10* Columbus (7:35 ET): The Blue Jackets are red hot and look to remain that way heading into the All-Star Break. Winners of five straight, they are locked in a tight battle within the Metro for potential playoff position. Right now, they are fifth in the division and would be the final Wild Card team. But a win here would enable them to leapfrog Carolina going into the Break. During this five-game win streak, the Blue Jackets have posted three shutouts and outscored opponents 16-3. 

Out West, Winnipeg is in a similar position trying to battle for a playoff spot. But right now they’d be on the outside looking in. They are three points back and have lost three in a row, getting outscored 16-4 in the process. They’ve also dropped five of the last six. So, in terms of momentum (still hate that word!) going into the Break, it’s a very different deal with these two teams. This will also be the Jets’ third road game in four nights. All have been out East. 

Columbus has revenge for a 4-3 loss up in Manitoba back in November. But this time they are at home and they are a lot stingier here, giving up only 2.2 goals per game. Only two teams - Philadelphia and Dallas - have allowed fewer goals at home this year. Winnipeg also gives up far too many shots per game (34.3 per game on the road). Recent form is too difficult to ignore here and the line being steamed up this morning only serves to confirm my view on this matchup. 10* Columbus

10* Under Rutgers/Iowa (9:00 ET): Rutgers’ games have been going Under for quite awhile now. The last seven, a streak which goes all the way back to December 14th, have all stayed Under. But more important to the Scarlet Knights right now is that they’ve covered nine straight games, a streak which stretches back to December 9th. They’ve lost only one game during that time - by three at Illinois on Jan 11 - and have to be feeling pretty good about their chances of surviving the Big 10 gauntlet heading into Iowa City tonight.

Iowa has won its last three games as well as seven of its last nine. The Hawkeyes are now nationally ranked (#19 in both polls) and that’s pretty close to where I have them in my own power rankings (#18). They just hung 90 points on Michigan last Friday, but repeating that kind of offensive effort here against a team that ranks #7 nationally (per KenPom) in defensive efficiency seems unlikely.

In its last nine games, the most points Rutgers has allowed is 65. They’ve held six opponents below 60 points. For the year, they allow just 58.7 PPG, which matches their efficiency ranking (#7 in the country). Obviously, Iowa is a better offensive team than most of the teams that Rutgers has faced. But Under is the call here. 10* Under Rutgers/Iowa

10* Rhode Island (7:00 ET): Duquesne started the season red hot. They were even one of the last remaining unbeatens at 10-0. The Dukes then lost their next two games, but have subsequently bounced back with 5-0 start in Atlantic 10 play. They and Dayton are the only two A-10 teams without a loss. But a generous schedule is as responsible for this 15-2 SU record as much as anything else. The Dukes’ strength of schedule is outside the top 300 and it’s telling that they are not even in the top 75 of the KenPom rankings.

Rhode Island is 4-1 in the A-10. Their only loss was to Richmond, 69-61 at home, in the conference opener. Not only is that the Rams only conference loss, it’s their only home defeat. They are 8-0 otherwise in their own gym and Saturday saw them take care of LaSalle here, 66-63. While the Rhodies did not cover the 10-pt spread, that was because of a poor shooting night. I expect them to bounce back on the offensive end tonight plus they’ve held their L5 opponents to a 39.7 FG%.

Three of Rhode Island’s five losses were to Maryland, LSU and West Virginia. Duquesne simply is not in that same class. Keep in mind that none of those three losses were here at home either. Duquesne needed OT to get by Fordham 58-56 last week as an 18-point favorite. Fordham is one of two teams in the conference (St. Joe’s is the other) without a win. I really like the short number here. 10* Rhode Island

8* Over Heat/Wizards (7:35 ET): On average, Wizards’ games are the highest scoring of any team’s in the league. You’re looking at an average of 234.1 points per game. That’s obviously very high. What is - by far - the most interesting thing about this team is that their dramatic split between offensive and defensive efficiency. While they’ve recently gotten less efficient on the offensive end, it is their defensive efficiency - or rather lack of it - that’s really killing them. They are also dead last in the league in points allowed.

Miami is coming off an overtime win against Sacramento. That improved their home record to a league-best 19-1. I played accordingly in a recent home and home with the Spurs, taking them at home and fading on the road. I won both times. This spread is a little high, but what’s notable is how the Heat’s scoring average jumps here at home to 115.7 PPG. They only average 108.0 PPG on the road. That’s actually a pretty sizable split. Regardless if home or away, the Over is 26-16-1 in all Heat games this season.

So a home matchup against the worst defensive team in the league seems poised to go Over. The Wizards allowing a shocking 122.2 PPG on the road. Opponents shoot nearly 50% from the field! These teams have met twice already this season with the home team winning both games. Another key is the Wizards are 13-4 Over in games vs. .500 or better foes. Look for this to turn into a track meet. 8* Over Heat/Wizards

10* Memphis (7:35 ET): Last Friday, the Grizzlies saw a 6-game ATS win streak end when they failed to cover the nine-point spread in a 113-109 win over Cleveland. Monday saw the end of a 7-game SU win streak when they fell to the Pelicans 126-116. They allowed New Orleans to make a franchise-record 21 three-pointers in that game. Despite both the ATS and SU win streaks having ended, I like the Grizzlies to cover tonight in Boston, something which they have done in 18 of their previous 22 visits. 

The Celtics picked up a signature win on MLK Day, absolutely annihilating the Lakers 139-107. But before beating the Lakers, Boston had lost six of eight and three straight. I would not be confident in them maintaining the “high” of beating the Lakers. They’ve suffered recent losses to teams worse than the Grizzlies and winning here by the margin suggested by the oddsmakers is going to be tough. Honestly, a Memphis SU win seems more likely than them getting blown out. 

The Grizzlies have surged into 8th place in the West thanks to an offense that has scored at least 110 points in every game since December 21st. So it’s hard to cover a large spread against against them. Expect them to defend the three-point line better here than they did vs. NO. It’s been a month since Memphis lost B2B games with them going a perfect 4-0 ATS off their L4 SU losses. 10* Memphis