It is a busy sports weekend with the NBA’s return to the mix after a week off for the All-Star break. That includes joining the NHL’s regular season and college basketball’s home stretch before it starts its postseason.Continue reading below to get our Best Bets today and much more.
Other sports include the remainder of the Honda Classic, with the second round of the PGA Tour event underway Friday, and the Mexican Open tennis, in which the draw is revealed at 4 p.m. ET Saturday for the first matches to begin on Monday.
There are also spring training games for baseball fans who stay up to date on who is pitching which games.
Here is a guide for the best bets today and the remainder of the weekend.
Friday
Of the eight NBA games, half of those contain a favorite of at least 6.5 points, and all those favorites are at home. The games are the Charlotte Hornets at the Minnesota Timberwolves (-7.5), the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Phoenix Suns (-7.5), the Houston Rockets at the Golden State Warriors (-9.5), and the Sacramento Kings at the Los Angeles Clippers (-6.5).
Now, the Western Conference is a jumbled mess with so many teams jumbled up three through 11 that it is hard to get a grasp on how teams will play on a collective night. But oddsmakers know something with those strong lines.
This is probably our favorite for betting picks and parlays. The Clippers game gives us some hesitation because Los Angeles (33-28) has a worse record than Sacramento (33-25), which is also 15-13 on the road. But one of our best bets today is a moneyline parlay with the Timberwolves (-250), Suns (-290), and Warriors (-500).
Perhaps the two best NHL games are the last two to drop the pucks. The Los Angeles Kings (+105) visit the New York Islanders (-118), and then the Colorado Avalanche (-110) visit the Winnipeg Jets (-103). Each of those matchups features teams fighting for a playoff positioning, with five points or less separating the two teams.
However, for our best bets today, we will stack home favorites in the Toronto Maple Leafs (-215), Florida Panthers (-195), and Carolina Hurricanes (-260) for another parlay. Then we will look at the remaining games on the six-game slate individually for action.
Saturday
One of the best days of the sports week is when it is packed wall to wall with college basketball games. There are a number of great matchups to keep an eye on as teams jockey for seeding in their respective conferences.
An early game features Big Ten foes as Michigan State travels to Iowa, which is 13-2 straight up at home and 12-3 against the spread. Though the Hawkeyes are in a shooting funk, that has been contained to the road, and they are the projected NCAA Tournament team.
No. 25 Arkansas takes its uptempo offense on the road to visit No. 2 Alabama, which insists star freshman Brandon Miller is cleared to play after his involvement in an alleged murder. Miller dropped 41 points on South Carolina in his last outing, which was after news broke that he drove the accused and delivered the gun to the crime scene. The Crimson Tide have not lost at home in 13 games and are 9-4 against the spread.
Top Matchups Include No. 8 Texas vs. No. 10 Baylor
No. 8 Texas heads up the road to Waco for a date with Big 12 rival and No. 10 Baylor. The Bears are 13-2 at home and 9-6 against the spread and are looking to improve after a big loss at Kansas.
No. 16 Kansas State takes its show on the road to face Oklahoma State, which is 11-3 at home and 9-5 against the spread. The Wildcats are 3-6 on the road and 4-5 against the spread.
No. 4 Kansas has been very good at home with a 13-1 record, but the Jayhawks are 6-8 against the spread and will likely get a large number with West Virginia visiting.
How No. 6 Virginia fares off a loss at Boston College is intriguing. The Cavaliers visit the preseason No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels, who have fallen off. Virginia (21-5) is 6-4 on the road but 2-7-1 against the spread, while the Tar Heels (17-11) are 11-2 at home and 6-7 against the spread.
The two big showdowns are late at night, though, as No. 17 Indiana looks to sweep the season series from No. 5 Purdue. The Boilermakers are 13-1 at home but 6-7-1 against the spread. The Hoosiers are 4-7 on the road and 2-8-1 against the spread, but a rivalry game can lift their spirits.
Then a West Coast Rivalry commences as No. 14 St. Mary’s looks to sweep No. 12 Gonzaga. The Gaels are 6-1 on the road and 3-4 against the spread, while the Bulldogs are 12-1 at home and 6-5-1 against the spread.
Premier League
The Premier League features six matches on Saturday and one each on Friday and Sunday. There are five featuring heavy favorites in table leader Arsenal (-145) against Leicester City, Manchester City (-330) against Bournemouth, Liverpool (-135) against Crystal Palace, Leeds United (+100) against Southampton (+285), and West Ham United (-130) against Nottingham Forest.
Best Of The Rest
There are 48 players under par at the Honda Classic as of this writing. There are plenty of names to watch, but some of the best are Florida native Billy Horschel, who wants to win in his home state for the first time, Sungjae Im, and Chris Kirk, all within two strokes, among many others. Betting on sports, and specifically golf, can still offer good value with Multi-Sports odds available.
The best game of the bunch is the Sunday tilt between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
NASCAR will hold its next rest at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday at the Auto Club 400 hosted in Fontana, California.
Guidelines
For those figuring out how to bet on sports, it is best to take it slow and one game at a time. Parlays can be tricky and are a great way for people to lose money quickly. Parlays are stringing together multiple bets for greater odds, but each leg of the parlay needs to hit in order for the great payout to occur.
Doing some general research about how teams play at home or on the road, their records against the spread, and statistical comparisons against league averages is a great way to be informed.
It helps if you already have a favorite team; that way, you come in with background knowledge.
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