Wise n' Shine: NBA picks, NHL predictions and college basketball best bets for Thursday, January 26

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Phil Agius

NFL

Show Bio

I've been writing about the NFL and a host of other sports for the UK's top daily betting paper the Racing Post for more than 20 years. An incurable Browns fan (1-31 survivor), I also specialise in all kinds of motorsport betting including F1, MotoGP, IndyCar and NASCAR. For Phil Agius media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Good morning, Pickswise Nation! We have NBA, NHL, college basketball and tennis action on the schedule today, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.

About Last Night

76ers beat Nets for 6th straight win
The 76ers and Nets put on a real show as Philadephia won 137-133 in a game that soared over the line of 226.5 points. The Hawks and Thunder combined for almost as many points as Atlanta won 137-132. The Pickswise Wednesday NBA parlay cashed, albeit at reduced +268 odds due to a push on our Nuggets +8 pick in their 107-99 loss to the Bucks.

3 OT wins in the NHL
There were only 5 NHL games on Wednesday, but fans were treated to 3 overtime games that were won 3-2, with the Maple Leafs (vs Rangers), Hurricanes (vs Stars) and Blue Jackets (vs Oilers) coming out on top.

Wins for top NCAAB teams
Elite teams Alabama, Houston and Tennessee all won on Wednesday, but the Crimson Tide failed to cover as 13-point favorites in a 66-63 win over Mississippi State.

Need a new sportsbook? Why not try BetMGM, which has a great first bet offer where you can get up to $1,000 paid back in bonus bets if you don’t win! Click this link to join BetMGM.

Today’s Slate

Knicks vs Celtics on TNT
There are just 6 NBA games tonight, but that includes the Knicks vs Celtics matchup at 7:30 pm ET on TNT, plus Mavericks vs Suns, also on TNT, at 10:00 pm ET. Check out today’s NBA picks.

Bruins vs Lightning tops NHL slate
We have a solid Thursday slate in the NHL with 9 games, including Bruins vs Lightning on ESPN+ at 7:00 pm ET. Read today’s NHL picks.

College hoops and tennis too
Be careful when placing your bets on today’s NCAAB slate as Arizona is playing Washington State at the same time as Washington plays Arizona State! #1 Purdue plays Michigan at 9:00 pm ET on FS1 and you can read all of today’s college basketball picks. We also have Australian Open tennis picks for the men’s semifinals from Ricky Dimon, who is 21-11 in the tournament so far for +15.9 units!

Best Bet of the Day

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers -13 over San Antonio Spurs
10:30 pm ET, Bally Sports

After a tough battle with the Lakers last night and a 113-104 defeat, the Spurs are playing back-to-back tonight against the other LA team, the Clippers. San Antonio is a 13-point underdog and has covered the spread only once in its last 12 games against Pacific Division teams. In the Spurs’ last 10 games against the Clippers they are getting outscored by 6.3 points per game and have won just 3 times. Blowouts are never easy to predict, but San Antonio should be a step slower and LA’s last 2 wins have been by 18 and 14 points. Check out our full Spurs vs Clippers predictions.

You can bet on this Spurs vs Clippers game at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has a great sign-up offer where you can bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets instantly! Click here to take advantage and get your bonus bets right now. 

Must-watch

Enhance your betting knowledge by watching our daily show Let’s Bet It!, available at 10:00 am ET on our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/c/Pickswise.

Jared Smith and Howard Bender are your hosts today and they will be joined by Rob “Stats” Guerrera (@StatsonFire), host of The Gold Standard 49ers podcast, to look at the 49ers’ big game against the Eagles, and the team will also take an early peek at the MLB Futures before revealing their Plays of the Day.

You can also access LBI shows at any time through Spotify and Apple Podcasts (search for Let’s Bet It Presented By Pickswise).

Also, don’t miss this week’s  Pickswise Playbook show as Jared, Lauren Jbara and ex-NFL star Tank Williams dive into the Conference Championship games.

Must-read

You can read our Thursday NBA mega parlay and Same Game Parlays for Knicks vs Celtics and Mavericks vs Suns in our NBA section, while today’s NHL mega parlay is also available.

Looking ahead to the weekend NFL playoff games, our coverage is starting to build up including Prop Holliday’s best prop plays for the Bengals vs Chiefs and 49ers vs Eagles games

Look out for more great betting content as it comes in throughout the day on our Analysis tab.

Stat of the Day

The Tampa Bay Lightning have won 10 straight home games.

Quote of the Day

“I reacted in a way that put myself out of the game and put the team in a tough place.”

Steph Curry was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece late in the Warriors’ 122-120 win over the Grizzlies.

You can bet on all today’s sports at PointsBet Sportsbook, which has a great new customer offer where you can get up to $500 in second-chance bets! Click here to take advantage.

Pickswise is the home of free sports picks, news and best bets. Check out our expert NFL Picks, NBA Picks, MLB Picks and NHL Picks pages for our latest game picks.

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