Will the Packers take care of business for bettors as a 3.5-point home favorite against the Dolphins? Will Tulane hammer Memphis as a 13.5-point favorite? And will another top-ranked team fall in college hoops? Read on for our Thanksgiving Cross-Sport Parlay prediction.
Tuesday Cross-Sport Parlay Recap
I didn’t get to a cross-sport parlay on Wednesday but Tuesday’s was a dud. I took the Utah Hockey Club in the first period versus Montreal. I also had the Bucks-Heat over 223, North Carolina +4.5 versus Auburn and the Toledo-Akron over 48.5. None hit.
Utah and Montreal played to a 0-0 first period, which means I pushed on that play. That said, Milwaukee and Miami combined for just 209 points, which fell well short of the 223 we needed to cash that leg of the parlay. Despite going to overtime, the Rockets and Zips combined for only 35 points and the Tar Heels were run out the building by the Tigers (85-72). I can’t figure out Auburn.
Let’s do better.
NFL Thanksgiving Cross-Sport Parlay: Green Bay Packers -3.5, 8:20 p.m. ET
I don’t love the hook and if you don’t either, buy the Packers down to the field goal. I don’t think it’ll matter in the end, however. The Dolphins are a track team on grass and I love fading finesse teams that have to play in cold weather this time of year. The temps tonight in Green Bay will be around freezing, although it’ll “only” feel like 20 degrees outside. That’s still damn cold. Not as cold as the dangerous conditions the Dolphins and Chiefs played under in Kansas City last January in the playoffs, but it’ll be cold nonetheless.
Both of these teams are playing well, which is why I think the line is low. That said, the Packers are coming off a 38-10 beatdown of a Niners team that has owned them in the past. San Francisco was banged-up, but that doesn’t matter to Green Bay. Now they’re hosting an opponent on a short week, which often benefits the home team.
Granted, Miami is a confident bunch as well. The Dolphins have won three straight games to get them back into wild card contention in the AFC. That said, I didn’t love the way they closed out the fourth quarter last week when they were up big versus the Patriots. They had some letdowns defensively and now they’re facing an unfamiliar opponent on a short week in less-than-ideal weather conditions. Not a great spot for the Fins.
CFB Thanksgiving Cross-Sport Parlay: Tulane Green Wave -13.5, 7:30 p.m. ET
I know all the pressure is on the Green Wave tonight, which is probably why the majority of bettors are taking the points with the Tigers. That said, these two teams met in Memphis in October of last year and the Green Wave scored a 10-point victory as a 4-point favorite. It was the third time in four seasons that Tulane won this matchup straight up and it was fourth consecutive season that the Green Wave covered.
According to ESPN FPI, Tulane is also one of the most efficient teams in the nation. The Green Wave rank 23rd in offensive efficiency and 14th in defensive efficiency. Memphis will have its hands full tonight.
CBB Thanksgiving Cross-Sport Parlay: Indiana Hoosiers +9.5, 2:30 p.m. ET
Both of these teams had rough Wednesdays. The Hoosiers were throttled by Louisville 89-61 as a 4-point favorite. If you think that was bad, the Bulldogs said hold my beer and lost outright to West Virginia as a 15-point favorite.
Whether it’s Gonzaga, UConn or Houston, some of these big dogs have looked rough the past week. I don’t think we’re quite to the territory of college football when it comes to parity in college hoops, but I’m going to start hopping on some of these underdogs. That’ll start today with IU.