Fly (Golden) Eagles Fly

As an Eagles fan, last night took a good six or seven years off my life — as they all do. And like the Birds, the Sharpshooters came out on top.

We lost our perfect game, but we did have another plus night, finishing last night 5-3 and up 1.1 units.

There’s only five NBA games tonight, but a couple massive college basketball games. We weren’t going to put anything out tonight, but I decided that I wanted to get some college basketball action on the cards and share it.

Mitch’s Favorite Picks

Tyrese Maxey, over 25.5 PTS (-104 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Cavaliers @ Sixers, 7:30 PM EST

Another points prop tonight after hitting on Keldon Johnson’s 17.5 mark last night, but this time with Philadelphia’s son.

Maxey is a blooming superstar that has transformed into an elite scorer right before our eyes. The 23-year-old is averaging 26.8 PPG and shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc on nearly eight attempts per game — that is mind-boggling.

The Cavaliers allow the most PPG to opposing point guards, so Maxey should be able to get his. The last three elite scoring point guards the Cavaliers faced (De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Steph Curry twice) scored 28, 43, 30 and 28 points, respectively. Maxey is as quick as they come, an elite finisher around the rim, and lethal from long range.

Maxey hasn’t hit this mark in the past three games, but he did in each of the three games prior. He’s dropped at least 26 points six times this year in 13 games. At nearly even-money, I think this is terrific value given the circumstances. I’d even go as far as putting 0.25 units on Maxey to score 30+ points at +200 on FanDuel.

Marquette +4 (-108 / DraftKings) — 1 unit | Marquette +160 ML (DraftKings) — 0.75 units

No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 1 Kansas, 10:30 PM EST

A potential Final Four preview tips off tonight in the Maui Invitational semifinals.

Marquette is 4-0, coming off two impressive wins over then-No. 23 Illinois on the road and an underrated and stingy UCLA squad last night. Kansas, also 4-0, has a note-worthy seven-point win over No. 16 Kentucky in Lexington.

The Jayhawks have been one of the most lethal offenses in the country to start the season, scoring 95.7 PPG and shooting — an unsustainable — 44 percent from deep. It’s fair to expect some shooting regression from Kansas, and it’s even more fair to believe that regression could start tonight against Marquette’s top-20 defense.

Kansas has yet to face a defense as good as Marquette’s, not to mention the Golden Eagles have an offense led by arguably the best point guard in college basketball in Tyler Kolek that can hang with anyone in the country. UCLA has one of the best defenses around, allowing just 55.8 PPG (seventh-best in the country), yet Marquette dissected them for 71 points last night.

Marquette is elite at taking care of the ball (12th in turnovers per game), and Kansas is one of the worst teams in the country at forcing turnovers. If Marquette can keep the turnovers to a minimum and somewhat control Hunter Dickinson down low, they have more than a fighting chance at coming away with the (very slight) upset tonight.

Other Picks We Like

Tobias Harris, over 1.5 3PM (+135 / DraftKings) — 0.4 units

Cavaliers @ Sixers, 7:30 PM EST

Lauri Markkanen, over 23.5 PTS (-105 / DraftKings) — 0.75 units

Jazz @ Lakers, 10 PM EST

Purdue -3.5 (-110 / DraftKings) — 0.75 units

No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Purdue, 8 PM EST

Record Tracker

Mitch’s Favorites: 11-13 (-1.3 units) 🤨

Ani’s Favorites: 9-13 (-3.5 units) 😅

All Picks: 40-49 (-5.1 units) 😬