New York Knicks Dennis Smith Jr.
New York Knicks G Dennis Smith Jr. (USA Today Sports Images)

It was a crazy night in the final NBA action before the All-Star break. After 18-straight losses, the New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 106-91 to cover as 7-point underdogs. There are no NBA games scheduled for Friday, so college basketball takes center stage with key matchups in the MAC conference and Ivy League. Here is your full sports betting recap and lookahead for Friday.

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Knicks End 18-Game Skid, Westbrook Stays Hot

The Knicks head into the All-Star break on a rare high note. New York defeated the Hawks 106-91 on Thursday night to end an 18-game losing streak. The Knicks were 8-point underdogs in the game and cashed +275 on the money line. It’s New York’s first win since Jan. 4 when they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 119-112. That victory halted an 8-game losing streak, making the Knicks 2-26 SU in their last 28 games. New York is 10-18 ATS over that span.

While the Knicks winning is a rarity, Russell Westbrook putting up a triple-double is turning into a nightly occurrence. Westbrook recorded his NBA-record 11th straight triple-double on Thursday with 44 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the Thunders’ 131-122 loss to the Pelicans. Despite Westbrook’s big game, OKC failed to cover as 5-point underdogs. Westbrook also became the leading scorer in Thunder/Supersonics history Thursday night, surpassing Gary Payton.

MAC Takes Center Stage

Friday means a small slate of college basketball games but there is an important matchup on the schedule. Buffalo (21-3) and Toledo (20-4) meet in a battle of MAC division leaders. Buffalo is tied for first place with Bowling Green in the MAC East division, while Toledo holds a commanding three-game lead in the West. The Bulls opened as 2.5 favorite on the road.

The Bulls come in riding a three-game ATS losing streak and have dropped six of their last eight versus the number overall. Toledo is on a five-game winning streak and the Rockets have covered three straight. These two teams met in January with Buffalo blowing out Toledo at home by 30 points, 110-80.

The Rockets are in a good revenge spot Friday night at home but Buffalo has dominated the series recently, going 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings. Despite the first game generating 190 points, the Under is 7-3 in the last 10 games between the two teams. Oddsmakers are expecting another high-scoring game though with the total opening at 156.

Big Game in the Ivy League

The MAC isn’t the only conference with a pivotal game on Friday. Two of the top teams in the Ivy League square off when Harvard travels to Princeton. Both teams are 4-2 in Ivy League play and tied with Cornell for second place, one game behind Yale. Princeton opened as a 1-point favorite but was quickly bet up to 1.5.

Harvard is coming off a loss to Cornell at home that ended a five-game winning streak. The Crimson haven’t been profitable for bettors lately, going 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games.

Princeton has dropped two straight but both games were on the road at Yale and Brown. The Tigers return home where they have only played six games this season, going 4-2. Princeton is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games.

The trends lean to Harvard. The Crimson are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings and underdogs have covered four of the last five games.

Look Ahead to NBA All-Star Weekend

Sacramento Kings G De’Aaron Fox (USA Today Sports Images)

The NBA is off on Friday so players can prepare for All-Star weekend. On Saturday night, the NBA will hold its skills competition, 3-point contest and dunk contest. Even better, you can wager on all three events.

The weekend’s festivities kick off with the skills competition. Kings PG De’Aaron Fox is the favorite to win the competition with odds of +350 at the Westgate LV SuperBook. Superstar rookie G Luka Doncic of the Mavericks and Hawks PG Trae Young are next at +400. The longshot is Magic C Nikola Vucevic at +1000 but don’t sleep on the big men. Previous winners of the skills competition include Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns and Knicks F Kristaps Porzingis.

The Warriors Stephen Curry is arguably the best shooter in NBA history, so it makes sense that he’s the favorite to win the 3-point shooting contest at odds of +175. Curry is such a big favorite that the next closest competitor is Suns PG Devin Booker at +450. Steph’s brother, Seth, is +700 and the longest shot on the board is Raptors SG Danny Green. Green is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range this year, while the favorite Curry is 44.4 percent beyond the arc.

The slam dunk contest is the toughest of the three contests to bet on because scoring is so subjective. Seriously, Shaq will help decide if bettors cash a ticket or not. The odds for the four competitors are pretty close with the Knicks Dennis Smith Jr. the favorite at +175. Hawks F John Collins (+220), Hornets SF Miles Bridges (+240) and Thunder SG Hamidou Diallo (+400) round out the field.

Our Matt Schmitto has a complete breakdown of the skills competition and 3-point contest and over at Sharpside.com.

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It’s Week 2 of the AAF and we have a complete betting breakdown with power rankings, future odds and game picks.