Ben Burns Expert NBA Picks & Free Plays

I'm playing on NEW YORK. Will there be rain? Yes. Will that cause the game to be postponed? As of this writing, I'd say thats about 50/50. They might try to play through some light rain, or they may try to wait it out and start the game later than normal. If it does go, I believe that the Yankees will have the advantage. They'll be in the comforts of their own stadium, through any delay. More importantly, with this being described as a "bullpen day," they won't have to face one of Houston's "Big 3" in Cole, Verlander or Greinke. While they were stymied by Cole yesterday, the Yanks entered that game averaging a healthy 5.8 runs per game. If this one plays, look for their bats to come back to life and for them to even up the series.

I'm playing on South Alamba / Troy OVER the total. Since 2015, this "rivalry" has been known as "The Battle Of The Belt." South Alabama senior Roy Albritton had this to say: "It's probably one of the more 'odd' rivalries in the nation. The away team has always won, and also, no team has kept the belt more than one year. So that’s a big thing we're riding on as well. We know what's ahead of us and we know what we need to do to get it done." As for the total, this is a low number. In fact, Troy could potentially exceed it on its own. The Trojans, who scored 38 at South Alabama last season, have already topped the 40 mark in all three home games. Their most recent game here produced 93 combined points. South Alabama will also contribute though. The Jaguars haven't been blanked this season and you just read about the away team having success in this matchup. The Jags scored 17 each of their last two games and 21, when playing at Nebraska. Look for the OVER to improve to 6-1 the last seven times Troy was off a bye. 

I'm playing on WASHINGTON. In addition to having the venue in their favor, the Capitals also have the schedule working for them here. The Leafs beat Minnesota last night while the Caps were resting. Toronto hasn't been very good in b2b situations, going 13-15 (-5.6) the past couple of seasons. The Leafs are already 0-1 when playing the second of b2b games this season, too, falling against Montreal after beating Columbus the previous night. The Caps are going to come in hungry; they're 29-19 (+7.7) when off a loss by two or more goals, the past couple of seasons. Expect them to improve on those numbers here.