Ricky Dimon
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To say we have a fun Thursday night in the world of sports would be an exercise in the understatement. Thursday Night Football pits the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Philadelphia Eagles, while the NLDS between the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants all comes down to Game 5. We also have a nine-game slate in the NHL as action on the ice heats up in the first week of the season.
Let’s take a look at where the public money has gone so far on Thursday.
NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -6.5 over Philadelphia Eagles
Tom Brady and the Bucs are no stranger to primetime billing and they are getting such treatment again today. Unsurprisingly, the public has full faith in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are giving Philadelphia 6.5 points, but they are still bringing in 93 percent of the handle and 90 percent of the bets against the spread. On the -275 money line, Tampa Bay is inspiring 90 percent of the handle and 93 percent of the wagers.
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MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers ML over San Francisco Giants
Also not surprising is the fact that bettors are conflicted on Game 5 of the NLDS. The Dodgers are considered the better team (the best in baseball, in fact), but the Giants have home-field advantage. Los Angeles as a slight -115 favorite on the money line is drawing 56 percent of the money and 62 percent of the wagers. When it comes to the run line (Dodgers -1.5), interestingly the visitors are getting 61 percent of the bets but San Francisco +1.5 is being back by 70 percent of the money. That suggests that bigger bets are going toward the Giants even though a lot of smaller plays are hammering the Dodgers.
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NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs -1.5 over Ottawa Senators
One of punters’ favorite plays of the day in the NHL is on Toronto to cover the -1.5 puck line in its road date with Ottawa. The Maple Leafs, who kicked off their 2021-22 campaign with a victory over Montreal last night, are drawing 79 percent of the money and 68 percent of the bets to win by multiple goals. The public is also unafraid of the -175 juice on the money line. With 89 percent of the wagers supporting the Leafs to win straight up, 70 percent of the handle is going in the same direction.
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NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning ML over Detroit Red Wings
Bettors also like Tampa Bay to get the job done when it pays a visit to Detroit. Even though you can only get the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning at -215 on the money line, the public is still throwing 77 percent of its money and 87 percent of its wagers toward the favorites. Despite a rare puck line of -2, the Bolts are still inspiring plenty of action. They are getting 59 percent of the handle and 84 percent of the puck line wagers.
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NCAAF: Michigan State Spartans -4.5 over Indiana Hoosiers
It’s certainly not too early to begin looking ahead toward Saturday’s college football lineup. Punters’ favorite play at the moment is on Michigan State to cover 4.5 points in its road test against Indiana. The Spartans are hauling in 93 percent of the handle and 89 percent of the bets against the spread. And why not? They are 6-0 straight up and have been a covering machine so far in 2021. Michigan State -4.5 is also one of our best college football bets of the week.
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