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Wednesday’s Best NFL, NBA & College Basketball Bets (12/20)

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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 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 Casesars Sportsbook)

Indianapolis Colts To Miss the Playoffs (+125)

With the crazy amounts of chaos in the AFC Wild Card race, books are choosing not to hang lines for certain teams, and the best available option for how I see this breaking down is a single play on the Colts to miss the playoffs.

The Browns currently hold the top Wild Card spot and have a one-game cushion on the rest of the 8-6 teams. With a game against the Jets remaining on their schedule, I think it's highly likely that they get to at least 10-7 to secure one of the three Wild Card spots. I also broke down in last week's article why I think the Bills will clinch a playoff spot (and potentially the division), so I'll go ahead and reserve a second Wild Card spot for either the Bills or the Dolphins, whoever does not win the AFC East.

That leaves just one more Wild Card spot for either the Bengals, Steelers, Broncos or one of the AFC South teams that does not win the division. The Broncos currently sit a game behind the 8-6 teams and have not done themselves any favors with tiebreakers, as they currently sit in the 11th seed behind everyone else. They have a favorable remaining schedule, but seeing as they need some chaos to happen in front of them, I will remove them from contention.

The Steelers have also played their way out of the playoffs, currently sitting at 7-7 with the toughest schedule remaining of the teams in the hunt, with games left against the Bengals, Ravens and Seahawks. I see them going 1-2 down the stretch at best, leaving them on the outside looking in.

The Bengals have really rallied with backup QB Jake Browning at the helm and have set themselves up with critical tiebreakers based on wins over Indianapolis and Buffalo. Still, their remaining schedule includes the Chiefs, Browns and Steelers, and they will likely be without Ja'Marr Chase for some of those games. I think their magic runs out, and so does Vegas, as their number currently sits around -250 to miss the playoff.

That leaves the trio of 8-6 AFC South teams, one to win the division, one to clinch the final Wild Card spot and one to miss the playoffs entirely. The Jaguars have the easiest schedule of the three and currently have the upper hand in tie-breaking scenarios, so I think it's far more likely than not that they are responsible for one of those playoff spots. That leaves the Colts and the Texans and a Week 18 date in Indianapolis that I see as a de facto play-in game for the playoffs, whether for the division or the Wild Card.

Indianapolis got the better of Houston in their first matchup, but C.J. Stroud and the Texans have come a long way since then, and I favor them to get revenge in that second matchup. If you disagree with that notion, you could pivot and instead take the Texans to miss the playoffs at a juicer number.

Check out our other NFL Odds, Picks & Predictions:

NBA Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Atlanta Hawks @ Houston Rockets

It never feels good fading one of the best at dishing it out, but it makes sense in this matchup. The Houston Rockets are one of the most defensively sound teams. They are third in defensive net rating and allow the fewest assists per game to point guards this season, setting Trae Young up for a tough night in the assists department.

Despite their defensive prowess, someone will have to score for Atlanta, and De'Andre Hunter has faired well as of late. The Hawks have been without Jalen Johnson over the past eight games, and Hunter has averaged 17.6 points per game in his stead. He has 12 or more points in each of these contests and should be able to get to this low threshold.

The leading scorer for the Rockets this season has been their starting center, Alperen Sengun. The third-year center out of Turkey is averaging 19.9 points per game, and 66% of that scoring comes from within the paint, where the Hawks struggle to defend. They have allowed the third-most points inside the paint this season. Sengun has scored 20+ points in 12 of his last 17 contests.

Parlay Odds: +252

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College Basketball Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

#11 North Carolina @ #7 Oklahoma

One of the more surprising teams this season, Porter Moser's Sooners have started the season 10-0 with impressive wins over Iowa, USC and Arkansas, all on neutral courts. UNC has lost each of their last two games but to reasonable opponents in UConn and Kentucky. This should be another excellent matchup.

Where Oklahoma will dominate is in the mid-range. Ranking 11th in mid-range shooting percentage, they far outrank UNC's defense, which comes in at 326th in mid-range defense. Javian McCollum has been an effective point guard for Oklahoma. With Otega Oweh owning the 10th-highest effective field goal percentage, both players are a big reason they are top-35 in offensive efficiency. 

Where the Sooners have truly excelled is defensively. With the fifth-highest three-point defense, UNC's shooters will struggle tonight in the Spectrum Center. Despite not having the most efficient offense, Moser has done an elite job coaching to own the second-ranked transition scoring offense while ranking 16th in second-chance conversion percentage. UNC should limit offensive boards, but I expect Oklahoma to shoot well already. Give me the Sooners tonight. 

Play: Oklahoma +2.5 (-108)

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