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Monday’s Best MLB, NHL & College Basketball Bets (4/8)

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No matter your sport of choice, there's always sports betting action to be had. We'll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today's Best Bets

MLB Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres 

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad is coming off a quality start against the Colorado Rockies, where he allowed just four hits and struck out five in six scoreless innings. Assad threw his fastball 50% of the time last season but used it just 27% of the time in his first start, instead deferring to a sinker that generated zero whiffs on 25 pitches. The fact Assad turned in such a spectacular start given that he allowed a .429 slugging on his sinker speaks to how effective his fastball and secondary pitches were. We expect that to be the reason for success against a San Diego Padres lineup that ranks outside the top 10 in wRC+ and ISO.

Padres righty Yu Darvish is on pace for his worst walk rate since 2018 through three starts. In four career starts against the Padres, he has pitched to a 1.71 ERA and 0.722 WHIP (his best against any opponent in the Majors). Still, we expect the Cubs to feed off the momentum of scoring 18 runs while taking two of three games from the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.

Bet: Cubs Moneyline (+118)

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NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Vegas Golden Knights @ Vancouver Canucks

Injuries are impacting the Canucks at the moment. No Thatcher Demko, one of the best goalies, ranked sixth in goals allowed (2.47) and fourth in save percentage (.917). They also still don't have Elias Lindholm. While he hasn't been great since being traded to Vancouver, he's still an exceptional center to have.

The Golden Knights are pretty much locked into a playoff spot, but they could move around. They are tied with Nashville in the Western Conference Wild Card race but are only a point behind Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific. Injuries have affected this team, as we've rarely seen the champs at their full form this year. Adin Hill has been absent from the cage, along with Nicolas Roy, William Carrier and Alex Pietrangelo on the lines.

Casey DeSmith will likely be between the pipes for the Canucks, and he has struggled as the starter, losing his last four games, including one against the Golden Knights, with a .847 save percentage.

Bet: Golden Knights Moneyline (+100)

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College Basketball Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

#1 Purdue Boilermakers vs. #1 UConn Huskies

History is working against the Boilermakers in this matchup, as UConn has been downright dominant in the last two NCAA Tournaments. The Huskies are 11-0 SU and ATS, with their closest margin of victory coming by 13 points. UConn is the first team to ever win and cover 11 straight NCAA Tournament games in the seeding era and is 27-9 ATS in the tournament since 2009. Its success is not just tied to March Madness, as UConn is 11-1 ATS during its current 12-game winning streak and has won 32 of 33 games (while covering 28 of those) against non-conference opponents over the last two seasons.

UConn has not lost a non-true road game all season. Its two conference losses against Seton Hall and Creighton came when Donovan Clingan was limited to just 14 minutes after suffering an injury against the Pirates. The Bluejays were a blistering 14-of-28 from 3-point range in a 19-point home rout of the Huskies. Thus, it will take a gargantuan effort from Purdue not only to pull off the victory, but to even stay close in this matchup, and UConn simply has another gear that Purdue does not have. Nine of Purdue's final 11 conference wins were by single digits, and we trust UConn's big game experience, as it returned 42.5% of the minutes from last year's national championship squad.

Bet: UConn -6.5 (-112)

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