Thursday’s Best NFL, College Football, NBA & NHL Bets (10/26)

by BettingPros Staff |
Oct 26, 2023

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 all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today's Best Bets

Here are today's best bets.

NFL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Tampa Buccaneers @ Buffalo Bills

The Bills have problems right now, but so do the Buccaneers. Offensively, they've been a disaster over the last two weeks, scoring a combined 19 points. They're tied for 26th in the league in points per game, averaging just 17.2.

Though the Bills' defense is beat up and just allowed 29 points to the New England Patriots, they've been holding their own against bad offenses. They allowed just nine points to the Giants, and they did turn the Jacksonville Jaguars over twice two weeks ago.

This game is going to come down to Josh Allen and the offense. They've been sleepwalking the last few weeks, but this is a good matchup. Last week, the Atlanta Falcons were just 1-5 in the red zone against the Bucs. It wasn't a good defense that prevented scoring; it was bad offense. If the Bills can figure out what's been wrong over the past few weeks, they should win this one running away. They'll certainly have enough opportunities.

Bet: Bills -8.5 (-110)

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College Football Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

#20 Duke @ #18 Louisville

This is another game where I like the Under! Riley Leonard played last week for Duke, but he clearly wasn't 100% in that game. Once FSU realized he couldn't move or throw well, they stacked the box and stopped the run. Duke was held to 53 second-half rushing yards after gaining 144 in the first half. The Blue Devils had only 76 total pass yards in the game.

Louisville has RB Jahwar Jordan questionable to play in this game. That would be a massive loss, as he accounts for over 50% of Louisville's rushing yards, 25% of total yards and 33% of TDs. The Cardinals are also down starting RT Renato Brown, as he's out for the season with an undisclosed injury.

Both of these offenses are gimpy, and both defenses are strong. If Louisville is forced to pass more with Jordan down or less than 100%, it will play right into Duke's hands. Duke has a top-10 graded coverage unit. They know that Louisville QB Jack Plummer has thrown eight INTs, and they will be hunting for them.

The total is low here, but I'm going to stick with the under. The biggest part of both offenses is playing at less than 100%, making it hard to see this game going over.

Bet: Under 46.0 (-110)

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NBA Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Philadelphia 76ers @ Milwaukee Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers won the tip 64% of the time last season. They also attempted the first shot 57% of the time but scored only 43% of first baskets.

Tobias Harris was inconsistent, along with Tyrese Maxey. James Harden rarely took the first shot when he played. However, Joel Embiid added 15 first shots and 15 first baskets and was undoubtedly the most efficient first-basket scorer on the 76ers.

On the other hand, the Bucks only won 49% of tips last year. Milwaukee added 54% of first shots and scored on 49% of first baskets. That's a higher rate than the 76ers. However, it's more likely that Philadelphia will end up with the ball to begin the game.

Jrue Holiday scored more of the first basket attempts for the Bucks last year than any other player. He added 13 first shots and 11 first baskets, but he's now in Boston, and the Bucks have Damian Lillard. You'd like to think that the Bucks will want to get Lillard involved early. However, as long as Embiid makes his first shot, it won't matter.

I'll side with Embiid for the first basket.

Bet: Joel Embiid to Score the First Basket (+490)

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NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Anaheim Ducks @ Boston Bruins

The Under cashed between these two teams when Boston won 3-0 in Anaheim on Sunday, and I don't expect this matchup to go any differently.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark is expected to start between the pipes for the Bruins, which bodes well for the Under. Picking up right where he left off last year, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 3-0 with a .962 SV% and 1.00 GAA.

Playing in front of him is one of the better blue lines in hockey, which should help quell a solid Ducks forward group. There have now been five or fewer total goals scored in five of each of these teams' first six games.

Bet: Under 5.5 Total Goals (+112)

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