Editor’s Note: Since November 2018, Joe has been publishing picks here and back at All Things NIT, our former site. Overall, the results have been mixed, with an average return on investment, per pick, of -1% when weighting by confidence (1 for low, 2 for medium, 3 for high) across 4,592 published picks, not including pending futures, and an average return on investment, per pick, of +3% across 1,605 completed high and medium-confidence picks (low confidence picks, these days, are in experimental markets for us).
Use these picks at your own risk. Only you are responsible for any money you lose, and you should not bet more than you can afford to lose. If you’re afraid you might have a gambling problem, seek help.
Odds for these come the better option between Bovada and BetOnline. We used to use the Vegas Consensus, but it’s no longer consistently available in an accurate form online. KenPom is used in making college basketball picks. FiveThirtyEight’s SPI is heavily used in making soccer futures picks. ESPN’s FPI is heavily used in making NFL futures picks.
Colorado @ USC
Inconsistency is an asset for Colorado, which has quite the ceiling and, in accompanying fashion, quite the floor. We’re counting on the foot coming off the gas pedal again after the Buffs held the Oregon schools to 41 and 42 points last week.
Pick: USC -3 (-116). Low confidence.
Utah @ UCLA
Usually, we think of offenses as dictating tempo, but both Utah and UCLA play defense in a way that slows opponents down, and each does that rather well. Picture a plodding one tonight.
Pick: Under 136.5 (-104). Low confidence.
