Ricky Dimon
Show Bio
Good morning, Pickswise Nation. We may be in between Week 8 and Week 9 of the NFL season, but there are plenty of offerings to pick up the slack. The Wednesday schedule includes college football, the World Series, NBA and NHL. It’s another big day in the world of sports, so let’s get right to it and make your next bet better with Wise n’ Shine!
About Last Night
Phillies hit 5 home runs, shut out Astros
The Phillies had to wait an extra 24 hours to host a World Series game for the first time since 2009, but it was worth it. They treated the home crowd to a 7-0 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 set.
Nets fire Nash, lose to Bulls
Steve Nash’s firing clearly wasn’t an immediate solution to the Nets’ problems, as they fell 108-99 to the visiting Bulls. Brooklyn is now 2-6 to begin the season, while defending champion Golden State is 3-5 following Tuesday’s 116-109 setback in Miami.
Midweek MACtion is back!
The Mid-American Conference got Week 10 of the college football season started on Tuesday, and it’s safe to say things could not have gone better for Pickswise. We went 4-0 with our bets (2-0 on both sides and totals) as Ball State scraped past Kent State 27-20 and Ohio blasted Buffalo 45-24.
Today’s Slate
Astros try to rebound in World Series
Will the Fall Classic be tied up 2-2 by the conclusion of Wednesday night, or will Philadelphia own a commanding 3-1 lead? Aaron Nola gets the ball for the Phillies, while the Astros are countering with Cristian Javier. Here is all of our World Series coverage.
Celtics, Grizzlies headline NBA’s ESPN lineup
A huge 11-game schedule in the NBA is on the menu for Wednesday, headlined by a doubleheader on ESPN. It begins with the Celtics visiting the Cavaliers before the Grizzlies go on the road to face the Trail Blazers. Philadelphia, Miami, the Clippers, Milwaukee, Dallas and the Lakers are also taking the court. Don’t miss any of our NBA picks.
Double up in the NHL
The NHL has a small slate of games on Wednesday, but 2 is enough to find betting opportunities. Philadelphia is visiting Toronto and Pittsburgh has a road date with Buffalo. You can find our hockey coverage on the NHL page.
More MACtion!
Why have only 1 night of midweek MACtion when you can have 2?!?! Following Tuesday’s festivities, Wednesday’s schedule sends Central Michigan to Northern Illinois before Bowling Green hosts Western Michigan. Check out all of our college football predictions.
Best Bet of the Day
Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk vs RB Leipzig Over 2.5 goals (-165)
1:45 pm ET, Paramount+
Shakhtar Donetsk, which is having to play all its home games in Poland because of the war in Ukraine, has done remarkably well to still control its own destiny in the Champions League heading into Wednesday. If Shakhtar beats Leipzig in Warsaw it will advance to the last 16, but a draw or a Leipzig win would take the German club through instead. Leipzig is 7-2-0 in its last 9 games, so confidence should be high now following a poor start to the season. Beating Real Madrid 3-2 last week, for example, was a huge result. Expect plenty of offensive action to take this showdown over the total. Read our Champions League picks for tonight.
Must-read
Football never stops, and it’s never too early to look ahead toward the upcoming week. For Week 9 in the NFL, Jared Smith has delivered his best NFL futures bets in Back to the Futures and our Thursday Night Football coverage has begun with an Eagles vs Texans Same Game Parlay. We have also assessed the opening lines in both the NFL and college football and given our best early bets to make.
Check out more great content as it arrives throughout the day on the Analysis tab.
Must-watch
Don’t forget to check out our daily show Let’s Bet It! on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise at 10:00 am ET.
Jared Smith and Mark Zinno are your hosts today and they will be joined by Mad Dog Sports Radio host Tom Byrne (@1TomByrne on Twitter). Tom will be on board for NFL and NBA discussion, while you can also look forward to NFL trade deadline reactions, a look at college football Week 10’s key games and Plays of the Day.
You can access the show at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).
Stat of the Day
Northern Illinois does exactly what is necessary to win football games, even if it isn’t flashy: run the ball and stop the run. Antario Brown and Harrison Waylee have combined for 931 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns over the Huskies’ last 4 games, propelling them to 22nd in the nation in rushing yards per game at 202.3 yards. On the other side of the ball, they are allowing just 120.9 yards per game on the ground.
Quote of the Day
“They were excellent tonight, as always, and definitely gave me a plus. They inject that energy that you don’t get anywhere else.”
— Phillies starter Ranger Suarez, who was the winner in Game 3, on the fans.
Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, MLB Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.
