Frank Sawyer of Hollywood Sports Reviewed

FRANK’S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR FOR THURSDAY, 1/27:

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 on the Minnesota Timberwolves plus the points versus the Golden State Warriors. Minnesota (24-23) has won four of their last five games after their 109-107 win at Portland as a 3-point favorite on Tuesday. The Timberwolves stay on the road where they are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 road games as an underdog. Minnesota is also 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games against teams with a winning percentage of 60% or higher. Golden State (35-13) is on a three-game winning streak after their 130-92 win against Dallas as a 3-point favorite. But the Warriors have failed to cover the point spread in 6 of their last 7 games after a double-digit victory. Golden State is 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games when favored. Take Minnesota plus the points. Best of luck — Frank.

Frank Sawyer’s Hollywood Sports SWEPT THE BOARD with 3-0 mark in college basketball last night — headlined by DELIVERING their 25* CBB Big 12 Underdog of the Month on Iowa State who PULLED THE UPSET at Oklahoma State — to further a 10 of 14 (71%) CBB run and continue a long-running 123 of 202 (61%) CBB mark! Frank owns a 38 of 58 (66%) CBB sides mark  — and he furthers his 9 of 11 (82%) CBB Game of the Month/Year run this season along with his 75 of 111 (68%) CBB Game of the Month/Year streak over the years with his 25* CBB Big Ten Game of the Month!

Frank was a WINNING 3-1 in All-Sports on Wednesday to continue a 9 of 11 (82%) HOT STREAK in All-Sports since Sunday night! Frank is on a 12 of 20 (60%) NHL run — and he is on a 103 of 169 (61%) NHL side run with underdogs and favorites never priced higher than -150! Now Frank continues his 5-0 (100%) Game of the Month/Year run in All-Sports this week with his 25* NHL Game of the Month for January! DON'T MISS OUT!

At 9:00 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the Iowa Hawkeyes (824) plus the points versus the Purdue Boilermakers (823). THE SITUATION: Iowa (14-5) has won three of their last four games after their 68-51 win against Penn State as a 10.5-point favorite on Saturday. Purdue (16-3) has won four of their last five games with their 80-60 win against Northwestern as a 12-point favorite on Sunday.

REASONS TO TAKE THE HAWKEYES MINUS THE POINTS: Iowa is once again dynamo on offense under head coach Fran McCaffrey. They rank seventh in the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency. But what is exciting about this Iowa team is their improved play on defense. After holding Rutgers to just 31.0% shooting eight days ago, they followed that up limiting the Nittany Lions to only 33.3% shooting on Saturday in that win. The Hawkeyes held Penn State to just 25 points in the first half — and they have then covered the point spread in 7 of their last 8 games after not allowing more than 25 points in the first half of their last game. Iowa has also covered the point spread in 7 of their last 10 games after a straight-up win — and they have covered the point spread in 11 of their last 14 games after winning two of their last three games. The Hawkeyes stay at home where they have an 11-1 record with a net point differential of +22.5 Points-Per-Game. Iowa makes 48.5% of their shots at home which generates a whopping 90.2 PPG — and they rank fourth in the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency on their home court. They limit their guests to 41.0% shooting. The Hawkeyes have covered the point spread in 30 of their last 43 games at home — and they have covered the point spread in 5 of their last 6 home games as an underdog. Purdue has failed to cover the point spread in 12 of their last 17 games after winning six or seven of their last eight games. The Boilermakers have out-rebounded their last four opponents by at least seven rebounds per game — but they have failed to cover the point spread in 6 of their last 7 games after out-rebounding their last four opponents by at least six rebounds per game. Purdue has demonstrated some vulnerabilities on defense in Big Ten play — their opponents' effective field goal percentage in conference play of 51.9% ranks ninth. They allow Big Ten opponents to make 34.1% of their shots from behind the arc, ranking ninth. Big Ten foes are also nailing 51.0% of their shots inside the arc, ranking 10th in the conference. The Boilermakers do rank number one in the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency — but they do drop to sixth in the country in that metric when playing in true road games. Purdue has failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their last 5 games on the road — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 4 of their last 5 road games against teams with a winning percentage of 60% or higher at home. Furthermore, the Boilermakers have failed to cover the point spread in 7 of their last 9 road games when favored — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 4 straight road games when favored by six points or less. Additionally, Purdue has failed to cover the point spread in 8 of their last 11 games when favored overall — and they have failed to cover the point spread in 5 of their last 7 games against teams with a winning percentage of 60% or higher.

FINAL TAKE: Purdue won the first meeting between these two teams by a 77-70 in West Lafayette. Iowa played that game with their All-American Keegan Murray who is third in the nation with a 22.8 Points-Per-Game scoring average. The Hawkeyes made only 5 of their 21 shots (23.8%) from behind the arc as well in that game — but now they return home where they make 36.8% of their shots from distance. Iowa has covered the point spread in 5 of their last 8 games when avenging a same-season loss. 25* CBB Big Ten Game of the Month with the Iowa Hawkeyes (824) plus the points versus the Purdue Boilermakers (823). Best of luck for us — Frank.

At 8:05 PM ET on Thursday, we will be playing the money-line on the St. Louis Blues (44) versus the Calgary Flames (43). THE SITUATION: St. Louis (25-12-5) had their three-game winning streak snapped on Monday with their 7-1 loss in Calgary against this Flames team. Calgary (20-12-6) has won three of their last four games after following that victory with a 6-0 shutout win at Columbus last night.

REASONS TO TAKE THE BLUES WITH THE MONEY-LINE: St. Louis returns home rested and ready to avenge that bad loss on Monday to the Flames. The Blues have won 11 of their last 16 games after a loss this season — and they have won 7 of their last 10 games this season after a loss on the road. Furthermore, St. Louis has won 8 of their last 11 games after playing a game where at least eight combined goals were scored. Back at home at the Enterprise Center, the Blues have won 13 of their last 16 games — and they have won 16 of their last 21 games at home when favored. They are enjoying a breakout season right wing Jordan Kyrou who leads the team with 41 points in his 38 games played. Backup goaltender Ville Husso get the start tonight for Jordan Binnington who got roughed up in Monday’s game — and he is having an outstanding season. Husso has a 1.88 Goals-Against-Average with a .943 save percentage in 12 starts (13 appearances) this season. At home, Husso has been even better with a 1.74 GAA and a .940 save percentage in seven starts. And in his five starts (six games) this month, Husso has a 1.13 GAA and a .965 save percentage. St. Louis has won 7 of their last 8 games against teams from the Western Conference — and they have won 6 of their last 8 games against teams with a winning record. Calgary is on a heater right now with their offensive attack -- they have averaged a whopping 52.3 shots in their last three games. But the Flames have lost 5 of their last 7 games after putting up at least 33 shots in three straight games. They stay on the road where they have lost 4 of their last 5 games — and they have lost 4 straight road games as the money-line underdog. They counter with Daniel Vladar between the pipes who will be making just his fifth start since December. Vladar has a 2.73 GAA and a .910 save percentage in his nine starts this year — but his best work was early in the season. In his four starts since December, he has a rough 4.17 GAA and an .869 save percentage. He has allowed at least four goals in his last three starts — and he got burned with six goals in his most recent start in Carolina on January 7th. Calgary has lost 4 of their last 5 games as an underdog overall. Additionally, the Flames have lost 8 of their last 10 games against teams with a winning record — and they have lost 15 of their last 18 games against teams with a winning percentage in the 51-60% range.

FINAL TAKE: The laptops like Calgary with their good underlying five-on-five metrics — and those numbers are not so high on the Blues. But those numbers have limitations that the team trends referenced above expose a bit. It is a bad situation for the Flames playing the second game on the road without rest with a rusty and struggling goaltender. Calgary has lost 4 of their last 5 games against the Blues — and they have lost 10 of their last 13 games in St. Louis. The Blues have won 8 of their 10 opportunities for revenge this season — and they have won 7 of their last 8 games when avenging a loss where they allowed at least four goals. 25* NHL Game of Month with the money-line on the St. Louis Blues (44) versus the Calgary Flames (43). Best of luck for us — Frank.