Daily public money update: Bettors believe in Bucks

The NFL playoffs are winding down and the Super Bowl is rapidly approaching, but basketball and hockey are in full swing and baseball is right around the corner. It’s a lot, and we’re grateful for it. There are some big contests coming up, which always create some big public sides. Let’s take a look at where the public money is going as bettors once again try to beat the ‘books, with the Bucks leading the way on Tuesday.

NBA: Bucks -3.5 @ Lakers

Usually the team that has LeBron James is going to be the heavy public side, but not on Tuesday. If you would have said at the beginning of the year that bettors would be lining up to fade the Lakers, it would’ve been hard to believe. But here we are. A total of 85 percent of the bet tickets and 86 percent of the public money are coming in on the Bucks -3.5, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. The Lakers have been a big disappointment this season, and the public isn’t ready to hop back on even with Anthony Davis back in the lineup. This is going to be a great game, televised nationally by TNT, so be sure to check out our full game preview for Bucks vs Lakers.

NBA: Timberwolves -7 @ Kings

Elsewhere on the NBA slate, we have another public side that would’ve surprised some people at the beginning of the season. Recreational bettors are flocking to the Timberwolves on Tuesday, believe it or not. A total of 86 percent of the bets and 83 percent of the public money are laying the points with Minnesota tonight.

To be fair, this could be more of a fade of the Kings than anything else. But the T-Wolves have won four in a row, and as we all know the public loves to chase momentum. Head over to our NBA page for our picks on every game tonight!

NHL: Wild @ Jets 6.5

The NHL returned from their all-star break yesterday with two games, and now we have our first full slate back. Bettors are excited to have hockey back in action, and there’s nothing they love more than a good over. The public generally likes to root for excitement and lots of action, and that’s certainly the case on Tuesday. A total of 89 percent of the bets and a whopping 94 percent of the public money are on the over here in Winnipeg.

A total of 6.5 is already pretty high, but that isn’t enough to scare anybody into taking the under clearly. Minnesota is on an incredible run where they’ve scored at least three goals in 12 straight games, so this one isn’t too hard to understand. Dive into our thoughts for all seven games on the ice tonight here.

NCAAB: Illinois +5.5 @ Purdue

Wrapping things up now with some college basketball. This isn’t the biggest public side of the Tuesday college hoops slate, but it’s the most interesting in my opinion. That’s because we get something we don’t see every day: a public underdog! A total of 71 percent of the bets and 79 percent of the public money are grabbing the points with Illinois here for this highly anticipated Big 10 showdown.

These teams just played recently, and the game went to double overtime despite star Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn missing over half the game due to foul trouble. That could have a lot to do with these splits. I’ve got this game as part of my Tuesday college basketball mega parlay with +1148 odds, so you won’t want to miss it.

Pickswise is the home of free NFL predictions, NBA predictions , NHL predictions, and college basketball predictions.