ESPN Streak For The Cash, March 12 Picks And Analysis

The New York Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist head to Buffalo tonight in one of the best Streak for the Cash picks. The Rangers should be able to beat the Sabres although Buffalo has been close in all their recent matchups. Find my pick for that game and other sports games tonight below. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

It’s another busy day in Streak for the Cash as hockey takes center stage tonight while more college conference tournaments wind down, the World Baseball Classic starts its final round of play, and Barcelona tries to survive in the Champions League. Yesterday, my picks fared well aside from the shocker of the Nets losing to the Sixers. Here’s hoping I can keep rolling with these picks today:

3/12 Streak Picks

9:00- Ak Bars Kazan: Salavat Ufais up 2-0 in the series and now return home. Don’t let that fool you though, Ak Bars is legendary for bringing streakers green all KHL season long and are the #1 seed for a reason. Salavat has gotten every bounce to go their way in the first couple games, but I think it ends before Ak Bars falls behind 3-0. Look for them to bounce back and get this road win. Confidence Meter: 3 (out of 10)

3:45- AC Milan: Milan heads to Camp Nou with a commanding 2-0 lead on Barca after soundly outplaying them in the first leg. Barcelona is a big name and obviously has plenty of fire-power, but I was impressed by AC Milan and think they can hold on to move on. If they win, draw, or lose by one or two, they’ll move on. The only exception is that if they lose 2-0 it will go to extra time and PK’s. If AC Milan is able to score, than Barcelona will have to score at least four times to move on which is a tall order against a defense that dominated them in Milan in the first leg. Confidence Meter: 5

March 6, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls forward Zach LeDay (3) reacts after guard Martino Brock (0) makes a basket against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half at the Sun Dome. South Florida Bulls defeated the Connecticut Huskies 65-51. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

7:04- South Florida Bulls: In the first game of the first round in the Big East tournament, USF takes on Seton Hall. Both these teams finished the season 3-15, but the Bulls won two of their last three over DePaul and UConn and almost knocked off Cincinatti on the road taking the Bearcats to OT before losing 61-53. On the other hand, Seton Hall lost to Rutgers and Providence in their last two games, both of whom are in the bottom half of the Big East standings. They did knock off Villanova the game before that in a big home win and also beat the Bulls earlier this season although that game was at home as well. Neither team is very confidence-inspiring, but I’ll take the team playing better as of late and picking the Bulls at Madison Square Garden is always a good thing. Confidence Meter: 5

7:04- LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds: LIU-Brooklyn gets a chance to get a ticket to the Big Dance as they take on Mount Sy. Mary’s in the Northeast Conference Championship game. The Blackbirds are favored by 3 1/2 despite Mount St. Mary’s having won their last nine in a row. including a 12-point win over LIU-Brooklyn. The first time the two teams met, LIU won by 14. I’d be surprised if this one’s a blowout like either of those games. I think it’ll be a close one, and I’ll take LIU since the game they won was on a neutral floor like this one and due to the injury to Julian Norfleet for Mount St. Mary’s. Norfleet averages 10 points and 30+ minutes per game and overcoming his loss may be too much for the Mountaineers. Confidence Meter: 3

7:05- New York Rangers: New York heads upstate as they face the Sabres today having won five of their last six games after cruising past Washington 4-1 on Sunday afternoon. Last Sunday, they played these same Sabres and won 3-2 in a shootout. That loss started a 0-2-2 trip for the Sabres who lostall for games by a single goal as they’ve sunk to the bottom of the Northeast Division and are just a point ahead of Florida for last place in the Eastern Conference. Confidence Meter: 7

Mar 9, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Clarke MacArthur (16) celebrates his goal with defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

8:05- Toronto Maple Leafs: Toronto looks to beat the Winnipeg Jets for the second time this season at the MTS Center in Winnipeg. The Jets are just 1-5-0 in their last six home games while Toronto is 9-5-0 on the road this season. The Leafs earned a point by forcing overtime at home against Pittsburgh in their last game on Saturday but lost 5-4 in shootout. With neither team on a back-to-back and the Jets recent home struggles, the Leafs make a solid pick even though they’re on the road. Confidence Meter: 4

9:05- Wright State loses by single digits or wins: The Wright State Raiders take on Valparaiso in the Horizon League Championship. Valpo are favored by 7 1/2 after both teams won on a buzzer beater in the last round. In their two previous meetings, Valparaiso won by six at home and seven on the road. This championship is at Valparaiso, but Wright State will be a tough out after they upended the defending champ Detroit in the last round while holding the Titans to a season-low 54 points. The Raiders may not have enough gas to get to the tourney by  getting the win here, but I do think they’ll keep this within ten and have a decent shot at winning. Confidence Meter: 5

9:20- Rutgers Scarlet Knights: The Knights are three-point favorites as they face DePaul in this first round of the Big East tournament. Rutgers won their most recent game at Seton Hall although they did lost to Depaul on the road earlier this season. the Blue Demons only won one other Big East game all season aside from beating Rutgers and come in having lost six in a row since then all by 10 points or more. Rutgers should be able to avenge their loss as the rematch takes place tonight at Madison Square Garden on a neutral floor. Confidence Meter: 6

March 11, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (23) celebrates with defenseman Jake Muzzin (6) and center Anze Kopitar (11) after scoring an empty net goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

10:05- LA Kings: LA is back to playing well after a rough to start to this shortened NHL season. They’ve won 11 of their last 14 and four of their last five as they head to the desert to take on Phoenix. The Coyotes broke a mini two-game losing streak by beating Dallas on Saturday in their latest game in improve to 9-5-1 at home. The Kings are just 5-6-1 on the road and are on a back-to-back after beating Calgary last night. The Kings current form makes them the pick, but there are warning signs that its no guarantee as they head to Phoenix. Confidence Meter: 4

Streak Scoreboard for March

Yesterday’s Record: 11-3-1

Total Record for the month: 83-61-1

Confident Picks (6+): 37-16 (2-1 yesterday)

Longest Personal Streak this month: W6

Current Personal Streak: W3