Free picks and predictions for every game

How we make a prediction

Every prediction starts from results, not opinions. We take what each team has scored and allowed, at home and on the road, and turn it into our own number for the game: a margin for the point spread, a chance of winning for the moneyline.

Then we read the price at a US sportsbook and name the book and when we read it. The price carries the book’s margin, so we take that out before comparing. What is left is the market’s view of the game, set beside ours.

The gap between the two is the pick. When it is wide enough, the page makes the call and states the price it is good to. When it is not, the page says no bet. A free betting pick is only worth having at the right price, and most games do not offer one.

The prediction stays on its page after the game, as published, so every call can be checked against the result.

Scores and Stats publishes free predictions for the games people bet on most: the NFL and college football, the NBA and college basketball, MLB, the NHL, the WNBA and the biggest soccer leagues. Every prediction has its own page, posted before the game, with the spread, the total and the moneyline, our own number for the game, and the call.

There is no subscription and no sign-up wall in front of the pick. You get the whole argument: the price, the number we set against it, and the gap between the two. When the gap is too small to bet, the page says no bet, which is often the most useful thing a pick can tell you.

The NFL

Every NFL game gets a prediction, from Thursday night to Monday night. We turn both teams’ results into a number of points and set it against the spread. When the two are far enough apart we take a side; when the total looks wrong we take the over or the under. The prices are updated before kickoff.

College football

The college slate is huge and its lines move more than most. Each team’s results against FBS opponents, at home and on the road, sit behind our number, and a pick needs it to disagree with the line by a field goal or more.

Basketball

The NBA, college basketball and the WNBA are long seasons with small edges. Each prediction gives the spread, the total and the moneyline, and the call or a clear no bet.

Baseball

Baseball is priced on the moneyline, so our number is a chance of winning for each team, set against the price at a named sportsbook with its margin taken out. The run line and the total are on every page, through the postseason too.

Hockey

Hockey games are often close to even, which is why the price matters so much. Each team’s record at home and on the road becomes a chance of winning, and a bet needs that chance to beat the moneyline by a clear margin.

Soccer: home, draw or away

A soccer game has three results, so each prediction prices all three, with the total goals line beside them. The draw can be the pick when the draw is the value.

The best bets

The best bets on any day are the games where our number sits furthest from the market. Most games are priced about right, and saying so is part of the job.

Spreads, moneylines and totals

The point spread asks a favorite to win by more than a number of points. The moneyline asks only who wins, with the price telling you how likely the book thinks it is. The total asks whether both teams together score over or under a number. Our guide to the moneyline shows how to read the odds.

Our picks stay on the page

Every prediction stays on its page after the game, exactly as published. The pick is never rewritten once the result is in, so you can judge us on the record, winners and losers alike.