Wise n’ Shine: NBA picks, NCAAF predictions and NHL best bets for Friday

Good morning, Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another fantastic Friday of Sports. We have NBA, NHL and college Football, plus Breeders’ Cup Horse Racing on today’s schedule, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

• NFL Week 9 began with the Pittsburgh Steelers doing their thing of being outgained but winning anyway as they beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 to move to 5-3. The Pickswise handicappers went 2-0 with their game picks and Prop Holliday was 2-0 with his TNF props, while we also cashed a TD scorer pick of Diontae Johnson at +220 odds.
• Victor Wembanyama scored 38 points as the Spurs beat the Suns 132-121 in the NBA, while the Pelicans improved to 4-1 on the season with a 125-116 success against the Pistons.
• In the NHL, we went 3-1-1 with only NHL Best Bets and 2-0 on hockey player props. The Rangers are 8-2-0 after beating the Hurricanes 2-1 while the Golden Knights (10-0-1) and Bruins (9-0-1) added another win to their tallies.
• In Thursday’s college football action, TCU fell to 4-5 on the season with a 35-28 loss to Texas Tech, while Duke improved to 6-3 by beating Wake Forest 24-21.

Today’s Slate

• Today’s 7-game NBA slate brings something new as the matchups are also the first meetings in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. ESPN is showing Knicks vs Bucks at 7:30 pm ET and Mavericks vs Nuggets at 10:00 pm ET. You can read all our NBA predictions.
• Boston College vs Syracuse tops the Friday night football slate at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN2. Take a look at our NCAAF predictions for the Week 10 games.
• The NHL has just 2 games tonight, starting with Flyers vs Sabres on NHL Network at 7:00 pm ET. Check out our NHL picks.
• The prestigious Breeders’ Cup meeting starts at Santa Anita today, so be sure to check out our horse racing picks.

Best Bet of the Day 

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers -2.5 over Indiana Pacers (-105, Caesars)
7:00 pm ET

The Cavaliers have been very up and down so far this season. They lost to the Knicks at home by 18, then beat them by 6 on the road on Wednesday as +225 underdogs. Donovan Mitchell has been the only consistent threat for them, putting up 31.5 points per game on over 51% shooting. He missed the game against Indiana last Sunday and the Cavs didn’t stand much of a chance. With him back in the lineup, Cleveland is now favored to get revenge for that loss. At 2-0 they are still undefeated on the road and with 7 wins in the last 9 head-to-head meetings with Indy, there’s a good chance they can improve that run tonight. Read our full Cavaliers vs Pacers predictions.

Must-read

• Don’t miss our NBA mega parlay for tonight’s basketball.
• We also have a guide to the NBA In-Season Tournament and a pick to win the competition.
• Our College Football Week 10 Best Bets are also available.
• NFL fans can check out our NFL power rankings and NFL injury updates
• Our soccer picks for all the weekend EPL and MLS games are ready to read.
• We also have UFC Fight Night 231 Best Bets and a 4-fight parlay

Read all of our sports betting articles as they arrive throughout the morning and afternoon on the Analysis tab. 

Stat of the Day

The Knicks have won just 2 of their last 12 visits to Milwaukee.