Andrew Ortenberg
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It’s that special time of year when most of the major sports are in action. It’s a lot, and we’re grateful for it. There are plenty of crucial contests coming up, which always attract 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 Nets leading the way on Wednesday.
NBA: Nets -8 @ Pacers
Let’s start off with some NBA action. Usually the public likes to ride teams with momentum, but here they’re pounding a team that has lost three in a row. Despite the recent losing streak, 83 percent of the bets and 94 percent of the public money are coming in on the Nets as a sizable favorite over the Pacers, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us.
Perhaps everybody is excited about the season debut of Kyrie Irving, who will make his long-awaited return to the team here. It might not all be due to Irving, since the Pacers have also lost five games in a row. We don’t want any piece of Indiana, either; check out our full game preview to find out why.
NBA: Jazz -4.5 @ Nuggets
Elsewhere on the NBA slate, the public also leans toward another road favorite. If you would have said at the beginning of the year that the public would be lining up to fade Denver in their own stadium, it would’ve been hard to believe. But the Nuggets have had a tough season so far, and everybody just saw them put up only 89 points in their most recent game.
That being said Utah is just 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games, so this one is interesting to see. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has also historically always had success against Rudy Gobert. As such, we’re fading the public and backing the home underdog.
NCAAB: Creighton +10.5 @ #19 Villanova
Turning our attention from pro hoops to college hoops now. Now here’s something we don’t see everyday, a public underdog. Usually the public is going to back the ranked team over the unranked team no questions asked, but not for this Big East showdown. A total of 81 percent of the bets and 83 percent of the public money are grabbing double digits with Creighton here.
There’s a pretty obvious reason for this one though. These teams already played once earlier this season, and Creighton won by 20. Clearly bettors think that performance means they shouldn’t be catching double digits in the rematch. Our expert Lock Mamba agrees.
NCAAB: #11 Iowa State -4 vs #25 Texas Tech
One of the nightcaps of Wednesday’s big college basketball slate features the only matchup between two ranked teams. And bettors know who they prefer. A total of 81 percent of the bets and 93 percent of the public money are laying the points with the Cyclones here. The gap in those two percentages means that the larger volume bets have come in on Iowa State as well.
Iowa State is 12-1, although they do enter this one coming off their lone loss of the season. The Red Raiders are no slouch either at 10-2. We’re fading the public here and taking Texas Tech, and we also have a three-star best bet play on the total.
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