Wednesday was “hump day” but not in any kind of good way in the Tuley’s Takes home office,
After starting the week great with a sweep of the NFL conference championship games on Sunday and then continuing the winning ways on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday was more of a “speed bump” day as it slowed our roll with Wisconsin losing as our best bet of the day. We also posted a NHL First-Period Over play on the Wild-Blackhawks 1P Over -145 but they played to a scoreless tie. We did also mention Flames-Coyotes 1P Over 1.5 and that hit, but that doesn’t help us when all we did was parlay it with Wild-Blackhawks.
We wish we had focused more on the NBA on Wednesday as underdogs went 7-2 ATS and pulled 5 outright upsets on the night. However, while I lost with Wisconsin, dogs still went 4-2 ATS in the games involving Top 25 teams, so at least that vindicated the fact I’m looking for live dogs and just have to return to picking the right ones.
Let’s get to our nightly recaps of the major sporting action from Wednesday night – including our nightly update of the Super Bowl odds – and then look to get over the hump and back into the winner’s circle on Thursday.
Wednesday’s recaps
NBA: Dogs went 7-2 ATS with 5 upsets by the Thunder (+ 12 at Mavericks), Wizards (+ 10 at 76ers), Kings (+ 5 vs. Nets), Rockets (+ 4.5 vs. Cavaliers) and Magic (+ 3.5 at Pacers), plus the Hornets (+ 6.5 at Celtics) and Nuggets (+ 6.5 at Jazz) covered in SU losses. Unders went 5-4.
CBB: No. 18 Illinois beat No. 11 Wisconsin 80-67, but it was NOT an upset as the Illini won (and pulled away to cover) as a 7-point home favorite. No. 24 Marquette upset No. 12 Villanova 83-73 as a 4.5-point home underdog.
NHL: Faves went 4-1 Wednesday with the only upset by the Kraken (+ 175 in 3-0 win at Islanders). Oilers (-125), Kings (-130), Flames (-270) and Wild (-170) all won as faves and all also covered on the -1.5 puck line. Also of note, road teams swept 5-0 on the night. Over went 3-2.
Super Bowl odds update (11 p.m. PT Wednesday): Rams continue to be 4.5-point favorites vs. the Bengals at nearly all Las Vegas books with the notable expectation of Treasure Island still dealing Rams -4 -130 (and Bengals + 4 110). The Over/Under has settled at 48.5 at all Vegas books.
Thursday’s Takes
UCLA + 7 at Arizona: We certainly respect Arizona, but UCLA should be getting leading scorer Johnny Juzang back from the COVID list and the Bruins have won six straight. Juzang scored 15 in the Bruins’ 75-59 victory over Arizona just last Tuesday. We know Juzang’s backcourt mate, Jaylen Clark, has been ruled out, but UCLA is hoping to get back forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s win vs. Stanford. Even if he’s out, we think this line is too high and will take the generous points. Several books were dealing Arizona -7 late Wednesday night, including Circa Sports and William Hill in Las Vegas, but some books were at 6.5 so definitely shop around.
Good luck today (and every day!).