With the month of April beginning to come to a close, the playoff races in the NBA and NHL are heating up. But this weekend also provides several, unique, high-stakes matchups for bettors at PlaySugarHouse.com and BetRivers.com. Read how bettors are wagering on some of the weekend’s biggest events.
UFC 261: No weekend event has more current bets or handle than the UFC 261 PPV, headlined by three title fights, with two of the defending champs entering as heavy public favorites. Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman (18-1, -435 ML) is backed by 84% of the total fight handle and 81% of total fight bets to defeat Jorge Masvidal (35-14, +320 ML), who Usman defeated via unanimous decision in July 2020. Usman opened -400 ML for Saturday night, and is currently -435 ML to win. The largest current wager is a $7,000 bet on Usman to win (-400 ML) with a potential payout of $8,750.
Valentina Shevchenko (20-3, -455 ML) makes her fifth defense of the UFC women’s strawweight title when she faces Jessica Andrade (21-8, +340 ML), and the public is heavily backing the champ with 96% of the total fight handle and 92% of the total fight bets. Shevchenko opened -400 ML to win, but is now -455 ML, making her the strongest favorite of any fighter on the card. The largest current bet is a $6,500 wager on Shevchenko to win (-400 ML) with a potential payout of $8,125.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: The 2020-2021 Division 1 FCS Tournament gets going this weekend, with a 16-team field to determine the FCS National Champion. No. 3 seed James Madison (-625 ML, -14.5) is the heaviest public favorite of the first round, backed by more money than any other team and responsible for 93% of the total handle to defeat VMI (+400 ML). Unseeded Missouri State (+210 ML, +6.5), despite being the first round underdog, is the second-most wagered-on team, and is backed by 92% of the game handle to beat unseeded North Dakota (-278 ML). The Bison of North Dakota State (-278 ML, -7.5), winners of six of the last seven FCS championships, are unseeded but favored to beat Eastern Washington in the first round. The public is backing NDSU with 89% of the game handle and 91% of total game bets. The largest college football bet of the weekend is a $6,000 wager on Missouri State +7.5 (-116) that has a potential payout of $11,160.
SOCCER: Manchester City (-200 ML) and Tottenham (+490 ML) are the final two teams left standing in the 92-team EFL Cup tournament, and will compete for the championship on Sunday afternoon. The two sides are split in their last five head-to-head, with each team winning twice with one draw. Manchester City scored the most recent victory, a 3-0 win in February, which followed back-to-back 2-0 wins for Tottenham. City will enter the match having won three of their last five, including two wins over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Tottenham, which recently parted ways with head coach Jose Mourinho is 2-1-2 in its last five games. The public is backing Manchester City with 78% of the total match handle and 92% of total match bets.
NFL DRAFT: The 2021 NFL Draft is less than a week away, and while there is a good understanding of who will go No. 1 (Trevor Lawrence -10000) to Jacksonville and No. 2 (Zach Wilson -5000) to the New York Jets, the public is heavily invested in what the San Francisco 49ers will do at No. 3. Alabama QB Mac Jones (-150 to go No. 3) currently has the shortest odds to land in the Bay Area, but Ohio State QB Justin Fields (+160 to go No. 3) is the public pick, with 92% of the bet handle. In fact, The No. 3 pick is currently the most wagered-on prop bet of the entire 2021 NFL Draft.
Fields, along with LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, are the most wagered-on players in the draft, and are backed by the two largest NFL Draft bets thus far: A $10,000 wager on Justin Fields to be picked in the Top 10 (-500) and a $4,500 wager on Chase to be the first WR drafted (-400).
