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<p>Planning on watching today's Colonels and Salukis game? Catch the action at Hertz Arena in Estero, FL, as the Salukis hosts this showdown at 12:00 ET on FloH. The over/under line for this matchup is currently at 146.5 points, and Southern Illinois is favored by -4.5 at home against Eastern Kentucky.</p><h3>EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Southern Illinois Salukis -4.5</p><p>This game will be played at Hertz Arena at 12:00 ET on Tuesday, November 26th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS:</h3><ul><li>We have this one finishing with a projected score of 78-69 in favor of the Salukis.</li><li>Not only will Southern Illinois pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -4.5.</li><li>The over/under is currently sitting at 146.5 points, and we like the over with a projected 147 points.</li></ul><h3>Can the Colonels Offense Score Enough on the Road?</h3><h3>Eastern Kentucky Colonels Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>Eastern Kentucky dropped a close one at home to Ball State on Monday, November 25th, losing 63-61. The Colonels entered the game as 3-point favorites but failed to cover the spread.</p> 

<p>After leading 36-29 at halftime, Eastern Kentucky struggled in the 2nd half, scoring only 25 points while allowing 34. The total points for the game were 124, falling short of the 147.5 O/U line.</p><p>Eastern Kentucky struggled offensively in their last game, shooting just 31.1% from the field and 25% from three-point range. Their effective field goal percentage was 36.1%, and they hit 65.4% of their free throws.</p> <p>Devontae Blanton led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Jermahri Hill added 18 points on 66.7% shooting. The Colonels grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and finished with 10 assists as a team.</p><p>Eastern Kentucky's defense was on point, holding their opponent to just 63 points on 31% shooting from the field. They limited two-point opportunities, with the opposing team making only 13 of 37 attempts, good for 35%.</p> <p>From beyond the arc, Eastern Kentucky's defense was equally effective, as they allowed just 6 three-pointers on 24 attempts, a 25% success rate. They also sent the opponent to the free-throw line 26 times, where they converted 17, shooting 65%.</p><h3>Can Southern Illinois Grab a Win at Home?</h3><h3>Southern Illinois Salukis Recent Game/Games</h3> 

<p>Southern Illinois fell to Louisiana Tech 85-79 on Monday, November 25th, in an away game. The Salukis were +6 point underdogs going in, and the final score resulted in a push against the spread.</p> 

<p>Southern Illinois led 31-27 at halftime but allowed 43 points in the 2nd half while scoring 39. The game’s total points of 164 went over the pre-game O/U line of 143.5.</p><p>Southern Illinois put up 79 points in their last game, shooting 39.4% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 45.1%. They hit 29.2% from beyond the arc, connecting on 7 of 24 attempts, and went 16 for 24 from the free-throw line, shooting 66.7%.</p> <p>The Salukis grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and dished out 18 assists. Al Green led the team with 19 points, while Amaree Abram and Kaden Cooper each added 18. Cooper also pulled down 12 rebounds, and Sean Newman Jr. contributed 5 assists.</p><p>Southern Illinois struggled defensively, giving up 85 points while allowing their opponent to shoot 43% from the field. Inside the arc, the Salukis allowed 52% shooting on 42 attempts.</p> <p>From three-point range, the Salukis held their opponent to 25% shooting, but they sent them to the free-throw line 30 times, where they hit 86%. Southern Illinois also gave up 8 offensive rebounds.</p>

Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs Southern Illinois Salukis NCAA Basketball Betting Pick & Prediction 11/26/24

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After 162 games, it all comes down to one. The Milwaukee Brewers had one of the best end-of-season stretches ever to secure a spot in the one-game National League Wild Card Game. The Washington Nationals got out of an early-season hole and will host the win or go home contest on Tuesday October 1 at Nationals Park. The Nationals are priced between -175 and -185 and the total is 7.5 for Tuesday night’s 8:08 p.m. first pitch.

Nationals fans are no strangers to postseason disappointment. The franchise, which moved from Montreal in 2004, has made the playoffs four times since 2012 and has not won a round yet. Technically speaking, the Wild Card Game is a round, but advancing to the NLDS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers won’t be enough for a fan base dying for October success. After all, the Nationals haven’t had a losing season since 2011 and have seven playoff wins to show for it.

The Brewers are back in the playoffs after last season’s run to Game 7 of the NLCS. It took one hell of a September run without perennial MVP candidate Christian Yelich to get there. Milwaukee lost on September 5 to fall to 71-68. Milwaukee went 18-2 over the next 20 games to win the second Wild Card spot. With that sewn up, the team took the last three games off to rest and energize. So, the final record will say 89-73, but it doesn’t tell the full story, considering the Brewers spent 53 days in first place and then also spent a fair amount of time wondering if they would even make the playoffs.

There’s your backstory to the one-game Wild Card Round. As for the game itself, Brandon Woodruff will start for the Brewers, but he won’t work deep into the game. Woodruff, who wound up working 121.2 innings over 22 starts, was utilized as more of a multi-inning opener in his last two starts after coming back from injury. He missed nearly two months from July 21 to September 17 with an oblique injury. He faced 13 batters and struck out seven with one walk. He didn’t allow a hit, but also faced the Padres and Pirates.

What happens after Woodruff is anybody’s guess. The Brewers could use midseason acquisition Jordan Lyles. They could use Brent Suter. They could use Freddy Peralta. All hands will be on deck. About the only guarantees are that Josh Hader and Drew Pomeranz will pitch at some point after Woodruff. Craig Counsell could be very aggressive in the middle innings of this game from a matchup standpoint, as none of his most important guys pitched on Sunday, so they are all well-rested.

The Nationals will go with Max Scherzer to start, but skipper Dave Martinez has already said that Patrick Corbin, Stephen Strasburg, and Anibal Sanchez are all available if necessary. With a guy like Scherzer, who knows how many of those guys will be necessary, but this has been a patchwork bullpen most of the season. Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle have shared closer duties. Fernando Rodney has pitched in leverage and so have Hunter Strickland and Wander Suero.

If your playoff life is on the line, you’d rather tap into that rotation depth and then figure out the NLDS as you go along, so Martinez is on the right track there. You wonder how guys used to starting the game will do coming into a high-leverage relief situation, but you expect the talent to win out.

That is the problem with these one-game playoff scenarios. They are really tough handicaps because the pitcher usage for each team is a massive question mark. In theory, we would expect only the best for each team to pitch, so the under is a starting point. On the other hand, usually playoff-caliber teams have good offensive squads and we all know about the well-documented juiced balls this season. Plus, the total of 7.5 is certainly on the low end.

Offensively, the Brewers are banged up. Christian Yelich is still out. Lorenzo Cain is battling a bum knee. Mike Moustakas and Ryan Braun both missed time in the final week. Structuring the lineup is a challenge for managers in these games as well because the opposition can go in so many different directions on the pitching side.

The Brewers are certainly at a disadvantage offensively without Yelich, but that is already priced into the line. The Scherzer factor is priced into the line as well.

Offensively, Washington is in tact. A lot of key guys got Sunday off and those that didn’t had days off throughout the week. There are no big injury concerns for Washington going into this game.

In looking purely at the odds for the game, the line is around -180, which implies a 64.29% likelihood that the Nationals win. I would expect it to be a little bit lower than that, though the absence of Yelich really is a big deal for the Brewers. In a normal game, the fact that the Brewers are not going to let any hitter see the same pitcher twice, in all likelihood, would really help. Facing Scherzer lowers the value of that because opposing batters posted a .255 wOBA the first time through, a .291 wOBA the second time through, and a .266 wOBA the third time through.

In that respect, Scherzer is likely to be as good or better from a split standpoint the second and third time through that any Brewers reliever is going to be, at least in a simplified sense. That wouldn’t take into account L/L matchups or whatnot, but Mad Max is a special kind of pitcher.

Solely based on price, I would lean with the Brewers here. In these one-game playoff scenarios, fluky things can happen. This isn’t the best team over five games. It is the best team over one game. When you consider the aggressive managing and the relative equality of the teams, a team at +165 or thereabouts is as live as it gets.

Strasburg has never made a relief appearance in the Major Leagues. Corbin actually has 18. He has never pitched in the postseason, which doesn’t matter to me and has been <strong><a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/22039/baseball-therapy-does-postseason-experience-really-matter/">proven not to matter</a></strong>, but some like the experience factor.

Ultimately, I think the Nationals win and advance, but by no means would I have this game in the 65/35 range. It’s more of a 55/45 or so proposition to me. I fully accept that Scherzer has more upside than the Brewers’ collection of Woodruff and the relievers and that he could outright dominate the Milwaukee lineup. It’s just not as cut and dry as the line would indicate.

Based on the price, <strong>Milwaukee</strong> is the pick for me.

2019 MLB Playoffs NL Wild Card Game Free Pick: Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals

<p>Making on a bet on this NHL game featuring the Islanders versus the Avalanche? The puck drops at 9:00 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on ESPN+. The game will be played at Ball Arena in Denver, CO. This non-conference matchup has an over/under of 6.5 goals, and the Avalanche are favored by -1.5 against the Islanders.</p><h3>NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS COLORADO AVALANCHE BETTING PICK</h3><p>The Pick: Colorado Avalanche -1.5</p><p>This game will be played at Ball Arena at 9:00 ET on Monday, October 14th.</p><h3>WHY BET THE COLORADO AVALANCHE:</h3><ul><li>In spite of being 1.5 goal underdogs, we anticipate the Islanders winning this one 4-3.</li><li>We like the Islanders on the moneyline (+141)</li><li>The Islanders are also our pick on the spread at +1.5</li></ul><h3>No Pressure for New York as Away Dogs</h3><p>The Islanders fell to 0-1-1 with a 3-0 loss to the Stars. New York’s defense struggled throughout the game, and their offense couldn’t find the net despite putting up 34 shots.</p> 

<p>Going into the game, the total was set at 5.5 goals, but the combined score of 3 fell short of that mark. The Islanders were underdogs on the puck line, and their loss in regulation meant they didn’t cover.</p><p>Despite firing 34 shots on goal, the Islanders were shut out in their 3-0 loss to the Stars. They had 20 giveaways and failed to convert on any of their power play opportunities.</p> <p>New York didn't find the net in any period, leaving them with no goals or assists in the game.</p><p>On the defensive side, the Islanders gave up the first goal 7:59 into the first period and another at 10:58 in the second. They also allowed a late empty-netter with 1:03 left in the third. Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves with a 92.3% save percentage. The Islanders' defense added 5 takeaways and 17 hits.</p><h3>Can Colorado Live Up to the Hype at Home?</h3><p>After a 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche are now 0-2-0 this season. Colorado was favored by -1.5 goals and the total was set at 6.5 goals, with the combined 10 goals easily surpassing that mark.</p> 

<p>Columbus jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Nathan MacKinnon scored with just 8 seconds left in the period. The Avalanche managed to tie it at 3-3 in the second, but the Blue Jackets pulled away with three more goals, including an empty-netter with 12 seconds remaining.</p><p>In their 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche took 30 shots on goal and scored 4 times. Nathan MacKinnon netted his second goal of the season, while Ross Colton added his first, scoring with 1:20 left in the third period. Miles Wood also got on the board for the first time this year, and Casey Mittelstadt scored his second goal of the season.</p> <p>The Avalanche scored twice on power plays, with MacKinnon's goal coming just 8 seconds before the end of the first period. They had 11 giveaways and scored twice in the second period, including Mittelstadt's power-play goal.</p><p>Defensively, the Avalanche will look to improve after giving up 6 goals to the Blue Jackets. They had tied the game at 3-3, but allowed the next two goals, and then another with just 12 seconds left in the 3rd period. Goalie Justus Annunen posted a save percentage of 84.6% on 13 shots from Columbus. The Avalanche defense finished with 10 takeaways and 26 hits.</p>

New York Islanders vs Colorado Avalanche Betting Pick & Prediction 10/14/24

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