While the football season may be over, the action never stops. Now… onward to NBA and NHL best bets of the week – featuring UFC 247 odds and more.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the wagers of the week, with our NBA and NHL best bets. Here’s what to look forward to in terms of sports betting action:
New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers
Date: Thursday, February 6th
Flyers vs Devils odds at DraftKings:
The Devils and Flyers are two teams heading in opposite directions, which means the Flyers are likely the better bet in this spot.
Starting with the Devils, this is a team that has lost two in a row, five of six and eight of their last 10 games. They’ve been lost at sea since a modestly OK start at 9-11-4. They have just nine wins in their 27 games since.
We should see Mackenzie Blackwood in net, but he hasn’t been great of late. He posted a .891 save percentage in December, giving up 22 goals in his last six starts.
As for the Flyers, they enter on a roll as they’ve won six of their last eight games. They’re 12-6-2 in their last 20 games and are a healthy 29-17-7 on the year. They’ve had to ride veteran Brian Elliott recently as starting goaltender Carter Hart is out with an abdominal injury. Elliott hasn’t been great but the team has won three of his last four starts. He’s given up eight goals in that span.
The Flyers have already topped the Devils twice this year (4-0 and 4-3) and given the trends of the teams, we’re likely to see another win from them on Thursday. Bet the Flyers.
Pick: Flyers
Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks
Date: Thursday, February 6th
Can anyone figure out what’s wrong with the 76ers? The team that started 5-0 and 20-7 is nowhere to be found these days as they’ve lost three in a row and 10 of their last 18.
A big issue is that the offense has completely disappeared as the 76ers are scoring just 105.0 points per game over their last 11 contests. Only the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Charlotte Hornets are scoring less in that same span.
We knew that three-point shooting would be a problem going into the year and it’s been a huge albatross of late as only the Chicago Bulls have a worse three-point field goal percentage over their last 11 contests.
Of course, many people will say not to worry as the team’s home-away splits are very extreme this season.
The 76ers are 22-2 at home but are just 9-18 on the road. Even during these trying times, the 76ers have won eight in a row at home but have lost 10 of their last 12 road games.
On Thursday, the 76ers will visit the Milwaukee Bucks, a team they beat 121-109 at home on Christmas Day. This will be Milwaukee’s opportunity for revenge and I expect them to take full grasp of it – especially given how bad the 76ers have been of late and on the road.
Pick: Bucks
Duke Blue Devils at North Carolina Tar Heels
Date: Saturday, February 8th
The Tar Heels just continue to nosedive as they are – if you can believe it – below .500 and we’re already in February. That’s quite shocking as a team this talented shouldn’t be this bad.
Their latest loss came on Monday in a 65-59 shortcoming at No. 8 Florida State. They’ve now lost two in a row and seven of their last nine games. They started the year 6-1 and have just four wins in their 17 games since.
On Saturday, they’ll face the No. 7 Blue Devils and I’m expecting this to be a bludgeoning. Duke has already lost a couple of times in conference play and can’t afford to take it easy in any of these games.
They’re still 18-3 on the year and while they did have the bizarre home loss to Stephen F. Austin, they’ve won seven straight games at home against unranked opponents, averaging 25.0 points per win. Look for a big Blue Devils win on Saturday.
Pick: Blue Devils
Other Things To Watch This Week
UFC 247 – Jon Jones is back as he’s set to take on Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. Reyes presents a tough test as he’s a perfect 12-0 in his career with seven of the wins coming via knockout. However, the oddsmakers are expecting an easy win for Jones as he’s a -450 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Clash at Daytona – It feels like the 2019 NASCAR season just ended but the 2020 season is set to get underway with The Clash on Sunday. The first official race of the season is the Daytona 500 on February 16 but these first few exhibition races will give us an idea of how everyone is running.
No. 12 Seton Hall vs No. 10 Villanova – Another important game on the college basketball docket this week will bet the showdown between Seton Hall and Villanova on Saturday. These are the top two teams in the Big East and the winner here takes over the top spot. Both teams lost at home last Saturday in conference play, which is a bit of a surprise. They each have midweek games before this showdown.
See you same time next week when we start off the week with more NBA and NHL Best Bets Of The Week!