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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, MLB, NCAA and NHL Previews and Odds - 04/01/2026

by Big Al Staff

Wednesday, Apr 01, 2026

The Wednesday sports card features NBA, NHL, NCAA, and MLB action. The National Basketball League has nine games on its docket. Two NBA games tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET. The Atlanta Hawks travel to Orlando to play the Magic as a 4.5-point road favorite with the total set at 232.5 (all odds from DraftKings). The Philadelphia 76ers play in Washington against the Wizards as a 15.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 239.5. The Boston Celtics are on the road in Miami to play the Heat on ESPN at 7:40 p.m. ET as a 5.5-point road favorite with a total of 228.5. Four NBA games start at 8:10 p.m. ET. The New York Knicks visit Memphis to take on the Grizzlies as a 14.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 228.5. The Chicago Bulls host the Indiana Pacers as a 4.5-point favorite with a total of 247.5. The Houston Rockets play at home against the Milwaukee Bucks as a 17.5-point favorite with an over/under of 217.5. The Toronto Raptors are home to face the Sacramento Kings as a 13.5-point favorite with a total of 225.5. The Denver Nuggets play in Utah against the Jazz at 9:10 p.m. ET as a 16.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 248.5. The San Antonio Spurs are on the road to battle the Golden State Warriors on ESPN at 10:10 p.m. ET as a 13.5-point road favorite with a total of 226.5. The National Hockey League has three games on its slate. The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Vancouver Canucks at 8:37 p.m. ET at 8:37 p.m. ET as a -440 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5. Two more games conclude the NHL card at 9:07 p.m. ET. The Anaheim Ducks travel to San Jose to challenge the Sharks as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 6.5. The Los Angeles Kings play at home against the St. Louis Blues on TNT as a -142 money-line favorite with an over/under of 5.5. The NCAAB college basketball schedule has the first two games in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Crown postseason tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on FS1. Oklahoma takes on Colorado at 8:00 p.m. ET as a 9.5-point favorite with a total of 165.5. Baylor faces Minnesota at 10:30 p.m. ET as a 3.5-point favorite with an over/under of 148.5. Major League Baseball has 15 games scheduled. The Atlanta Braves are home to battle the Athletics at 12:15 p.m. ET as a -219 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Pittsburgh Pirates play in Cincinnati against the Reds at 12:40 p.m. ET as a -163 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The Philadelphia Phillies host the Washington Nationals at 1:05 p.m. ET as a -271 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Toronto Blue Jays play at home against the Colorado Rockies at 1:07 p.m. ET as a -286 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Miami Marlins are home to battle the Chicago White Sox at 1:10 p.m. ET as a -156 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The New York Mets are on the road to challenge the St. Louis Cardinals at 1:15 p.m. ET as a -171 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8. The Milwaukee Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:40 p.m. ET as a -143 money-line favorite with a total of 7. The Boston Red Sox visit the Houston Astros at 2:10 p.m. ET as a -156 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 7. The Chicago Cubs play at home against the Los Angeles Angels at 2:20 p.m. ET as a -168 money-line favorite. The Detroit Tigers play in Arizona against the Diamondbacks at 3:40 p.m. ET as a -173 money-line road favorite at BetOnline with a total of 8.Two MLB games throw out the first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET. The Seattle Mariners are home to play the New York Yankees as a -122 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants as a -149 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Minnesota Twins are on the road in Kansas City to face the Royals on Peacock at 7:40 p.m. ET as a -120 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Cleveland Guardians at 8:20 p.m. ET as a -259 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. 

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Tennessee Was Destined to be Doomed by Michigan in the Elite Eight

by Hollywood Sports

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2026

The Tennessee Volunteers are a very good college basketball program under head coach Rick Barnes. Reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament is a very impressive accomplishment. But the writing was on the wall that they would struggle to stay competitive against the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight of this year’s Big Dance. Michigan had demonstrated that they can still thrive despite the season-ending injury to off-the-bench spark plug L.J. Cason. The Wolverines had scored at least 90 points in each of their three NCAA Tournament games — becoming just the eighth team in the history of the Big Dance to accomplish that feat in their first three games in the tournament. They reached the Elite Eight with a 90-77 victory against Alabama in the Sweet 16. Teams coming off high-scoring efforts in the NCAA Tournament are reliable bets in their next game, as 44 of the last 71 games in the Big Dance have covered the point spread after scoring 88 or more points in their previous game in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines had covered the point spread in 13 of their last 21 games after scoring 85 or more points in their last contest. They had also covered the point spread in 7 of their last 9 games when playing with one day or less of rest — and they have covered the point spread in 5 of their last 6 games when playing on the road for the second time in three days. Michigan is one of the most balanced teams in the nation — they rank sixth in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and second in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. On the road, they had defeated three teams in Ken Pomeroy’s top ten rankings for Adjusted Net Efficiency — Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State — and all three of those victories were by double-digits. The Wolverines had covered the point spread in 18 of their last 28 games against teams outside the Big Ten. They had covered the point spread in 6 of their last 9 games played on a neutral court when the Total is set in the 140s — and they had covered the point spread in 12 of their last 17 tournament games since Dusty May became their head coach. Furthermore, in May’s 33 games in his head coaching career, when his team was favored by six or more points against a non-conference opponent, his teams had covered the point spread in 26 of those contests. Tennessee held Iowa State to just 21.7% shooting from behind the arc in their 76-72 upset victory against them as a 2.5-point underdog in the Sweet 16, which was their best perimeter defensive effort in their last 25 contests. But the Volunteers had failed to cover the point spread in 4 straight games on the road after an upset victory — and head coach Rick Barnes’ teams had failed to cover the point spread in 19 of their 28 games after pulling off an upset win. Additionally, Tennessee had failed to cover the point spread in 10 of their last 16 games on the road after winning three or more games in a row. The Volunteers were a great rebounding team — and they led the nation by pulling down 45.0% of their missed shots. But Michigan’s size was going to disrupt them. Aday Mara is 7’3 and joined by two other players at 6’9 in the Wolverines’ starting front-line. They ranked 38th in the nation by holding their opponents to rebounding just 27.0% of their missed shots. Away from home, Tennessee saw their offensive rebounding drop by -8.6%, which is the fifth biggest decline in Division I. The Volunteers’ weakness was that they are not a good shooting team. They ranked 175th in the nation with an effective field goal percentage of 52.5%. They also only made 69.4% of their free throws, ranking 287th. Their efficiency was not helped by a turnover rate of 17.5%, ranking 235th in the nation. On the road, their shooting inside the arc declined by -7.3% to a 49.1% clip, which ranks 239th. Their free throw shooting dipped to 67.1%, ranking 326th — and they could afford to be giving away points against Michigan. The Wolverines were outscoring their opponents by +17.7 Points-Per-Game — and Tennessee had failed to cover the point spread in 13 of their last 22 games against teams that are outscoring their opponents by +8.0 or more PPG. The Wolverines were shooting 51.1% from the field and holding their opponents to 38.6% shooting — and the Volunteers had failed to cover the point spread in 6 of their last 9 games on the road against teams that make at least 45% of their shots and hold their opponents to no better than 42% shooting. Tennessee was making 46.6% of their shots and holding their opponents to 40.7% shooting — and Michigan had covered the point spread in 13 of their last 17 games on the road against teams who made at least 45% of their shots and were holding their opponents to no higher than 42% shooting. The Volunteers held things tight early, but a 31-10 run in the final ten minutes of the first half gave the Wolverines a 48-26 lead going into halftime. Given Tennessee’s struggles to make baskets, it was going to take a Herculean defensive performance in the second half to get them back into the game. But Michigan scored another 26 points in the first ten minutes of the second half and cruised to a 95-62 victory to advance to the Final Four. And Hollywood Sports won our 25* College Basketball Game of the Month. Best of luck — Frank.

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UFC Fight Night Picks: (April 4th)

by AAA Sports

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2026

The Main EventIn March's final UFC event, down in Seattle, Joe Pyfer was able to get the win against former two-time champ Israel Adesanya. This weekend, the UFC heads back to Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night on April 4th. Renato Moicano (20-7-1 -- Brazil) will take on Chris 'The Problem' Duncan (15-2-0 -- Scotland) in the Main Event. Renato Moicano's had a bit of a rocky career so far, fighting some of the best to ever do it and even getting a last-minute fill in title shot against Islam Makhachev back in January of last year. Since that fight, Moicano lost to Beneil Dariush and hasn't fought since that fight. He's great on the ground. But, he's definitely not perfect and leaves a decent amount of openings for his opponents to exploit like each of the last two have done. Chris Duncan is the -200 favorite in this Main Event and he's been stellar. On a four-fight win streak, the fighter out of the UK has won three of those four fights by submission and twice inside the first round. Because of his strong grappling too, he's maybe a fighter that could look to take this fight to the ground himself, even with Moicano's BJJ at a very high level too. The total of this fight is set to 2.5 rounds, favoring the UNDER slightly. That means that an exciting fight should be taken place here in the final fight this weekend at the Apex. Both fighters want to win this fight badly, and the momentum that the winner would have would be extraordinary. We like this fight to finish early as well.  The Verdict -- In the end, we're likely to see this fight feature both fighters try striking on the feet at first. But, as the rounds go on, the fight could definitely take place on the ground where the grappling will be the key component. Duncan is our pick as we like him in the standup much more to land the takedowns that he needs in the end. Don't expect this to go the distance either the UNDER could be in play.  The Co Main EventAnother Women's fight gets the Co-Main event at this weekend's UFC Fight Night. Two Brazilian fighters will go head-to-head in what should be a war. Virna Jandiroba (22-4-0 -- Brazil) takes on Tabitha Ricci (12-3 -- Brazil.) Jandiroba is a submission specialist, with 14 of her 22 wins coming via. submission. She's finished her fighters in 15 of her fights throughout her career and has never been finished before inside the distance. We think that this could be a challenging fight. But, she's not likely to get finished in this one either. Tabitha Ricci has been going to decisions in the majority of her fights so far and although she's got some knockout power which she showcased against Amanda Ribas last time out, she's probably going to look to outwork Jandiroba over the course of the full 15 minutes. That's the best way she's going to be able to win this fight in our opinion. In this one, the total is also set to 2.5, but heavily favoring the OVER. That's expected though as neither fighter is likely to give the other one the edge with poor defense. Jandiroba will probably have more success on the canvas. But, Ricci might just be the better stand-up fighter. The Verdict -- Considering the line and how it's quite even, Ricci even as a slight favorite, this fight To Go To Decision might just be the best pick of the bunch even despite the heavy juice for odds. But, if you wanted to take a winner, Ricci will have more success as the fight goes on and we expect her to ultimately get it done. Go with Ricci. 

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Race to the Playoffs: NHL Wildcard Projections & Odds.

by William Burns

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2026

We're now heading into the final month of the NHL Regular Season and there's still so much to play for. Both the Eastern Conference & Western Conference have extremely tight playoff/wildcard races at the moment and there's only 7-10 games remaining. Let's take a deeper look at the standings at this moment. Current Standings:Eastern Conference:  Atlantic: 1. Tampa Bay Lightning (98)2. Buffalo Sabres (98)3. Montreal Canadiens (94)Metropolitan:1. Carolina Hurricanes (98)2. Pittsburgh Penguins (90)3. New York Islanders (89)Wildcard: 1. Boston Bruins (92)2. Columbus Blue Jackets (88)Ottawa Senators (86)Detroit Red Wings (86)Philadelphia Flyers (86)Washington Capitals (83)Considering that only two teams make the postseason after the top three in each division, we're going to see plenty of movement between these teams over the last half of a month. Washington owned the best record in the entire Eastern Conference last year and badly needs wins to catch up. Florida (b2b champs,) NYR & Toronto are all not even going to make it. This should be a stellar April of hockey and may the best teams get in at the end of it all.  Western Conference:  Central: 1. Colorado Avalanche (108)2. Dallas Stars (100)3. Minnesota Wild (94)Pacific: 1. Anaheim Ducks (87)2. Edmonton Oilers (83)3. Vegas Golden Knights (82)Wildcard: 1. Utah Mammoth (82)2. Nashville Predators (77)Los Angeles Kings (76)Seattle Kraken (75)San Jose Sharks (75)Winnipeg Jets (74)St. Louis Blues (73)How lucky some of these teams are to be in the Western Conference opposed to in the Eastern Conference. Although this race is as tight, if not even tighter than the Eastern Conference's race, the points are definitely much weaker. As a matter of fact, if Ottawa, Detroit or Philadelphia was in the Pacific, they'd all be in 2nd in the division. As it stands right now, those teams are out. With the poor seasons from this conference, the Jets (last year's President's Trophy winner,) the Blues, the Sharks, the Kraken and the Kings all still very much have hope. I'm extremely excited to see this out. Burns' Best Bet: (Make ASAP.) - via. DraftKings Sportsbook . New York Islanders to make the Playoffs (YES at -120.) Currently 3rd in the Metro division, the Islanders are lucky to be in this division rather than in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins, who are in a wildcard spot, are the unlucky ones at the moment being in the tougher division. Yes, the Blue Jackets, Flyers & Capitals are all in the Metro too, who are in the race currently. But, I believe that the Islanders are simply the strongest out of those teams at the moment and have been throughout the season. Holding an advantage like this with only a handful of games left, I believe that this is excellent value for NYI to be involved in the 2025-26 postseason. 

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Big Al's Daily Angle: NHL, NBA and MLB Previews and Odds - 03/31/26

by Big Al Staff

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2026

The Tuesday sports card features NBA, NHL, and MLB action. The National Basketball League has seven games on its docket. The Orlando Magic hosts the Phoenix Suns at 7:10 p.m. ET as a 2.5-point favorite with the total set at 224.5 (all odds from DraftKings). The Charlotte Hornets travel to Brooklyn to play the Nets at 7:40 p.m. ET as a 15.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 219.5. Three NBA games tip off at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Dallas Mavericks play in Milwaukee against the Bucks as a 1.5-point road favorite with a total of 228.5. The Detroit Pistons play at home against the Toronto Raptors as a 2.5-point favorite with an over/under of 219.5. The New York Knicks are on the road to take the Houston Rockets on NBC/Peacock as a 1.5-point road favorite with a total of 217.5. The Los Angeles Lakers are home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers at 10:40 p.m. ET as a 1.5-point favorite with an over/under of 237.5. The Los Angeles Clippers host the Portland Trail Blazers on NBC-Peacock at 11:10 p.m. ET as a 5.5-point favorite with a total of 227.5. The National Hockey League has 10 games on its slate. Seven NHL games drop the puck at 7:07 p.m. ET. The Tampa Bay Lightning plays at home against the Montreal Canadiens as a -170 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5. The Washington Capitals are home to challenge the Philadelphia Flyers as a -135 money-line favorite with a total of 5.5. The Buffalo Sabres host the New York Islanders as a -198 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5. The Detroit Red Wings visit the Pittsburgh Penguins as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 6.5. The Ottawa Senators play in Florida against the Panthers as a -170 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 5.5. The Dallas Stars are on the road to battle the Boston Bruins as a -120 money-line road favorite with a total of 5.5. The New Jersey Devils travel to New York to play the Rangers as a -142 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 5.5.The Carolina Hurricanes play in Columbus against the Blue Jackets at 7:37 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line road favorite with a total of 6.5. The Winnipeg Jets are on the road to take on the Chicago Blackhawks at 8:37 p.m. ET as a -142 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 5.5. The Edmonton Oilers play at home against the Seattle Kraken at 9:07 p.m. ET as a -185 money-line favorite with a total of 6.5. Major League Baseball has 14 games scheduled. The Texas Rangers visit the Baltimore Orioles at 6:35 p.m. ET as a -131 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. Three MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Miami Marlins are home to face the Chicago White Sox as a -1567 money-line favorite with a total of 8.5. The Cincinnati Reds host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Peacock as a -118 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Philadelphia Phillies play at home against the Washington Nationals as a -186 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Toronto Blue Jays are home to challenge the Colorado Rockies at 7:07 p.m. ET as a -271 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Atlanta Braves host the Athletics at 7:15 p.m. ET as a -149 money-line favorite with a total of 9. Two more MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Chicago Cubs play at home against the Los Angeles Angels as a -149 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. The Milwaukee Brewers are home to battle the Tampa Bay Rays as a -143 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. The New York Mets play in St. Louis against the Cardinals at 7:45 p.m. ET as a -168 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Houston Astros host the Boston Red Sox at 8:10 p.m. ET as a -149 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. Three more MLB games begin at 9:40 p.m. ET. The Detroit Tigers are on the road to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, with both teams priced as -110 money-line favorites with an over/under of 9. The New York Yankees travel to Seattle to face the Mariners on TBS as a -112 money-line road favorite with a total of 7. The San Francisco Giants play in San Diego against the Padres as a -143 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 7.5. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Cleveland Guardians at 10:10 p.m. ET as a -240 money-line favorite with a total of 8.  

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Valero Texas Open Preview and Picks

by Matt Fargo

Monday, Mar 30, 2026

After tying for runner-up last year at the Texas Children's Houston Open, Gary Woodland cruised to a five-shot victory in one of the most emotional wins on the PGA Tour in recent memory. He took a one shot lead into Sunday and built the lead to seven at one point to capture his first win since the 2019 U.S. Open and just two years removed from brain surgery. The tour remains in the Lone Star State for the Valero Texas Open hosted by the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, the third longest running event on tour, and while it has always been in the River City area, TPC San Antonio has held the event every year since 2010. TPC San Antonio is a par 72, 7,438-yard layout that sits 1,100 feet above elevation which helps the distance numbers because of the thinner air. Even though this is one of the longer courses on tour, ranked No. 20 in distance, accuracy is ideally more important and because of the dry firm conditions, there will be plenty of roll with accurate players keeping it in the fairway whereas errant tee shots will gather outside the heavily tree-lined fairways and native areas. It is flat, the rough is short and non-penal and there are only three water hazards across the property yet it is typically ranked in the top ten in difficulty and there is one good reason for that, the good ole’ Texas wind. Trying to defend his 2025 win is Brian Harman who took the Valero Texas Open by three shots over Ryan Gerard and that was his first victory since the 2023 Open Championship. He came into Sunday with a three-shot lead and his 75 was good enough to maintain it as conditions were horrible with four players unable to break 80 where the scoring average was 74.8. The last back-to-back winner was Zach Johnson in 2008-2009 and Harman will have a tough time defending against a talented field. However, five of the last seven winners have been longshots: Harman (70/1), Akshay Bhatia 2024 (66/1), J.J. Spaun 2022 (200/1), Corey Conners 2019 (200/1) and Martin Laird 2018 (100/1).Accuracy off the tee is more important than distance so Stroke Gained: Off-The-Tee is where to look but on a secondary level as straight and long are both obviously beneficial but having one and not the other is not a liability. Hitting greens here is tough and well below the tour average which makes the short game very important, similar to last week at Memorial Park. TPC San Antonio has 64 bunkers so in addition to looking at Strokes Gained: Around-The-Green and Scrambling, we also have to look at Sand Saves Gained. Putting is ranked down the list this week on the greens that typically run slow, rolling at an average of 11 on the Stimpmeter. Nine players ranked in the OWGR Top 20 are teeing it up and the field is strewn with others looking to win to gain a spot in The Masters next week. The aforementioned Bhatia, Spaun and Conners punched their golden ticket to Augusta with those victories. Players that are not qualified for The Masters still have plenty to play for with the Aon Swing 5 and top 10 in FedExCup points leaders getting an invite to the RBC Heritage, the next signature event right after The Masters. Despite the longshots recent domination, seven players are priced at +2000 or lower with Tommy Fleetwood the favorite at +1425 followed closely by Ludvig Aberg, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Jordan Spieth, Colin Morikawa and Si Woo Kim. We could be in for a repeat of last year with the weather. Thursday through Saturday will have temperatures close to 90 degrees with a slight to mid chance of rain all three days and the biggest strong wind threat being Friday afternoon. Sunday looks to be interesting again as the temperature drops to a high of 65 with early rain and there will be wind throughout the day. Top four key categories this week in order at the Valero Texas Open:Strokes Gained: ApproachStrokes Gained: Around The GreenSand Saves GainedStrokes Gained: Off-The-TeeEach bet is Win/Top Five/Top Ten. The typical recommendation is 50%/25%/25%  with odds, payouts and results based on a $1000 unit (easy round number for bookkeeping) on each of the following players. The payouts are listed right below the odds which are all from DraftKings:Michael ThorbjornsenOdds: Win 2,700 ~ Top Five 520 ~ Top Ten 255Payout: Win 13,500.00 ~ Top Five 1,300.00 ~ Top Ten 637.50Thorbjornsen has been on TV a lot over the last month on the weekend but has faded when it counts but he has the game to get it done. A Sunday 75 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a Sunday 77 at THE PLAYERS Championship and a Sunday 72 at the Texas Children's Houston Open knocked him out of contention. The numbers have still been good as he has been plus in all Strokes Gained categories with the only exception being negative off the tee at the API. He is No. 96 in Strokes Gained: Approach but that is due to a bad start which he has turned around but is great in the other three key categories and while he missed the cut here last year, he came in with five MC’s, a T74 and a T39 twice.Keith MitchellOdds: Win 3,700 ~ Top Five 670 ~ Top Ten 325Payout: Win 18,500.00 ~ Top Five 1,625.00 ~ Top Ten 812.50Mitchell is being consistent again this season which goes in line with the last two years as he is No. 9 in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee and No. 35 in Strokes Gained: Approach. His putting has been awful this season but he hits a place where he has been great. He has made four starts here and his worst finish was a T26 in 2018 and he has finished T14 and T12 the last two years and his success has been on the greens to go along with his typical elite off the tee and approach numbers. He has yet to miss a cut this season in nine starts and he has three top 15s including a T14 at the Texas Children's Houston Open which was his second straight plus putting performance which is a good trend. Ryo HisatsuneOdds: Win 3,900 ~ Top Five 700 ~ Top Ten 335Payout: Win 19,500.00 ~ Top Five 1,750.00 ~ Top Ten 837.50He used Ryo two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship and finished T30 as he was exceptional off the tee but was average everywhere else. He is No. 2 in our model this week as he is ranked No. 41 or better in all four of our key categories including No. 30 or better in three of those with the No. 41 being Sand Saves Gained. After missing the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he posted three straight top ten finishes including a runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open and his putter was hot in all three of those starts before regressing of late in the negative but has still finished well. That putter could come back here where he was excellent on the greens last year enroute to a T5 finish. Christiaan BezuidenhoutOdds: Win 7,400 ~ Top Five 1,125 ~ Top Ten 510Payout: Win 35,500.00 ~ Top Five 2,812.50 ~ Top Ten 1,275.00The longshots have fared well at the Valero Texas Open and we cannot go deep with many but we will grab one here with Bezuidenhout. Of all of the players at 70/1 or higher, he has the best fit combining recent form and course history and if he can get off the tee, he will be dangerous. He missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship but came back with a T30 at the Valspar Championship and a T51 last week which are not great but his short game was again spot on which is huge for here. He did not start here last year and finished T25 and T28 the previous two years where his putting was exceptional and everything else just average. This is a great price for a short game wiz on a course that demands it. Results through the Valspar Championship (7 Tournaments):Win: -14,500.00Top Five: -725.00Top Ten: +2,287.50

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Anatomy of a 15-1 Winner: Handicapping Matt Fitzpatrick at the PGA Valspar Championship

by Hollywood Sports

Monday, Mar 30, 2026

Matt Fitzpatrick made a putt just under 14 feet on the 72nd hole in regulation to secure a one-stroke victory against Davis Lipsky to win the PGA Valspar Challenge on March 22nd. It was a moment of redemption for Fitzpatrick, who had the lead going into the 17th hole on Sunday the previous week at THE PLAYERS Championship before blowing that lead to Cam Young. And it was good for Hollywood Sports, who suffered two straight first-place tickets slip through their fingers late on a Sunday after backing both Shane Lowry at the PGA Cognizant Classic and then Fitzpatrick at THE PLAYERS two weeks later, only to both golfers lose their lead in the final two holes of the event. Despite the late collapse at THE PLAYERS, there were several good reasons to continue to invest in Fitzpatrick at the PGA Valspar Championship. Fitzpatrick had his lead late week at THE PLAYERS before Cameron Young birdied the 17th hole. Young then hit the longest drive on the 18th hole ever at TPC Sawgrass of 375 yards to put him in a great opportunity for a birdie. Fitzpatrick hit his drive into the rough. But Young missed his birdie putt — leaving Fitzpatrick with a 12-footer to force a playoff. Yet the Englishman missed the putt and had to settle for second place. Despite the disappointment, I expected the veteran not to be impacted emotionally by the setback. Fitzpatrick had never been in better form when it comes to his driver and iron play. He had lost strokes versus the field in the Tee-to-Green metric just once since last June. Three starts ago resulted in a 14th-place finish at Pebble Beach for the Englishman. He gained +2.8 strokes per round versus the field Off-the-Tee — and the +7.8 shots he gained per round in his Approach were the best result of his career. He struggled with his irons two weeks — but he had ranked 8th, 3rd, and 11th in the field in Shots-Gained: Approach the Green in his previous three tournaments before his great showing l last week. His ranking of 15th on the tour in Shots-Gained: Approach the Green is a career high. The former US Open winner had made the cut in every professional event worldwide since the Masters last April. He won the DP World Championship in the fall. He finished in ninth place last month at the PGA WM Phoenix Open. He ranked seventh on the tour in Shots-Gained: Tee-to-Green. His putter has held him back this season — but he ranked 30th in Shots-Gained: Putting last year, so this seemed like just a temporary blip. There was a good case to be made that his struggles with his blade are simply a product of his struggles on the Poa Annua surfaces that dominate the west coast events. He lost -5.75 strokes versus the field with his putter at The Genesis Invitational. But with the tour moving to Florida, that meant more Bermuda green putting surfaces that Fitzpatrick prefers. In the last two seasons, Fitzpatrick had gained +0.66 strokes per round versus the field when putting on Bermuda greens, going into last week. It was his fourth trip to the Copperhead course, where he finished in a tie for fifth place in 2022. I love an in-form Fitzpatrick — and we were on him in 2022 when he won the US Open.Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Challenge by finishing 11-under. All four of his rounds were at least three-under par. He went bogey-free in the final 36 holes. It was his fourth victory on the PGA Tour — and our first win in 2026 after enduring those two prior near-misses. Best of luck — Frank.

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Who's Winning "The Cup"

by Harry Gagnon

Monday, Mar 30, 2026

We have about 10 games remaining in the regular season in the NHL and it's time to "try" to figure out who's going to be about to parade around the ice with Lord Stanley's Cup and claim to be champions of the 2025-26 NHL season. I'll start with the team that has been the most dominant squad this year and that is the Colorado Avalanche (3/1). This team is loaded and have led in points, goals scored, best road record and other stats as well. Of course you have to start with Nathan MacKinnon who has had another unbelievable year and is 3rd in the NHL in points and first in goals scored. The Av's are a machine and should be the favorite but I'm not just handing over the trophy to them because this team resembles their team from last year and if you remember they were bounced from the playoffs in the 1st round by the Dallas Stars. Speaking of the Stars (11/1) they are breathing down the neck of Colorado in the Central division and have proven over the last few seasons that they are a team you do NOT want to meet come playoff time. The Stars have 4 players with 60+ points and as of March 30th they are just 6 points behind Colorado for the division. I'll end my discussion of possible winners for the Cup, at least in the Western Conference with the Edmonton Oilers (14/1). We all know how dangerous they can be on offense with probably the best player on the planet in Connor McDavid (leads NHL in points) but as it seems their weakness is goaltending especially if the offense in the playoffs isn't always there. In the Eastern Conference I'll start with the Carolina Hurricanes (5/1). The Canes are always solid on defense, but look even more impressive on offense this season than in season's past. Their top 4 scorers led by Sebastian Aho all are dynamic in different ways and are 2nd in the Conference in goal differential only to the Tampa Bay Lightning and are a shoe-in to win the Metropolitan division. The 'Ning (7/2) are creeping up on Colorado in numerous stats and the biggest reason why as usual is the play of Nikita Kucherov. He's 3rd in the league in points at 32 years of age and have just recently taken over the top spot in the Atlantic over Buffalo (19/1) and Montreal (35/1) (who would have thought to say that statement at the beginning of this season or any season for that matter). The Sabres and Habs probably won't win the Cup , but look out for both nof them to pull a shocker or two with what they are able to produce on offense and especially when they are on the power play. Like I said, the playoffs start in about 2 weeks and I for one cannot wait !!!!

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Big Al's Daily Angle: NBA, NHL, and MLB Previews and Odds - 03/30/26

by Big Al Staff

Monday, Mar 30, 2026

The Monday sports card features NBA, NHL, and MLB action. The National Basketball League has eight games on its docket. The Philadelphia 76ers travel to Miami to play the Heat on Peacock at 7:10 p.m. ET as a 2.5-point road favorite with the total set at  246.5 (all odds from DraftKings). The Atlanta Hawks host the Boston Celtics at 7:40 p.m. ET as a 1.5-point favorite with an over/under of 222.5. Two NBA games tip off at 8:10 p.m. ET. The Phoenix Suns play in Memphis against the Grizzlies as a 12.5-point road favorite with a total of 228.5. The San Antonio Spurs play at home against the Chicago Bulls on Peacock as a 17.5-point favorite with an over/under of 242.5. The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the road in Dallas to play the Mavericks at 8:40 p.m. ET as a 6.5-point road favorite with a total of 235.5.The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Utah Jazz at 9:10 p.m. ET as a 17.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 243.5. The Oklahoma City Thunder are at home to take on the Detroit Pistons on Peacock at 9:40 p.m. ET as a 13.5-point favorite with a total of 219.5. The Los Angeles Lakers host the Washington Wizards at 10:10 p.m. ET as a 16.5-point favorite with an over/under of 236.5.The National Hockey League has four games on its slate. The New York Islanders play at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:07 p.m. ET as a -125 money-line favorite with a total of 6.5. The Colorado Avalanche are at home against the Calgary Flames at 8:37 p.m. ET as a -355 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5. Two games conclude the NHL card at 10:07 p.m. ET. The Anaheim Ducks host the Toronto Maple Leafs as a -192 money-line favorite with a total of 6.5. The Vegas Golden Knights play at home against the Vancouver Canucks as a -325 money-line favorite with an over/under of 6.5. Major League Baseball has 12 games scheduled. The Kansas City Royals are home against the Minnesota Twins at 4:10 p.m. ET as a -156 money-line favorite with a total of 9.5. The Baltimore Orioles host the Texas Rangers at 6:35 p.m. ET as a -126 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9. Three MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Miami Marlins play at home against the Chicago White Sox as a -131 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The Cincinnati Reds are at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates on FS1 as a -126 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The Philadelphia Phillies host the Washington Nationals as a -175 money-line favorite with a total of 9. The Toronto Blue Jays play at home against the Colorado Rockies at 7:07 p.m. ET as a-259 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Atlanta Braves are home to face the Athletics at 7:15 p.m. ET as a -143 money-line favorite with a total of 9.5. Two MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. The Chicago Cubs host the Los Angeles Angels as a -186 money-line favorite with an over/under of 9.5. The Milwaukee Brewers play at home against the Tampa Bay Rays as a -143 money-line favorite with a total of 8. The New York Mets play in St. Louis against the Cardinals at 7:45 p.m. ET as a -156 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Boston Red Sox are on the road in Houston to battle the Astros at 8:10 p.m. ET as a -115 money-line road favorite with a total of 8.5. Two more MLB games begin at 9:40 p.m. ET. The Seattle Mariners are home to challenge the New York Yankees as a -115 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants on FS1 as a -115 money-line favorite with a total of 8. Two games conclude the MLB card at 10:10 p.m. ET. The Los Angeles Dodgers play at home against the Cleveland Guardians as a -207 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Arizona Diamondbacks are home to play the Detroit Tigers as a -112 money-line favorite with a total of 9.

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Yet Another Number One Seed Loses in the Elite Eight

by Team Del Genio

Sunday, Mar 29, 2026

The Elite Eight is a dangerous round for the number one seeds on the brink of reaching the final four. Higher seeds in the Elite Eight are 41-57-4 against the spread, even after both Arizona and Illinois won and covered the point spreads yesterday in their games in the Elite Eight. Number one seeds in the elite eight are 29-31-4 against the spread after the Wildcats pulled away to beat the Boilermakers. When number one seeds are playing number two seeds in the elite eight, they only have a 28-24 straight-up record. Duke’s advancement to the final four was not a foregone conclusion, despite the oddsmakers installing them as a 5.5-point favorite against the Connecticut Huskies. UConn appeared to be flying under the radar in their Elite Eight showdown with Duke, despite being the second seed in the East region. Bettors may had grown frustrated with their only covering the point spread in fourteen of their thirty-six games this year. Yet the Huskies are only two years removed from winning back-to-back national championships. UConn has only lost five games this year. Their 67-63 victory against Michigan State on Friday added to their resume another signature win that also includes Illinois (in the final four) and Florida (the defending national champion). The experience and expertise of head coach Dan Hurley should not be dismissed too quickly. Under his leadership, the Huskies had covered the point spread in thirteen games in a row from the second round of the NCAA tournament through the championship game. UConn had covered the point spread in sixteen of their previous nineteen games in a postseason tournament with Hurley on the sidelines. The Duke Blue Devils were back to full strength after Caleb Foster returned from his fractured right foot on Friday in their game against St. John’s. Patrick Ngongba had played in the last two games after coming back from his injury in round two of the NCAA tournament in their game against TCU. Head coach Jon Scheyer needed both players in the Blue Devils’ narrow 80-75 victory against St. John’s as a 6.5-point favorite. Duke moves on to the elite eight on a fourteen-game winning streak. Foster scored 11 points and played 19 minutes in his improbable quick return from an injury that often takes over two months to recover. Yet with only a two-day turnaround, he may struggle to overcome that injury. If there was a weakness to this team, it is that they are not a great 3-point shooting squad. They ranked 142nd in the country with a 3-point shooting percentage of 34.2%. The Blue Devils have demonstrated some vulnerabilities in spots like this. They had covered the point spread in just three of their eight tournament games this year. They had covered the point spread in three of their previous ten games against opponents with a winning percentage at 80% or higher.Bettors who became skeptical about UConn had to be feeling very confident when Duke took a 19-point lead in the first half. Yet despite trailing by 15 points at halftime, Hurley proclaimed the way his team could get back in the game was to start making baskets. At one point, they had only made one of their 17 shots from 3-point land. Yet in the middle of the second half, they had cut their deficit to just nine points. If the Huskies had made three more 3-pointers for a 4 of 17 clip from 3-point, the game would have been tied. Finally, UConn started seeing some 3s land. They converted four of their final six games from the 3-point line, including Braylon Mullins’ heave with under a second left to give the Huskies a 73-72 upset victory. It was yet another big blown lead for the Blue Devils since Jon Scheyer became their head coach. In the national semifinals last year, Duke had a 59-45 lead against Houston with 8:17 left in the second half before the Cougars outscored them the rest of the way, 25-8, in a 70-67 loss. The Blue Devils' other two losses this season came after they took leads of 13 or more points. Against Texas Tech early in the year, they had a 58-41 lead with 16:30 minutes left in the second half before losing that game by one point, 82-81. Then against North Carolina, they opened the game on an 18-5 run before eventually losing to their arch rivals, 71-68. Foster struggled to contribute 48 hours after his initial return from his fractured foot. He played 14 minutes off the bench, yet did not score. Despite UConn’s struggles to make 3s, Duke’s five made 3-pointers were only one more than what the Huskies made by the end of the game. The Blue Devils' lack of productivity from 3-point range, along with three fewer offensive rebounds and an -8 net turnover margin, explains how they lost this game (and Team Del Genio won our NCAA-B Elite Eight Game of the Year). Now, number one seeds playing number two seeds in the Elite Eight only have a 28-25 straight-up record heading into 2027.Good luck - TDG.

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Has It Ever Been Safer to Bet Double-Digit NBA Favorites?

by Team Del Genio

Sunday, Mar 29, 2026

Has it ever been safer to bet double-digit favorites in the NBA than right now? With tanking seemingly an epidemic at the lower half of the standings, it is not uncommon for almost half the games on the daily NBA card to feature teams that the oddsmakers installed as a double-digit favorite. These double-digit underdogs often do not come close to covering the point spread, despite all the points they are getting from the oddsmakers. Take the Brooklyn Nets on Monday (March 23rd). They are one of the several teams in the NBA fully committing to tanking the rest of the season. They had lost seventeen of their previous nineteen games and seven games in a row after a 126-122 loss at Sacramento the day before. The Nets had covered the point spread only once in their previous eleven games when playing without a day of rest. At first glance, some bettors may get scared off by the large point spread in this game. Yet in Brooklyn’s previous three games played without rest ended in losses by 38, 37, and 19 points. The oddsmakers had installed six of the ten favorites tonight as double-digit favorites for a reason. This is the reality of the NBA in March, given the current rules and incentives to capture more ping pong balls for the NBA draft. Three of the Nets’ previous seven losses during their current losing streak had been by 19 or more points. Nine of their previous seventeen losses had been by 16 or more points. Brooklyn is able to tank while still asking their players to compete because they are not putting great players on the court. Head coach Jordi Hernandez is using the remaining games to audition the healthy rookies. Rookie Egor Demin, the eighth pick in last summer’s draft, is out for the season with an injury. Day’ron Sharpe is also out for the season with an injury. Yet the biggest loss is Michael Porter, Jr., by far their best player, who is dealing with a left hamstring injury that has kept him out of the previous seven games. He is not likely to play the rest of the season. He is the team’s leading scorer at 24.2 points per game. Without Porter on the court, Brooklyn’s offensive efficiency drops by -10.2 points to 102.0. That is the biggest drop in offensive efficiency in the NBA for a player with at least 1000 minutes played this year. The Nets had covered the point spread in four of their previous thirteen games on the road when the oddsmakers installed them as an underdog of 12.5 or more points. They had covered the point spread in nine of their previous twenty-five games on the road when playing a non-conference opponent, and they had covered the point spread in five of their previous thirteen games on the road when the oddsmakers installed the over/under from 210 to 219.5. One of Brooklyn’s recent losses of 19 or more points came on March 16th in a 114-95 loss at home against the Portland Trail Blazers as an 11-point underdog. They had the opportunity to avenge that loss, yet the Nets had covered the point spread in eight of their previous twenty-two games when playing with revenge from a loss at home in their previous game against their current opponent. Portland had won three games in a row before a 128-112 loss at Denver yesterday. The Trail Blazers had covered the point spread in seven straight games after losing to a division opponent in their previous game. They had covered the point spread in nine of their previous fourteen games played without rest. Portland is likely destined to compete in the play-in tournament for the playoffs next month. They can struggle against the better teams in the league, yet they take advantage of their opportunities to play the worst teams in the league. They had a 15-1 record in their previous sixteen games against the bottom-10 teams in the league, with an offensive rating of 120 in those games. Slow starts had plagued the Blazers for much of the season, yet in their previous four games, they had posted an offensive rating of 142 in the first quarter. Second-year pro Donovan Clingan is having a breakout season on both ends of the court. He is one of eight players in the NBA who are averaging double-digits in points and rebounds per game. Opponents are only making 43.5% of their shots at the rim when Clingan is on the court. The Trail Blazers have held their previous seven opponents to a 51.0% shooting percentage in the paint. Portland has been consistent at home this year, where they have covered the point spread in twenty of their thirty-four games. Despite being a 15.5-point favorite, the Trail Blazers were our NBA Game of the Month in this game. After taking a five-point lead after the first quarter, Portland outscored the Nets by 13 points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 69-51 lead. They extended their lead by another six points in the third quarter before cruising to an easy 133-99 victory and a comfortable point spread cover. When teams like Brooklyn are consistently losing by 30 or more points when playing without a day of rest, taking favorites of 15 or so points becomes quite reasonable. Good luck - TDG.

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NBA Late Regular Season: To Bet or Not to Bet?

by Wayne Root

Sunday, Mar 29, 2026

The NBA regular season is nearly over. Just two more weeks remain on the schedule.Most bettors choose to either pass on these games, or they bet fewer games for lesser amounts. Conventional wisdom goes — that with many teams having already clinched playoff spots and many other teams now completely out of playoff contention with nothing to play for, it’s sometimes difficult to determine exactly which teams will show up on any given night.But clinching  playoff spot does not end the regular season for them. Now they concentrate on seeding. That’s where a large portion of bets are won. So pay attention to that as it makes a huge difference on who you play in the first round. The New Style of NBA Play We have witnessed a new style of NBA play. (More like shenanigans) There are teams that have been losing on purpose. But remember, those low-life teams were getting points as tremendous underdogs and underdogs can be profitable. Playoff teams may bench the starters earlier than normal and the dog backdoors the money tree. Add in the fatigue of a long season (coming after a shortened off-season), and that makes NBA betting, already a precarious endeavor, even less predictable for the favorites that have secured their playoff spot. Yet, as my data will show, that opinion is wrong.  Fact is, late-season NBA betting can be one of the most lucrative times of year to bet basketball. Focus on Games that Matter Bettors should focus on games that matter. More specifically, bettors are advised to focus on games that matter most, and look to bet on teams that desperately need to win in order to lock up a playoff spot.A long-held contrarian approach to sports betting is to wager against teams desperately needing to win.  This seems almost counterintuitive.  We know the public is well aware of which teams are desperate late in the season and must win in order to make the playoffs.The trouble is, the betting public tends to overvalue these teams. Contrarians would point out — if these marginal teams have to win so badly so late in the season, they must not really be that good.  This contrarian approach works very well in football — both college and pro. Fading public opinion can be wise, and profitable.Aside from the regular season wariness and anticipation for the playoffs which are pending, the final two weeks of the NBA must compete against baseball and hockey, which are also daily sports. That’s a crowded sports gambling menu this time of year.  No wonder so few gamblers have caught on to the unique opportunities which exist of late-season NBA betting.And then the playoffs afterwards where they play best-of-7-game series which provides great data, information and analytics. 

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