Wise n' Shine: NBA picks and NHL best bets for Sunday, April 2

Good morning Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another super Sunday of sports. March Madness became April  Awesomeness in the NCAA Tournament Final Four yesterday and while the Huskies and Aztecs prepare for tomorrow’s big game we have a lot of action to entertain us today in the NBA, NHL, MLB and XFL, plus NASCAR and soccer action, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

Aztecs and Huskies still standing
The NCAA Tournament produced some contrasting Final Four games as San Diego State beat Florida Atlantic 72-71 at the buzzer before UConn crushed Miami 72-59 in the later matchup in Houston. Our handicappers went 3-1 with their picks on the games, and the impressive Huskies are now strong 7.5-point favorites for tomorrow’s championship game.

Mavericks’ slide continues
There were only 2 NBA games on Saturday, but they both had playoff implications as the Heat improved their own prospects with a 129-122 win over the Mavericks, which was a 9th loss in 12 games for Dallas. The Pelicans beat the Clippers 122-114 in the other game, leaving the teams just half a game apart in the race for the #6 seed in the West.

NHL parlay cashes at +424 odds
It was a super Saturday for the Pickswise NHL team as our picks went 10-5 on the day and we cashed our Saturday parlay at +424 odds. The Bruins beat the Penguins 4-3 to set a new franchise record for the most points in a season that had stood for 52 years.

10-5 day in the MLB
Our MLB cappers are in mid-season form already, going 10-5 on Saturday’s slate, including cashing both of our 3-star plays. There were some big numbers on the diamonds too, as the Rangers beat the Phillies 16-3, the Angels smashed the A’s 13-1 and the Rays beat the Tigers 12-2.

Sensational 100/1 tennis win!
Our tennis ace Ricky Dimon did it again yesterday as his 100/1 pick Petra Kvitova won the women’s Miami Open. If you visit that preview article, you’ll notice his 3-star men’s play was +1000 chance Jannik Sinner, who is now at -110 odds to win today’s men’s final.

Today’s Slate

Double-header on NBA TV
There is a big 13-game NBA slate today, with Mavericks vs Hawks at 6:00 pm ET and Warriors vs Nuggets at 8:30 pm ET being shown on NBA TV. Read today’s NBA picks.

9 Games in the NHL
Today’s 9-Game NHL slate starts with a TNT doubleheader of Rangers vs Capitals at 1:00pm ET and Bruins vs Blues at 3:30pm ET, while the evening Games include Devils vs Jets on NHL Network at 7:00 pm ET. Read today’s NHL predictions.

Phillies vs Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball
The MLB players are getting plenty of chances to get used to the new regulations and there’s another 15-game slate today. Phillies vs Rangers is the first Sunday Night Baseball game of the season at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN. Read today’s MLB predictions.

There’s soccer, XFL and NASCAR, too
We also have soccer picks for today’s EPL games, plus NASCAR predictions for today’s Toyota Owners 400 race in Virginia  In the XFL, the Battlehawks and Roughnecks both take 4-2 records in their game at 2:00pm ET on ESPN.

Best Bet of the Day

MLB: Minnesota Twins -1.5 over Kansas City Royals
2:00 pm ET

The Minnesota Twins lead 2-0 in their opening series versus the Kansas City Royals, winning both road games in 2-0 shutouts against Zack Greinke and Jordan Lyles. Lyles and Greinke are both far more reliable than today’s Royals starter Brad Keller, who had a 5.09 ERA in 2022 and a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings in Spring Training. The Twins will be starting Joe Ryan, who has shown consistent growth since his 2021 debut and had a 3.55 ERA through his first full MLB season in 2022. Ryan appears well warmed up as he posted a 2.16 ERA through 16.2 innings during Spring Training. Check out our full Twins vs Royals predictions.

You can bet on today’s MLB slate at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has thousands of betting options available and a great new customer offer where you can bet $5 on any team’s money line and get $150 in bonus bets if your team wins! Click here to sign up for DraftKings.

Must-read

Today’s NBA mega parlay and Mavericks vs Hawks Same Game Parlay are available now and you can also read our  NHL mega parlay and hockey player props, plus today’s MLB mega parlay.

Read all our great sports analysis as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The Jazz have covered the spread in 9 of their last 12 games and in 7 straight on the road.

Quote of the Day

“I always dreamed of this moment. I’m just happy it was able to come to fruition.”

San Diego State hero Lamont Butler was thrilled after draining the winning shot against Florida Atlantic.

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Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, Soccer Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.