Sports Handicapper Matt Fargo's Picks & Predictions

This is a play on the PHILADELPHIA 76ERS for our NBA Signature Enforcer. This could be the get right spot for Philadelphia as it has been the most disappointing team in the NBA this season as it fell to 2-11 following a loss at Miami Monday, its fourth straight defeat. The Sixers held a team meeting after the game and basically went off on each other and that could be the shot it needs to turn this debacle around. They remain on the road which is a good thing as they do not need to be in front of their home fans right now. They come in as the favorites despite a big record disparity and they sit 0-8 against the top 16 with only Washington being the other team to not having defeated a top 16 team. This is the ultimate contrarian play but motivation can overtake any of this. Memphis is coming off a loss last night against the Nuggets to split the back-to-back set with Denver and having lost three of four, Memphis is now 8-7 overall. The Grizzlies had their seven-game ATS winning streak snapped and they have actually struggled against the lesser competition, going just 5-3 against teams ranked outside the top 16. They remain No. 2 in pace which has helped their efficiency numbers on offense but the defensive numbers have suffered as they are No. 28 in Defensive Efficiency over the last five games. We waited this out for injury info and the Grizzlies will be the most affected with Zach Edey ruled out and Marcus Smart now listed a doubtful. 10* (521) Philadelphia 76ers

This is a play on the GONZAGA BULLDOGS for our Wednesday Free Play. This one is a bit personal for Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. Last season, Long Beach St. fired head coach Dan Monson before the season ended and left him high and dry and with Few, Monson gave him his start and he ripped the university after the timing of the firing and he will have no issue naming the score here. The Bulldogs are off to a 4-0 start and this is the final tune-up before they travel to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament and then games against Kentucky and Connecticut following that so the real season begins soon. That does not mean they are looking ahead nor will they be in letdown mode following a road win at San Diego St. on Monday. Long Beach St. opened the season with a win over La Verne but has lost three straight games since then and while two of those were by three points combined, those were against Portland and South Dakota St., two teams that should be considered inferior. The Beach lost to another WCC team in San Francisco as they fell by 30 points and while the Dons are excellent, they are no Gonzaga. Long Beach St. is coming off a 21-win season that culminated with a trip to the NCAA Tournament but is projected to finish near the bottom of the Big West Conference as they lost nearly everyone, returning only three scholarship players and this is not the get right spot. Motivation is key in laying a big number and Gonzaga has it tonight. Play (690) Gonzaga Bulldogs

Fargo is off to a profitable College Basketball start as he is 11-8 and College Hoops is back on Wednesday night with TWO Winners. CFB also in action tonight. NFL 5-2 Week 11 and 38-26-3 Run. Over the last 2+ NFL Regular Seasons, Matt is 163-127-4 (+$25,940).

This is a play on the UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS for our CBB Signature Enforcer. UC Santa Barbara is off to a 4-0 start, going 2-0 both at home and on the road. The Gauchos are coming off a road victory at San Jose St. on Sunday, their second straight five-point win, failing to cover the spread in either of those games so we are getting some early season value as we have this umber at 11.5. It was a disappointing 2023-24 for UC Santa Barbara as it finished 9-11 in the Big West Conference which was tied for seventh but it is a contender once again, picked to finish No. 2 and is one of the teams that hopes to challenge regaining champion UC Irvine. The Gauchos are balanced with five double-digit scorers and on the season thus far, as a team they are ranked in the top 40 in the country in both offensive and defensive shooting. UTEP is 2-1 but it has been far from impressive as the two wins came against non-Division I teams Sul Ross State and Texas Permian Basin while the loss came at Utah Valley by 29 points, its lone road game this season. Despite the two games against outmatched opposition, the Miners are mid-100s in shooting on both ends. They are back on the road and will be facing a Gauchos team that will be out for some revenge following a 13-point loss in El Paso last season. 10* (696) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

This is a play on the WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS for our CBB Supreme Annihilator. West Virginia is back home after getting annihilated at Pittsburgh by 24 points in the Backyard Brawl following a 2-0 start. The Mountaineers finished dead last with Oklahoma St. in the Big 12 Conference last season and their nine overall wins were the fewest since 2001-02. That led to the hiring of head coach Darian DeVries who comes over from Drake where he built a dominating program and this is the bounce back spot and it is a smash one. In spots like this, we need to take a look at a possible lookahead and while West Virginia has Gonzaga on deck, it is not for another week so it is a non-issue. Iona opened the season 0-3 before winning its first game last time out against Vermont at home and it is back on the road where it is 0-2, losses at Princeton and Hofstra. This is the first road game in nearly two weeks for the Gaels and they bring in one of the worst shooting disparities in the country as they are hitting only 39.2 percent from the floor while allowing 48.2 percent shooting and those both rank No. 334 in the nation. Even the freebies have been an issue as their 62.9 percent clip from the free throw line is No. 320. While they are expected to contend in the MAAC, they are outclassed here and catch West Virginia at the wrong time. 10* (672) West Virginia Mountaineers

This is a play on the EASTERN MICHIGAN EAGLES for our CFB Star Attraction. Eastern Michigan has had three chances to become bowl eligible in its last three games and failed to do so in any of those. Losses to Akron and Toledo came by a total of five points before getting blown out at Ohio last Wednesday as the Eagles scored a touchdown on their fourth possession but the offense was held to just 151 yards the rest of the game. At 5-5, Eastern Michigan has to win one of its final two games and this is the spot with it being their last home game and the finale being at Western Michigan. The metrics with Buffalo are very similar but the situational edge of this being their last home game, where they are 3-2, the two losses coming against Toledo and Miami Ohio. Buffalo has won two straight games to become bowl eligible after a 3-9 season last year. Three of the Bulls four losses have been by 31 points or more while two of the four conference wins have been by three points including the latest one at home against 3-7 Ball St. Buffalo is No. 4 in the Luck Ratings so it has been one of the most fortunate teams in the country and the line does not take this criteria into consideration. The Buffalo offense is shaky on a down-to-down basis as it is ranked No. 113 in success rate and No. 97 in EPA/Play and while explosive runs have been its strength with the Bulls top 30 in explosive rush rate on the year, but this is the strength of the Eastern Michigan defense. We have seen the number come down from opening and we are at the point where a win is a likely cover at most places for the Eagles. 10* (110) Eastern Michigan Eagles