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Thursday Betting Recaps
Welcome to our daily recap of the sports betting results from the night before.
In case you missed the announcement last week, we’ve started splitting our “Tuley’s Takes” columns into two separate pieces: this FREE article where I recap last night’s betting action and update league-wide ATS stats in the various team sports, and then another one where I give my Best Bets on the day’s wagering menu.
Links to both articles should be found on the VSiN.com home page, though I advise my regular readers to also bookmark my dedicated page at https://vsin.com/news/dave-tuley-columns/.
As for Thursday sports betting action, the day was dominated mostly by the NFL Draft even though there were NBA and NHL playoff games and an 11-game MLB slate.
The Panthers took Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick as the Alabama QB closed around a -200000 favorite as it became the worst-kept leading up to draft day. But the sharp money didn’t fare as well as recent years as the leaks and rumors weren’t as reliable the rest of the opening round.
The Texans took CJ Stroud with the No. 2 pick after Will Anderson Jr. was the rumored player to be headed there earlier in the day. The Texans then traded up to the No. 3 pick to also get Anderson as he closed as the -400 top choice to be the first defensive players drafter (luckily I bet Anderson -125 to be the first D player as my only bet of the day after hearing Krackman on VSiN’s “A Numbers Game” with Gill Alexander).
The Colts took Anthony Richardson at No. 4 as three QBs went in the Top 4 picks, but then no other QBs were taken in the first round as the Under 4.5 QBs prop cashed at around +145.
For more on the NFL Draft from a betting perspective, check out my VSiN colleagues Adam Burke (@SkatingTripods) and Zachary Cohen (@_ZCO).
As for the rest of Thursday’s betting action, the Celtics covered as 7-point road favorites after the Hawks had been covering all game long before being eliminated. Two of the three NHL favorites also won and chalk went 7-4 in MLB. The details are in our regularly scheduled daily recaps below.
NBA: Celtics (-7) rallied in the 4th quarter to beat the Hawks and ended up covering in a 128-120 road win in Atlanta to clinched their first-round series 4-2 (game flew Over the betting total of 230.5 points).
More NBA: Faves lead 27-13 SU and 23-17 ATS (57.5%) so far in the playoffs. Home teams dipped to 25-15 SU and 23-16-1 ATS (59%). Overs lead 21-19. The “zig-zag theory” (aka "loser of the last") improved to 16-15-1 ATS as the Celtics covered after losing SU in Game 5.
NHL: Faves went 2-1 with the upset by the Lightning (+134 in 4-2 win at Maple Leafs to avoid elimination at 3-2). The Devils (-120 in 4-0 win vs. Rangers to take 3-2 lead) and Golden Knights (-200 in 4-1 win vs. Jets to clinch series 4-1) won as chalk. Home teams also led 2-1. Unders swept 3-0 on the night.
More NHL playoffs: Underdogs still lead 20-19 overall in 1st round with 1 game closing pick-’em (Golden Knights-Jets Game 4). Road teams still lead 24-16. Overs still lead 22-18. The "zig-zag" teams went 1-2 with the win by the Lightning after losing previous game while the Rangers and Jets failed again, dipping to 18-14 overall after a 10-2 start (so it’s only 8-12 in the 20 games since).
MLB: Faves went 7-4 Thursday with upsets by the Cubs (+154 vs. Padres), Marlins (+151 at Braves), Pirates (+140 vs. Dodgers) and Cardinals (+138 at Giants). Home teams went 6-5. Overs led 6-4-1 with the push in KC-MIN (8). On the season, faves lead 231-145 with 7 PKs. Home teams improved slim lead to 195-188. Overs improved to 187-176-20 (51.3%).
