Players Club Triple Crown (12/10/23)

3 Players Club Picks

CBB

(1 Pick)

4:30PM EST: St. John's -5.5 (3 Units)

Rick Pitino's got the talent at St. John's and he's getting these boys up to speed with his winning brand of Basketball. Pitino's been successful everywhere he's been, and this is just his next stop. He has one of the better Bigs in the country in Joel Soriano and good perimeter shooting to go with it. They dominate the boards and move the ball well. They're 15th in the nation in rebound rate and 21st in assists per possession. Boston College ranks 116th in rebound rate and the Red Storm hold a significant edge in that department.

Defensively neither team is exactly great. St. John's ranks 108th in effective FG% but BC ranks 178th. They both really struggle to defend the 3-PT line but it's another reason to back the Storm. They both allow opposing teams to shoot over 37% from deep but St. John's is shooting 37.1% from deep this year compared to Boston College's 33.9. The Eagles aren't exactly a 3-PT shooting team either, they rank just 194th in 3-PT attempts per game. They've also played an easy schedule to open the year, evident by their 249th SOS ranking.

The match-up between Quinten Post and Soriano will be a big one. BC runs through Post's 19.2 points per game and St. John's through Soriano's 17.4. The Red Storm can get baskets in other ways while the Eagles are a bit more reliant on Post. Soriano is a big man with a near 20-pound weight advantage on Post. He's a + defender averaging 2 blocks per game, and he dominates the boards. His ability to disrupt Post should lead to some Boston College scoring droughts. St. John's averages 5.6 blocked shots per game.

This game isn't technically a home game but it's being played just 30 minutes away from St. John's university. It's part of Barclay’s showcase and you can expect a packed house for it. Edge goes to the Red Storm for location’s sake.

They're simply the better all-around team. Ken Pom has St. John's ranked 57th compared to Boston College's 98th. St. John's is also ranked 39th in adjusted offensive efficiency by Ken Pom and with the talent they have it's easy to see why. The Red Storm are only going to get better as the year progresses and grow more comfortable with Pitino's style.

NHL

(1 Pick)

8:00pm est: (3 Units) WPG Jets -1.5 +130.

NFL (1 Pick)

8:20PM EST: Eagles +3.5. (4 Units)

Speaking of Dallas, they're overrated. They're a quality football team but that defense is not nearly as elite as they're made out to be. The Seahawks just carved them up for 35 points. Philly also scored 28 points against them in their first meeting. Dallas has played the Giants twice, Jets, Cardinals w/o Murray, Patriots, Panthers, and Commanders. Their other games have been against SF, LAC, LAR, PHI, and SEA. Those 5 quality teams averaged 28.4 points per game against Dallas.

The Eagles offense hasn't been smooth sailing much, but it coincides with the loss of Dallas Goedert. He returns to the lineup today and it's a major boost. He helps the Eagles offense in literally every facet of the game. From elite route running, catching passes, run blocking, and even pass protection. They didn't have a capable back-up and their offense stalled at times.

Besides the ugly game against SF last week, Philly's offense has been fine. They're just inconsistent. They scored 37 against Buffalo, 21 in Arrowhead, 38 against Dallas despite losing Goedert in that game. They just haven't been as consistent as we're used to seeing but again, Goedert is going to do wonders for this offense. They've really struggled to attack the middle of the field, but Hurts gets his big athletic target back. Much more stress on opposing linebackers when you don't know if he's coming to block you or slip by you for an easy completion.

Philly's defense has been a bit of a mess but they're healthier this week. They will be getting Zach Cunningham back at LB and Fletched Cox was a full participant in each of the last 2 practices. He was banged up week 12 and played week 13 after missing practice all of last week. They also went out and grabbed Shaq Leonard, which brings much needed experience and leadership to the middle of that defense. He may not be the same all-pro type of player, but he will provide an immediate impact for Philly.

They still have an elite rush defense, and it stymied the Cowboys in their first meeting. It's something they've been able to rely on this season and it helps down in the red zone. It will also force Dak to throw quite a bit and while he hasn't thrown too many interceptions this year, he's still Dak Prescott. This is one of the biggest games of his career and certainly the biggest of this season. Prime Time Dak isn't a good thing, and we'll believe he's turned the corner after he does it. For now, the last 8 years of his career are enough to believe he'll come up short once again.