playoffs.

          Confidence:  70%

NHL:

*1)  Los Angeles Kings over the Calgary Flames

          Reasons:  The defending champs will just be too much for the Flames, as they have won 3 straight and get a 4th here.

          Confidence:  70%

2)  St. Louis Blues over the Colorado Avalanche

          Reasons:  The Blues are playing very well lately.  They have actually been better on the road than at home.  Colorado has won 6 straight at home, but I think the Blues end their streak tomorrow.

          Confidence:  50%

Soccer:

1)  Any Other Player (who will score first in the first half of Barcelona vs AC Milan)

          Reasons:  Both teams have a number of great scorers.  From my observations, it seems like Messi scores the majority of his goals in the 2nd halves of games.  I also think there will be at least one goal scored in the first half, so the no goalscorer option should not come into play.

          Confidence:  70%

*2)  Schalke 04 W/D 

           Reasons:  Schalke plays in the German Bundesliga with the likes of the almighty Bayern Munich and others.  It is a great league and Schalke are around the middle of the table in that league.  

          Confidence:  50%

Golf: 

1)  Tiger wins the match during holes 10 - 16 against Charles Howell III

          Reasons:  Tiger is obviously the better golfer.  The question is if he will win over the 6 holes.  I think so.

          Confidence:  70%

*2)  Zach Johnson all square or winning after holes 1 - 7 against Jason Day

          Reasons:  I just think Zach Johnson is playing better golf than Jason Day right now.  My only concern is that the percentage is just over 90% for Johnson though, so will the 90% curse come into play?

          Confidence:  50%