Saturday Betting Recaps
Welcome to our daily recap of the sports betting results from the night before.
In case you missed it Wednesday, we’ve started splitting our “Tuley’s Takes” columns into two separate pieces: this FREE article where I recap last night’s betting action and update league-wide ATS stats in the various sports, and then another one where I give me Best Bets on today’s wagering menu.
Links to both articles should be found on the VSiN.com home page, though I advise my regular readers to also bookmark my dedicated page at https://vsin.com/news/dave-tuley-columns/.
As for Saturday’s betting action, the trend of SU winners covering the spread (meaning either favorites covering or dogs winning outright with the spread not coming into play) continued in the NBA as it improved to 24-1-1 ATS so far in the first round of this year’s playoffs. We also had the return of spring football as the XFL kicked off the last weekend of its regular season and the USFL had its Week 2 start.
NBA: Favorites went 3-1 SU and ATS on Saturday with the 76ers (-2.5 in 96-88 win at Nets to complete sweep), Suns (-8 in 112-110 win at Clippers) and Lakers (-4.5 in 111-101 win vs. Grizzlies) covering as chalk. The upset was by the Heat (+2.5 in 121-99 win vs. Bucks). Home/road teams split 2-2 SU and ATS while Unders led 3-1. The “zig-zag theory” (aka loser of the last) split 2-2 ATS with covers by the Heat and Lakers but losses by the Nets and Clippers.
More NBA: Favorites improved lead to 18-8 SU and 17-9 ATS (65.4%) so far in the 1st round. Home teams lead 17-9 SU and 18-7-1 ATS (72%). Unders’ lead improved to 15-11 (19-13 if including play-in tournament). The zig-zag still leads 9-8-1 ATS.
NHL: Road teams (all higher seeds) swept 4-0 on Saturday. Faves/dogs split 2-2 with upsets by the Devils (+130 in 2-1 OT win at Rangers) and Golden Knight (-105 in 5-4 2OT win at Jets). The Maple Leafs (-115 in 4-3 OT win at Lightning) and Avalanche (-150 in 6-4 win at Kraken) won as chalk. Overs led 3-1. So far in the 1st round, faves lead 13-11. Road teams took 13-11 lead with the 4-0 sweep. Overs lead 15-9. Zig-zag went 1-3 on Saturday, dropping to 11-5 so far.
MLB: Faves went 11-5 with upsets by the biggest upsets by the Nationals (+260 at Twins) and Marlins (+205 at Guardians, Game 1). Home teams went 9-7. Overs led 8-7-1 with push in CHW-TB (7). On the season, faves lead 191-120 with 5 PKs. Road teams dip to 162-154. Overs lead 160-142-14 (53%).
XFL: DC Defenders (-4) beat San Antonio Brahmas 29-28 but didn’t cover (went Over betting total of 43 points). Earlier, St. Louis Battlehawks (-9) covered in 53-28 win vs. Orlando Guardians (went Over 48). On the season (with just 2 regular-season games to go on Sunday), faves lead 27-10 SU and 18-17-2 ATS w/ 1 PK. Home teams lead 20-18 SU and get back to .500 at 18-18-2 ATS. Overs lead 20-17-1.
USFL: New Orleans (-7.5) beat Houston 38-31 but didn’t cover (went Over 42). Birmingham (-6.5) routed Memphis 42-2 and easily covered (stayed just Under 44.4). Home faves went 2-0 SU on Saturday but just 1-1 ATS. Overs swept 2-0. On the young season, faves and home teams now lead 4-2 SU but tied 3-3 ATS. Overs improved to 4-2.
