(USA TODAY Sports)`Dirk Nowitzki made history monday night, and the San Antonio Spurs tied the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference playoff standings. Meanwhile, the first two games of the NCAA Tournament are set to tip off tonight. Here’s a sports betting recap from Monday and a lookahead to Tuesday.
Dirk Passes Chamberlain
The Dallas Mavericks (-5) might have blown a four-point lead with 10 seconds left in regulation to the New Orleans Pelicans, but Mavericks fans still had plenty to cheer for as Dirk Nowitzki scored 8 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA’s sixth-leading all-time scorer.
The blown lead sent the game to overtime, where the Pelicans outscored the Mavericks 19-15, resulting in a bad beat for anyone who took Under 232.
While Nowitzki was making history, Gregg Gregg Popovich and the Spurs were busy beating the Golden State Warriors 111-105.
The win makes it nine straight for the Spurs, but came at the public’s expense as bettors backed the No. 1 team in the West throughout the day, moving the opening line from Spurs +2 to +3 by tip-off.
Public bettors weren’t the only ones hurt by Golden State’s loss. Since the Oklahoma City Thunder failed to match San Antonio with a win over the Miami Heat Monday night, the Spurs and Thunder are now tied for the sixth spot in the West.
Playing on the road without Russell Westbrook , the Thunder were still 5.5-point favorites heading into the game. Miami beat Oklahoma City 116-107 despite playing without their own Justise Winslow.
With Westbrook serving a one-game suspension after picking up his 16th technical foul in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors, Paul George and Dennis Schroder each went Over their points prop total at FanDuel Sportsbook.
George scored 31 and Schroder added 20.
On the night, underdogs went 6-3 against the number and the Under was 5-4 in NBA.
Hornets Host Sixers
Tuesday, the Philadelphia 76ers look to win their fifth straight game and build on their 1.5 game lead for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference. With their backs against the wall, the Charlotte Hornets will play host to the Sixers in one of the more significant games of the night.
The Hornets have fallen out of the playoff standings after losing seven of their last 10. Despite the bad stretch, Charlotte is still just 2.5 games behind Miami for the No. 8 spot in the East.
Bettors are confident in the Sixers, backing Philadelphia at a three-to-one ratio. After oddsmakers opened the Hornets as 1.5-point favorites, the early love on on the away team moved Charlotte to a 1-point underdog.
So the Sixers are coming off possibly their biggest win of the season (130-125 over the Bucks), the public unsurprisingly loves Philly and we get to back a desperate home dog? Tell me no more. Breakfast Pick: Charlotte Hornets +1
Let the Madness Begin
The NCAA Tournament tips off tonight with two play-in games between 16 seeds in the West Region and 11 seeds in the East Region.
In the West, Prairie View A&M and Fairleigh Dickinson will battle to see who takes on No. 1 seed Gonzaga. There’s been some major line movement in this one, moving Fairleigh Dickinson to 2-point favorites after opening as 1.5-point underdogs.
The move might have something to do with FDU’s depth. In the NEC Conference Championship, all five of FDU’s starters scored double figures for the 11th time this season. Keep an eye on FDU’s sharp shooter, Darnell Edge. He led the NEC in both free-throw and three-point percentage. Breakfast Pick: Fairleigh Dickinson -2.
In the second game of the night, Temple and Belmont square off to see who plays No. 6 seed Maryland in the East Region.
Temple is currently 3.5-point underdogs and the Over/Under is 155. Belmont has been a profitable team to bet on this season, going 19-10 against the number. Most recently, Belmont has won 9 of their last 10 games (7-2-1 ATS).
Belmont relies heavily on their offense, averaging the second most point per game in the nation. Ken Pom ranks Belmont 20th in adjusted offense, but their adjusted defense is 127th. For that reason, I like the Over. Breakfast Pick: Temple-Belmont Over 155 Points.
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Let’s take a quick look around the regions.
East
Michigan State got an unfortunate draw in Duke’s region, resulting in the only real seeding controversy from Selection Sunday. Michigan State is as healthy as they’ve been all year, but Thomas Casale and I still have a tough time picturing anyone coming out of the East other than Duke. Here’s our full breakdown of the East Region.
Midwest
Some people think New Mexico State might play spoiler to Auburn in the first round. Ironically, the same thing that makes Auburn vulnerable is also what makes them dangerous this March. Bruce Pearl’s team lives and dies behind the arc, breaking the SEC single-season record for 3-pointers. Take a look at the rest of our picks and sleepers from the Midwest.
South
Professional gambler Preston Johnson thinks Virginia is the best value in the South Region to reach the Final Four.
Casale likes Wisconsin +4800 as a sleeper. Here’s the rest of our discussion on the South Region.
West
The West Region features the No.1 offense and the no. 1 and no. 2 defenses in the nation, per Ken Pom. Gonzaga has averaged 88.8 ppg game, the most in the NCAA, while Texas Tech and Michigan lay claim to the top two defenses in the nation. Can Gonzaga offense take them to the promise land or will defenses prevail? Yep, we broke the West Region down for you too.
Quick Links
Don’t forget to check out Casale’s NCAA Tournament breakdown.
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