Sports betting roundup: Low scoring in NFL preseason means unders are hitting

Updated Aug. 19, 2024 11:20 a.m. ET

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The NFL preseason is in full swing, wrapping up its second week of action Sunday night.

While the regular season is still a few weeks away, there are still plenty of storylines and betting opportunities in the preseason.

Every team will play its final game over the next week and then prepare for Week 1, which kicks off Sept. 5 with the Chiefs and Ravens from Kansas City.

Trends of the week

Unders are 26-7 (78%) in NFL preseason games to this point in the schedule, including going 2-0 on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Chiefs fell to the Lions 24-23. Kansas City was a 9-point favorite going into the game at the BetMGM online sportsbook. Since 2004, it was the third time a team was favored by nine or more points in a preseason game. With the Chiefs losing, those teams are now 0-3.

With John Harbaugh as head coach, the Ravens have done extremely well against the spread, going 38-20-1 before this week. The trend didn’t continue this week, as, although Baltimore beat Atlanta 13-12, they were 1.5-point favorites so didn’t cover the spread. The Ravens were the most-bet team to cover the spread in NFL betting on Saturday.

Dricus Du Plessis solidified his belt with a fourth-round submission win over former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday. Going into the fight, Du Plessis was a slight favorite at -105, but only took in 32% of the bets and 33% of the money.

Upsets of the week

Hideki Matsuyama won the FedEx St. Jude Championship to claim his second win of the PGA Tour season. He entered the tournament with +2500 odds to win and only took in 3.4% of the bets and 2.7% of the money. Matsuyama entered the final round with a five-shot lead, but lost the lead on the back nine. He rebounded with birdies on 17 and 18 to finish at 17-under and win by two shots. He was -450 to win entering the final round.

Also at UFC 305 Saturday, Dan Hooker beat Mateusz Gamrot. Hooker was +333 to win, but saw a lot of action backing him. Eighty-two percent of the bets and 67% of the money was on him to win.

Coming up

The NBA schedule was released last week, so it’s a good time to check in on NBA championship odds for next season.

The Celtics are the favorites to repeat as champions, as they are +310 to win the NBA championship. Oklahoma City is next at +750.

The 76ers (+800), Nuggets (+850) and Knicks (+900) round out the top five.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

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Hideki Matsuyama