Gamblin'

What’s On TV Tonight, And How Not To Lose Your Money Gamblin’

Welcome to SportsGrid’s new, daily feature, where we tell you what sports are on TV tonight. Then, I do my best to help you win some money while watching. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing, and gambling is legal in your jurisdiction. Feel free to tweet hateful things at me if my advice moves you to do so. TV games are often the toughest games to find an edge on, so don’t go crazy, people. If I do recommend a bet, I’ll keep track of it, so you can tell me how awful (or wonderful?) I am. For record-keeping, we’ll assume a standard bet is $10. Occasionally, there will be 2x or 3x bets, maybe 4 or 5 if I’m feeling spunky. Good luck, America!

Today is a slow day. Sorry, viewers of sport.

College Basketball: Georgetown at Cincinnati (-4) (9:00 p.m., ESPN)

This is a massive game. The teams are pretty evenly matched, so it makes sense that Cincinnati is favored by 4 at home. It should be an ugly, defensive battle.

Cincinnati has struggled against top competition, though. They beat Pittsburgh on the road earlier in the year, but lost to them at home. And aside from that, they haven’t done anything of note in conference play. And they’ve had three pretty bad duds (St. John’s, Notre Dame, at Providence).

But Georgetown hasn’t proven much on the road, either.

The only stats that stands out — Georgetown is 4-1 ATS on the road, while Cincinnati is 2-9 ATS at home. That makes me lean Georgetown, but an interesting trend isn’t enough to merit a play.

Pass, lean Georgetown

NHL: Sharks (+122) at Blackhawks (-132) (8:30 p.m., NHL)

This game is going to be awesome, because both teams are awesome. The Blackhawks are the better team, at home, and deserve to be favored. But the Sharks shouldn’t be big underdogs to anyone. And they’re not, here. This line seems perfect. Don’t bet either side, people.

I like the under, but the price has risen even as backup goalie Ray Emery was announced for Chicago. No need to force anything, here.

Pass, lean UNDER 5.5

TV: Shark Tank (9:00 p.m., ABC)

Via TV Guide

Kevin O’Leary offers to give an entrepreneur $1 million; six kid inventors present a device that could help save lives; a woman provides a taste of her s’mores-inspired mini-muffin recipe; two brothers from Austin have an interesting idea for a sushi restaurant; and a New Yorker talks up her online-therapy business. Also: an update on a Season 3 cargo-management system that didn’t get any backing from the Sharks.

Kids saving lives ML (-5000), $5,000 to win $500!!

Bonus Bets! NHL:

Ducks/Red Wings UNDER 5.5 (-135), $10 to win $7.41
Bruins ML (-130), $20 to win $15.38
Devils ML (-137), $20 to win $14.60
Blues ML (-120), $30 to win $25.00
Penguins -1.5 (+200), $20 to win $40

Record in games actually worth risking money on: 29-21 (+$43.88)

What else is on: NBA Rising Stars Challenge, in Houston (9:00 p.m, TNT), College Basketball: Iona vs. Manhattan (7:00 p.m., ESPNU)

Lines taken from 5dimes.eu (with reduced juice) and betonline.ag

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