Monday was a day to catch up on chores in the Tuley’s Takes home office.
Once those were done, it was time to check in on our best bet of the day as we entered the day with an 8-day winning streak and needing the Maple Leafs-Canadiens First-Period Over 1.5. It looked great early with the Canadiens scoring just 2:58 into the game, but then the offenses went cold and it looked like we were going to take a loss, but then the Canadiens scored again with :50 left in the period to get us the cash for the 9th straight day.
Our secondary play on Indiana + 7 at Ohio State was looking promising as the Hoosiers stayed within striking distance throughout and actually led by 4 points late in regulation. When you’re getting points with the underdog and haven’t bet the money line, the only thing you’re cheering for at that point is no overtime. It’s great to get the outright upset for bragging rights, but the main thing is to secure the cover and not risking anything crazy happening in overtime. Sure enough, the Buckeyes tied the game to send it to overtime and we had a sinking feeling as they took control in OT and Indiana was unable to hit their 3-pointers while sending Ohio State to the line. We suffered a bad beat as the Buckeyes won 80-69 for the undeserved cover.
Ugh! Let’s recap the overall betting results for Monday and look for more winning wagers on Tuesday as we try to hit our top best bet for the 10th straight day.
Monday’s recaps
CBB: No. 13 UCLA (-13.5) beat Arizona State 66-52 late Monday and covered vs. the closing line, though early ASU bettors also cashed as line opened UCLA -14.5. It definitely pays to shop around and time your bets accordingly. No. 18 Ohio State (-7) covered in 80-69 win vs. Indiana thanks to OT. No. 7 Baylor (-5.5) beat Oklahoma State 66-64 in OT but didn't cover.
NHL: Faves went 3-2 Monday with the upsets by the Bruins (+ 155 in 5-1 win vs. the Avalanche) and Canadiens (+ 320 in 5-2 win vs. the Maple Leafs). Hurricanes (-240 in 4-3 win at Flyers), Flames (-230 in 3-1 win vs. Jets) and Canucks (-180 in 5-2 win vs. Kraken) won as faves. Overs went 3-1-1 with the push in COL-BOS (6) game.
Tuesday’s Takes
Villanova + 2 at UConn: We’ll keep looking for live underdogs in college basketball despite the tough beat with Indiana. Here’s a case where I’m not so sure the right team is favored (and not just because Nova is No. 8 in the polls while UConn is No. 21. The oddsmakers are telling you that Villanova would be favored on a neutral court. The Wildcats also won the earlier meeting this season, 85-74.
We’ve had an NHL First-Period Over 1.5 as our top best bet the past 3 days, but we’re going with the college b-ball play as our top best bet because we have 4 NHL 1P Over plays on Tuesday but not one we like better than the others. Personally, I’m probably going to round-robin these, but make your own decision with the info.
Predators-Panthers 1P Over 1.5 -170: Panthers on a 16-4 1P Over run (all stats, according to @PSUOtto on Twitter), Panthers a league-best 34-16 (68 percent) on the season, though Predators 27-23 for a combined 61-39 (61 percent).
Maple Leafs-Blue Jackets 1P Over 1.5 -160: Maple Leafs on 19-5 run and 29-19 on season, plus Blue Jackets 33-16 for a combined 62-35 (63.9 percent)...I’d call this best bet if forced to make a call.
Wild-Senators 1P Over 1.5 -145: Senators on 18-5 run and 28-20 on season while Wild is 31-16 for a combined 62 percent.
Blues-Flyers 1P Over 1.5 -135: Flyers are just 25-24 on season and Blues are just a little better at 27-21, but the Blues are on a 12-game 1P Over run.
Good luck today (and every day!).