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Big Al's Daily Angle: NCAAB, NBA and NHL Previews and Odds - 01/19/2022

The Wednesday sports card features NBA, NHL, and CBB action.Eleven games are on the docket in the National Basketball Association. Three games tip-off the card at 7:10 PM ET. Charlotte hosts Detroit as a 9.5-point favorite (all odds from DraftKings). Philadelphia visits Orlando as a -7.5 point road favorite. Washington is at home against Houston as a 6.5-point favorite. Three more games begin at 7:40 PM ET. Boston plays at home against San Antonio as an 8.5-point favorite. Brooklyn travels to Indiana as a 6.5-point road favorite. Golden State is at Dallas as in the opening game of an ESPN doubleheader at 7:40 PM ET. The Warriors won their fifth game in their last six with a 115-108 victory against Miami as a 10.5-point favorite on Monday. They improved their record to 29-7. The Mavericks won their fourth game in their last five with their 103-89 victory against Denver as a 3-point favorite on Monday. Golden State is a 5-point road favorite.Two more NBA games start at 8:10 PM ET. Milwaukee plays at home against Toronto as a 9-point favorite. Minnesota hosts Oklahoma City as an 8-point favorite. Three games conclude the card at 10:10 PM ET. Portland is at home against Miami as a 1-point favorite. Atlanta visits Sacramento in a pick ‘em contest. Utah travels to Denver at 10:10 PM ET in the second game of the doubleheader on ESPN. The Jazz won their seventh game in their last eight with their 115-104 win at New Orleans as a 10-point favorite on Monday. The Nuggets had their three-game winning streak end with their 103-89 loss at Dallas on Monday. The National Hockey League has two games on its slate. Toronto plays at home against Edmonton at 7:08 as a -210 money line favorite with the total set at 6.5. Pittsburgh hosts St. Louis at 7:38 PM ET as a -130 money line favorite with an over/under of 6. The New York Islanders/Vancouver game got postponed due to a COVID outbreak.Nine games are on national television in college basketball. St. John’s is at home on FS1 at 6:30 PM ET as a 5-point favorite with a total of 152.5. Four games tip-off at 7 PM ET. Florida plays at home against Alabama on ESPN2 as a 1.5-point favorite with an over/under of 149. Louisville is at home against Pittsburgh on ESPNU as a 12.5-point favorite with a total of 127.5. Dayton hosts VCU on the CBS Sports Network as a 2-point favorite with an over/under of 125. UNC-Greensboro is at home against Furman on ESPN News as a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 128.5. Villanova plays at home against Creighton on FS1 at 8:30 PM ET as a 10.5-point favorite with a total of 133. Three more games begin at 9 PM ET. Iowa State hosts Texas Tech on ESPNU as a 2.5-point favorite with an over/under of 127. North Carolina is at Notre Dame on ESPN2 as a 2.5-point road favorite with a total of 147. Missouri State visits Bradley on the CBS Sports Network as a 1-point road favorite with an over/under of 138.

NFL Divisional Round: Current Line Movement

The NFL's Divisional Round matchups are set with a mouth-watering four-game slate on tap this weekend. Here's a look at where to anticipate line movement in each contest.Bengals vs. Titans - Saturday 4:30 pm etThe Titans opened as rather standard three-point home favorites but we've seen the majority of books move off that number to -3.5. The total opened at 47 and has held steady at that number. The money is likely to continue to flow in support of the Titans as the Bengals defensive injury picture clarifies over the course of the week. Cincinnati lost Trey Hendrickson, Mike Daniels and Larry Ogunjobi to injuries in last Saturday's win over the Raiders. Only Ogunjobi has been ruled out for Saturday's game, so far anyway. I'm not convinced that confirmation of Hendrickson or Daniels' playing status will shift the line here, in fact I'm quite confident saying that it won't. I don't anticipate much more movement in the pointspread or total here barring any unforeseen circumstances over the course of the week.49ers at Packers - Saturday 8:15 pm et This line is on the move, shifting from the opener of Packers -4.5 (at a handful of books) all the way to -6. We'll likely see the number bounce between -5.5 and -6 all week long leading up to kickoff. The moneyline might be more interesting to watch. The Niners opened as a +200 underdog at most books with that number climbing to +216 to +218 before dropping back down to +210 as of Tuesday morning. If you like the Niners straight-up I believe you might want to lock in sooner rather than later as I would anticipate some underdog money flowing in on the moneyline leading up to Saturday's kickoff. Keep in mind, the Niners have been a somewhat popular Super Bowl sleeper pick ever since they rallied from a 17-0 deficit to defeat the Rams and clinch their playoff spot in Week 18. The total has held firm at 47.5 and I'm anticipating it bumping up to 48 before long as bettors look to support these two explosive offenses. Rams vs. Buccaneers - Sunday 3 pm etThe Bucs opened as low as -1.5 favorites but have since shifted all the way to -3 at the majority of books. There are injury concerns on the Bucs offensive line with Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen questionable to play on Sunday. If you like the Rams I would suggest grabbing the +3 now as I anticipate this spread settling at -2.5 by the end of the week. The total has been on the move as well, going from the opener of 47.5 up as high as 48.5 at some books. Don't count on that number going much higher as we hear all week about the ferocious Rams pass rush potentially eating up the Bucs banged-up offensive line, not to mention all of the key contributors Tampa is missing at the skill positions. Expect the total to settle around 48 points.Bills vs. Chiefs - Sunday 6:30 pm etThe betting marketplace seems to be treating this game as the definition of a toss-up with the Chiefs bouncing around at -2/-2.5. The Bills will undoubtedly be a popular moneyline bet on Sunday as bettors look to get a plus-money return rather than grab less than a field goal on the pointspread. We've seen Buffalo go from around +120 down to +115 on the moneyline so far. No surprise if that number settles closer to +110. This game features the highest posted total of the playoffs to date, currently sitting at 55 points, up from the opener. Given the way the last two matchups between these two AFC rivals have played out with the winner easily eclipsing the 30-point mark, I wouldn't be shocked if this total climbs as high as 56.5 points before likely settling back at 55.5. If you like the 'over', you probably won't want to wait until Sunday to lock in your wager, when more 'over' money will undoubtedly roll in. 

NFL Super Bowl LVI Futures Update 

   With the Rams' victory over the Cardinals on Monday night, the NFL’s Divisional Round of the playoffs is all set. Six teams have been eliminated and eight remain to battle for the Super Bowl LVI title. One team remains the overall favorite on the betting board. Is there a team in the field that could sneak in and pull off the upset? Here’s an update of the Super Bowl LVI futures market.   Packers Remain Favorite Green Bay opened the season at +900 to win this season’s Super Bowl. They were the favorite entering the playoffs at +350 and remain atop the list heading into the divisional round. QB Aaron Rodgers is having another MVP-worthy season guiding Green Bay to six wins in their final eight games.  The Packers will have the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage all the way to the NFC championship game. Home field advantage matters as at least one top seed has made it all the way to the Super Bowl in seven of the past eight seasons.    Top Contenders The Buffalo Bills are on the board at +500 and for good reason. Buffalo completely manhandled the New England Patriots in their wild-card game last week. The Bills scored touchdowns on their first seven drives of the game. That was a first in NFL playoff history.  The Bills' defense contained the Patriots and rookie QB Mac Jones and didn’t allow a touchdown until the second half with Buffalo in command. The Bills defense is the best in the NFL and QB Josh Allen threw five touchdowns in the 47-17 win over the Patriots.  Buffalo will have its hands full with Kansas City in this week’s divisional playoff game. The two teams met last year in the AFC championship. They also played earlier this season at Arrowhead Stadium, site of this week’s game. Buffalo won 38-20 back when the Chiefs were struggling.  Kansas City turned its season around and won 10 of its last 11 games. Since Week 8, the Chiefs' defense has been one of the best in the league. Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes in roughly 12 minutes in the Chiefs win over Pittsburgh in last week’s wild-card game. That’s why the Chiefs are listed at +400 ahead of Buffalo.    The Surprise With Green Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo, and defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay (+500) all at the top of the board, one team is getting overlooked. The Tennessee Titans are the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They are generating absolutely zero buzz, but they should be.  The Titans are listed at +900 behind even San Francisco (+850) which upset Dallas last week to advance. Tennessee gets All-Pro RB Derrick Henry back in the lineup after he missed a good portion of the regular season with a foot injury. Henry was leading the NFL in rushing – which he did in the previous two seasons – at the time of his injury.  Tennessee was still able to finish fifth in the NFL in rushing averaging 141.1 yards per game. The Titans also had the second-best run defense allowing just 84.6 yards per game on the ground. They finished sixth in scoring defense holding teams to 20.8 points per game.   The Titans went 7-2 at home this year and will have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Tennessee opened the season given +2500 odds to win this year’s Super Bowl. 

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