The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: 1H Total Under 108.0 (-110)

Houston earned a 133-113 win as a 9.5-point home favorite over the Pelicans last week. Prior to that high-scoring affair, seven of the last eight meetings stayed under the total. The Rockets won their last three games heading into the holiday break, but Houston has been involved in some tough travel situations. Prior to the holiday, the Rockets played a road back-to-back at Toronto and at Charlotte. Thursday's game is the first leg of a back-to-back that will see Houston host Minnesota on Friday. New Orleans has lost seven-straight games (3-4 against the spread). The Pelicans will also be participating in a back-to-back as they host Memphis on Friday. Look for this to be a low-scoring affair. In the first meeting between these squads, they combined to shoot 44.7-percent from three-point range with a combined 30 made three-pointers. Houston's Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green combined to go 10-for-20 from beyond the arc. We're willing to pay to see them repeat that feat on the road. The Rockets are No. 2 in defensive efficiency and No. 1 in rebounding rate. New Orleans is in the bottom-half of the league in tempo.

THE PLAY: Los Angeles Rams -7.0 (-105)

Both teams return to the West Coast after playing early contests in the East last week. The Rams earned an ugly 19-9 road win against the Jets, while the Cardinals fell in overtime at Carolina. That loss eliminated Arizona from playoff contention, and now the Cardinals must embrace their role of spoiler over the final two weeks. We have some doubts about that. Kyler Murray has only been to the postseason one time and the Cardinals are searching for their first playoff win with him at the helm. Murray was visibly upset following that loss to the Panthers with the realization that this was a lost season in the desert. Running back James Conner was knocked out of last week's game with a knee injury, and he is questionable to return this week. Back-up RB Trey Benson is also dealing with an injury, and third-down back Emari Demercado is on injured reserve. Starting right tackle Jonah Williams was also knocked out of that game with a knee injury, and his status is also up in the air. Traditionally, you want to avoid wagering on the team that is playing the must-win game (Rams) against the team that has nothing to lose (Cardinals) because you're paying a tax in the betting market. This one might be a different story. The Cardinals have seemingly overachieved all season thanks to some hard-nosed coaching and good fortune. This might be a spot where the white flag goes up. The Rams have won-and-covered each of their last four games.

THE PLAY: Illinois +9.5 (-110)

If this game had been played at the end of the regular season, we likely would have found ourselves looking at the Gamecocks. Shane Beamer's team was playing arguably the best football in the country during the last month of the season. But with a full month in between the end of the regular season and this bowl game, the South Carolina hysteria has died down a little bit. Consensus All-American defensive end Kyle Kennard will not be playing in this contest. South Carolina was only favored by more than a touchdown three times this season. The Gamecocks nearly lost to Old Dominion as a 20.5-point favorite to open the season. They needed a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds left to beat Missouri as a 10.5-point favorite. There is a big difference between being the plucky underdog against Clemson and Alabama, versus laying over a touchdown against a Big Ten opponent. Illinois went 5-2 against the spread as an underdog this season, earning outright upset victories over Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan and Rutgers. Wide receiver Pat Bryant (ten touchdowns this season) is expected to be Illinois' only opt-out. The only two teams to beat Illinois by more than a touchdown this season are Penn State and Oregon. We're not quite ready to put the Gamecocks in their territory just yet.