FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR THURSDAY, 3/23:

My “Cutting Room Floor” plays are the situations I considered the closest to being worthy of investment but did not make the “final cut” for my official plays today for subscribers. The last play I cut for Thursday is with the Oklahoma City Thunder plus the points versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Oklahoma City (36-36) won for the fifth time in their last six games with a 101-100 upset win in Los Angeles against the Clippers as a 7-point underdog on Tuesday. The Thunder are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games after a straight-up win, They have also covered the point spread in 4 straight games against teams with a winning record. It may be tempting to take Los Angeles (38-35) in this revenge spot — but they have failed to cover the point spread in 22 of their last 33 games when attempting to avenge an upset loss to their opponent. The Clippers have lost two of their last three games — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 5 straight games when playing with one day of rest. This team will be without Paul George who sprained his knee in that game on Tuesday which will keep him out for two to three weeks. Take Oklahoma City plus the points. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports marches into the Sweet Sixteen on a 7 of 9 (78%) NCAA Tournament run this month! Frank is on a 20 of 32 (63%) CBB Game of the Year run with a long-running 55 of 89 (62%) CBB Game of the Year/Month mark — and now he furthers his 5 of 7 (71%) CBB Game of the Year run with his 25* CBB Sweet Sixteen Game of the Year tonight! DO NOT MISS OUT!

At 10:07 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the money-line on the Vancouver Canucks (54) versus the San Jose Sharks (53). THE SITUATION: Vancouver (30-34-6) had their two-game winning streak snapped in a 4-3 loss at home to Vegas on Tuesday. San Jose (19-39-13) has lost seven straight games after a 5-4 loss at Edmonton on Monday.

REASONS TO TAKE THE CANUCKS WITH THE MONEY-LINE: The Sharks are playing out the string and tanking for the NHL draft having lost 12 of their last 13 games. They have lost 19 of their last 26 games after allowing five or more goals in their last game. And while scoring was up on Monday after not scoring more than two goals in five of their last six games before that, they have lost 17 of their last 22 games after scoring four or more goals in their last game. San Jose has lost 10 straight games to teams with losing records in the second half of the season. Vancouver has still won seven of their last nine games down the stretch despite being out of the playoff race. They are getting better play from their defense and better goaltending from Thatcher Demko  — they have held their last five opponents to 2.4 Goals-Per-Game and 27.8 shots per game which is a -3.0 drop from their season average for shots allowed. The Canucks have won 4 straight games after a loss at home by one goal. They have also won 15 of their last 23 games after a loss to a Pacific Division rival. Vancouver has won 36 of their last 53 games against opponents not winning more than 40% of their games.

FINAL TAKE: The Canucks have beaten the Sharks in 10 of their last 11 meetings after a 6-2 win at home on December 27th. Vancouver has now won eight in a row against San Jose while scoring at least four goals in each of those games — and the Sharks have lost 18 of their last 23 games when attempting to avenge a loss where they allowed at least three goals in two or more of those losses in a row. 8* NHL Thursday Late Show Bailout with the money-line on the Vancouver Canucks (54) versus the San Jose Sharks (53). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 9:00 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing Under the Total in the game between the Florida Atlantic Owls (635) and the Tennessee Volunteers (636) in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. THE SITUATION: FAU (33-3) has won nine games in a row — and 12 of their last 13 games — with their 78-70 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson as a 16-point favorite on Sunday. Tennessee (25-10) has won three of their last four games with their 65-52 upset win against Duke as a 3-point underdog on Saturday. This game is being played on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

REASONS TO TAKE THE OWLS: FAU held Fairleigh Dickinson to just 38.0% shooting in their victory on Sunday. Four of their last five opponents have not shot better than 38.1% from the field. The Owls rank 33rd in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency — and they give up -1.3 fewer points per 100 possessions when they are playing away from home. But Florida Atlantic scores -5.2 fewer points per 100 possessions when playing on the road on neutral courts or in hostile environments. Tennessee only made 40.4% of their shots in their upset win against Duke — but they nailed 9 of their 21 shots from behind the arc to secure the victory. The Vols miss their spark plug on offense in point guard Zakai Zeigler who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in late February. They have only scored 123 combined points in their two Big Dance games. The Volunteers lead the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency — and they also enjoy the lowest Adjusted Defensive Efficiency when playing on the road. They have played 10 of their last 16 games Under the Total after not allowing more than 55 points in their last game. But Tennessee sees their scoring drop by -8.0 points per possession when playing away from home.

FINAL TAKE: Tennessee has played 5 of their last 7 games Under the Total on a neutral court when favored by up to six points or listed as a pick ‘em. FAU has played 5 of their last 6 tournament games Under the Total. 8* CBB FAU-Tennessee TBS-TV O/U Special with Under the Total in the game between the Florida Atlantic Owls (635) plus the points versus the Tennessee Volunteers (636). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 9:00 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the Florida Atlantic Owls (635) plus the points versus the Tennessee Volunteers (636) in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. THE SITUATION: FAU (33-3) has won nine games in a row — and 12 of their last 13 games — with their 78-70 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson as a 16-point favorite on Sunday. Tennessee (25-10) has won three of their last four games with their 65-52 upset win against Duke as a 3-point underdog on Saturday. This game is being played on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

REASONS TO TAKE THE OWLS: FAU is a dangerous underdog in this game. They have covered the point spread in 14 of their last 21 games after winning four or more games in a row — and they are 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 games after a point spread loss. The Owls are a good shot volume team who will take advantage of most of their scoring opportunities against the great defense they will face with the Volunteers. FAU only turns the ball over in 16.4% of their possessions — ranking 64th in the nation. They also pull down 30.9% of their missed shots, ranking 97th in the nation — and they have 33 offensive rebounds in their two games in this Big Dance.  And this is a team that launches 3s with 43.8% of their shots from the field coming from behind the arc, ranking 38th in the nation. The Owls make 36.7% of their 3-pointers, ranking 41st in the nation. FAU’s outside shooters complement Vladislav Goldin, a 7’1 big man who gives them a legitimate scoring threat inside. Tennessee may be due for a letdown after upsetting Duke and now playing a nine-seed mid-major. As it is, the Volunteers have failed to cover the point spread in 5 of their last 7 games after a straight-up win — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their last 5 games after a point spread victory. The Vols miss their spark plug on offense in point guard Zakai Zeigler who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in late February. They have only scored 123 combined points in their two Big Dance games. Tennessee sees their scoring drop by -8.0 points per possession when playing away from home.

FINAL TAKE: Tennessee has failed to cover the point spread in 5 of their last 8 games on a neutral court when favored or a pick ‘em — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 9 games in the NCAA Tournament. They have also failed to cover the point spread in 5 of their last 7 games against teams winning 60% or more of their games. FAU has covered the point spread in 4 of their last 5 games on a neutral court as an underdog or pick ‘em — and they are 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 games against teams with a winning percentage of 60% or higher. 10* CBB Thursday Night Discounted Deal with the Florida Atlantic Owls (635) plus the points versus the Tennessee Volunteers (636). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 9:45 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the UCLA Bruins (642) minus the point(s) versus the Gonzaga Bulldogs (641) in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. THE SITUATION: UCLA (31-5) has won 14 of their last 15 games after their 68-63 victory against Northwestern as a 7.5-point favorite on Saturday. Gonzaga (30-5) has won 11 games in a row with their 84-81 victory against TCU as a 4.5-point favorite on Sunday. This game is being played on a neutral court at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

REASONS TO TAKE THE BRUINS MINUS THE POINT(S): The first order of business in assessing UCLA for this game is taking stock of their injury situation. Freshman Jayden Clark is already out the season. Adem Bona missed two games in a row with a shoulder — but he did return to the court on Saturday to play 21 minutes (which is his typical usage). While he is listed as questionable, it is reasonable to assume that Bona can play again five days later. The primary importance for the 6’10 freshman is to play defense against Drew Timme — and an impaired shoulder does not impact his defensive effectiveness as much as it would if his shooting was needed tonight. David Singleton is also questionable after rolling his ankle late in Saturday’s game. Singleton claims that “I’m fine,” for what that is worth. It’s another Patrick Mahomes situation where are guessing at the severity of an ankle injury from television. Head coach Mick Cronin confirmed that the ankle is not broken. He probably plays but is not 100% (like Armando Bacot for North Carolina in last year’s National Championship Game). Singleton is a 6’4 senior who is the team’s best 3-point shooter — but he is still a secondary scorer. I waited until Thursday morning to confirm this play — and there is no morning update so it will likely be a game-time decision for both players. Even if both players do not play, Cronin still has answers with players who have been consistently in the rotation. Kenneth Nwuba is a 6’10 senior who played more minutes in the two games Bona recently missed. Freshman Dylan Andrews gets more time on the court if Singleton is out. The injuries are mounting, but I think the crisis point for Cronin is he loses one more rotation player (assuming Bona and Singleton do not play). The key players for this team remain Jaime Jaquez, Jr. and Tyger Campbell — if either of these players got hurt, it would be devastating. Jaquez, Jr. may be the best player in college basketball this season — and Campbell might be the best point guard in the country. So, let’s keep that perspective in mind. These two have now led the Bruins to their third straight Sweet Sixteen. UCLA will bring an elite defense into this game that is second in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. They allowed Northwestern to make 37.3% of their shots which was the highest opponent’s field goal percentage in their last three games. The Bruins have covered the point spread in 6 straight games after a win by six points or less — and they have covered the point spread in 7 of their last 8 games after a victory where they did not cover the point spread. Their outstanding defense helps them rank third in the nation in Net Adjusted Efficiency when playing away from home. UCLA is 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games against teams with a winning record — and they are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games played on a neutral court. Gonzaga has failed to cover the point spread in 13 of their last 17 games on the road after winning their previous game — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 6 of their last 8 games after a win by six points or less. And while they have scored 77 or more points in 11 straight games, they have then failed to cover the point spread in 8 of their last 9 road games after scoring 75 or more points in three or more games in a row. The Bulldogs lead the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency — but their vulnerability is on the other end of the court. Gonzaga ranks 75th in the nation in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency with the biggest problem being their half-court defense given their opponent’s field goal percentage of 51.7%, ranking 245th in the nation. It is this imbalance that often holds the Bulldogs back against their top competition — they are just 6-19-2 ATS in their last 27 games against teams winning 60% or more of their games. I don’t like this matchup for head coach Mark Few’s team. Who will guard Jacquez? UCLA has multiple perimeter players who will likely frustrate the Zags. Furthermore, the Bruins’ elite transition defense will slow down the Gonzaga offensive attack and force them to execute in the half-court. Finally, while Timme leads a formidable frontcourt, the Bulldogs’ backcourt may get exposed in this matchup. Gonzaga has failed to cover the point spread in 12 of their last 15 games played on a neutral court.

FINAL TAKE: Cronin, Jaquez, and Campbell will all have revenge on their minds after losing in overtime to Gonzaga in the Final Four of the 2021 Big Dance. They then lost the rematch the following November to that Bulldogs team — but that group was probably better than Few’s team now with future NBA players Chet Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard (and that 2020-21 team also had Jalen Suggs and Corey Krispert). Gonzaga has failed to cover the point spread in 7 straight games in the NCAA Tournament — and the Bruins have covered the point spread in 8 of their last 11 games in the Big Dance. 25* CBB Sweet Sixteen Game of the Year with the UCLA Bruins (642) minus the point(s) versus the Gonzaga Bulldogs (641). Best of luck for us — Frank.