Saturday was another exciting day in the Tuley’s Takes home office, and it’s more exciting than I expected with the NHL All-Star Game and NFL Pro Bowl in town (the first time a city has hosted two all-star events in one weekend) a full week before the Super Bowl.
Our day started with our best bet of the day, Illinois + 1.5 at Indiana, tipping off at 9 a.m. PT (aka Vegas Time). It was a battle, but the Illini prevailed. We enjoyed a lot of horse racing action. We lost our best bets on the track, but at least a couple of our Kentucky Derby future bets (Simplification and Mo Donegal picked up some qualifying points and hopefully took a step forward on the Derby Trail). Unfortunately, our NBA best bet on the Wizards against the Suns was never close to cashing. That was an anti-swagger play against the Suns, who had just had an 11-game winning streak snapped, but I wish I had also included a similar play on UCLA (which just had a 6-game winning streak end) as the Bruins were upset by Arizona State for their second straight loss.
Live and learn.
Anyway, let’s recap the rest of the betting results from Saturday (I guess I was doomed no matter where I looked in the NBA!!!) and then try to find some winners on Sunday’s b-ball cards.
Saturday’s recaps
NBA: Favorites went a perfect 6-0 SU and ATS on Saturday, including the Lakers (-5.5) rallying from a 21-point deficit to force OT and then cover in their 122-115 victory. The Grizzlies (-8.5 at Magic), Suns (-7.5 at Wizards), Heat (-2.5 at Hornets), Kings (-7.5 vs. Thunder) and Bucks (-10.5 at Blazers also covered). Overs went 4-2.
CBB: Arizona State upset No. 3 UCLA 87-84 in 3 OTs late Saturday as a 10-point home underdog and + 425 on the money line. The game went Over 131.5 thanks to OT). No. 10 Kansas routed No. 8 Baylor 83-59 but it was NOT an upset as Kansas was a 2.5-point home favorite. Rutgers upset No. 13 Michigan State 84-63 as a 2-point home dog.
Super Bowl odds update (10:20 p.m. PT Saturday): Rams continue to be 4.5-point favorites vs. the Bengals in Las Vegas, though William Hill/Caesars did join Treasure Island at Rams -4 on Saturday afternoon before going back to Rams -4.5 at 6:14 p.m. PT. The Over/Under is still a solid 48.5 at all Vegas books.
Sunday’s Takes
Maryland + 9 at Ohio State: The Buckeyes are the better overall team, but they keep having their season interrupted by COVID issues, so we’re hoping that continues to lead to some consistency. Maryland is a .500 team, but that’s not too shabby in the deep Big Ten. They’re 2-2 vs. ranked opponents with the losses being by 1 point to Wisconsin and 2 points to Michigan State. They trailed Sparty by 10 at halftime this past week, but rallied to tie the game 63-63 before losing late. The Terrapins should be able to do the same thing here.
Clippers + 4.5 vs. Bucks: We’ve seen all the comebacks by the Clippers this season, so we know they have a chance to stay in every game. They’re coming off a win over the Lakers on Thursday night in Reggie Jackson’s game-winner. Meanwhile, the Bucks are coming off a rout in Portland last night and are 1-6 ATS on zero days of rest this season, so there’s a better-than-average chance of a letdown here. Again, even if we don’t get the outright upset, we like our chances to cover.
Good luck today (and every day!).