Andrew Ortenberg
Show Bio
The NFL season is officially in the rearview mirror, 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 Duke leading the way on Wednesday.
NCAAB: #7 Duke -5 @ Virginia
Teams that are big national brands are often a staple of this column, and Duke basketball certainly qualifies. The Blue Devils have been enjoying an excellent season in Coach K’s last year at the helm, and bettors are banking on them here for one of the best games of the Wednesday college hoops slate.
A total of 88 percent of the bets and 79 percent of the public money are laying the points with Duke as a road favorite, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us. Virginia is having a down year by their lofty standards, which could be a factor here as well. Check out our full game preview for Duke vs Virginia to see if our expert agrees with the public here.
NCAAB: #6 Kentucky -7.5 vs LSU
We’ve got some more lopsided splits here in the SEC. Just like we saw in the Duke game, pretty much any time a highly ranked team is playing an unranked team, you know which side the public is going to be on. Accordingly, 90 percent of the bets and 78 percent of the public money are laying the points with Kentucky here over LSU.
The Wildcats had a terrible season last year but they’ve bounced back in a big way with a 22-5 record so far this time around. LSU got off to a really hot start but they’ve struggled lately, going just 4-7 in their last 11 games. Now the public is lining up to fade them. You won’t want to miss all our picks for the day’s biggest NCAAB games!
NHL: Sabres @ Canadiens over 6.0
Turning our attention to the ice now. Nothing the public loves more than a good over. There are five NHL games on Wednesday, and the public is leaning over in all five of them. It’s a heavy lean here in this battle between two disappointing teams as the Canadiens host the Sabres. A total of 74 percent of the bets and 86 percent of the handle are on the over 6.0 here.
Those figures mean the large volume bets have been coming in on the over as well. These two teams are at the bottom of the Atlantic division but both have played in some high scoring games recently, particularly Buffalo, so this one isn’t too surprising. We’ve got this game as part of our Wednesday NHL mega parlay that has odds of +1070.
NHL: Avalanche @ Red Wings over 6.5
Elsewhere on the hockey slate, bettors are also expecting lots of action in this matchup between Colorado and Detroit. The Avalanche are at the top of the standings and have scored the second-most goals in the league, so I’m not exactly shocked to see this. A total of 77 percent of the bets and a whopping 90 percent of the public money are on the over here.
It has to be said that 6.5 is a pretty high total, but even that isn’t enough to scare anybody off here. Only one of Colorado’s last eight games have seen more than six total goals scored, which is interesting. Don’t tell that to over bettors. Remember, we’ve got free picks on the side and total for all five NHL games on Wednesday night.
Pickswise is the home of free NFL predictions, NBA predictions , NHL predictions, and college basketball predictions.
