Tuesday in the Tuley’s Takes home office was spent putting together our weekly column for Points Spread Weekly, though I did get to go out later for a dinner with family friends at Jerry’s Nugget for my favorite prime rib (if you follow us on Twitter @ViewFromVegas or on Facebook, you’ve probably seen the photos, which have also shown up on “Follow the Money” a few times).
As for our Best Bet, we gave out Wagner + 4 in the Northeast Conference title game at Bryant. I didn’t tune into the game until 30 minutes late and saw Bryant was leading 36-6. I figured that had to be a glitch in the scoreboard, but unfortunately it was true. Wagner never threatened, so our record with our top play of the day dropped to 18-5-1 ATS the past 24 days.
When you play underdogs like I do, this is going to happen occasionally. After all, the favorite is the better team and is supposed to win, and sometimes wins by a big margin. I’ve had people ask me over the years if I’m discouraged when this happens and my stock reply is: “No. It’s pretty easy for me to take this kind of loss in stride. From my standpoint, it’s far less embarrassing than when someone lays double digits with the chalk and they lose outright.”
Writing this daily column (closing in on 6 months since the first “Tuley’s Takes Today” on September 13, 2021), it’s always great to hear from loyal readers, even if it’s complaints like yesterday when I didn’t include my recommended NHL First-Period Over plays. I also received some thank you’s from some readers who don’t need me to hold their hand as they used the parameters I’ve discussed here several times (look for 1P Overs where the Over/Under on the game is 6.5 or 6 with teams with solid season records with 1P Overs or on current hot streaks) as those games went 4-0 on Tuesday with Panthers-Penguins, Avalanche-Devils, Kraken-Maple Leafs and Rangers-Wild all went Over and any parlays or round-robins using those games also hit.
However, I do feel bad for those who missed out, so I’ll try my best to include those every day moving forward, starting with today.
Let’s first recap the rest of the major sports on Tuesday, and then give our best bets for Wednesday. FYI: as you’ll read in “Point Spread Weekly” that comes out later Wednesday morning, I don’t have any college conference tournament plays on Wednesday, though I’m going to be watching teams that I’m hoping make it to Thursday and in spots where I’ll be backing them.
Tuesday’s recaps
NBA: Faves went a perfect 6-0 SU on Tuesday night, but just 5-1 ATS as the Suns (-6.5) failed to cover in a 102-99 win at the Magic. Nets (-4 at Hornets) snapped a 4-game losing streak and Warriors (-6 vs. Clippers) snapped a 5-game skid as both covered. Overs went 4-2.
CBB: Six teams punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament, including No. 1 Gonzaga (-12.5) in 82-69 victory to win the West Coast Conference title here in Las Vegas. Gonzaga covered vs. closing number, though early bettors on Saint Mary's + 13.5 won while others pushed on 13.
NHL: Underdogs went 6-5 on Tuesday with the upsets by the Devils (+ 190 vs. Avalanche), Flyers (+ 153 vs. Golden Knights), Coyotes (+ 145 at Red Wings), Senators (+ 225 at Blues), Jets (+ 150 vs. Lightning) and Capitals (+ 110 at Flames). Overs went 8-3.
Wednesday’s Take
Capitals-Oilers First-Period Over 1.5 -145: The Oilers have been good to us with 1P Overs as they have the 5th-best record in the league at 37-20 (64.9 percent) and on a 7-3 run (all NHL betting stats from @PSUOtto on Twitter). The Capitals aren’t as consistent at 26-31, but Alexander Ovechkin had 2 goals on Tuesday night and nearly a hat trick, so we’ll look for chances on both ends. That’s our best bet of the night and we’ll play it straight, though I’ll also probably play the Canadiens-Canucks 1P Over 1.5 -135 as well, plus a two-team parlay as it’ll pay close to 2-1 if you’re able to get these odds.
Good luck today (and every day!).