Sports betting roundup: March Madness nears and NBA returns from All-Star break
United States players celebrate after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
With March less than a week away, college basketball produced some big games while the NBA returned from its All-Star break.
The highlight of last week, however, was the men’s hockey gold medal game at the Milan Cortina Olympics between the United States and Canada, with the Americans winning 2-1 in overtime.
Here’s a look at how things played out at the BetMGM online sportsbook:
Trends of the Week
Canada (-120) was a slight favorite going into the gold medal game, but only took in 26% of the bets and 32% of the money. Going into overtime, Canada was -130 to win, while the U.S. was +105.
On Sunday, the Cavaliers (-4.5 vs. Thunder) were the most-bet NBA team to win in terms of the number of bets and money. Cleveland lost outright 121-113. The Thunder led 40-25 after the first quarter.
The Celtics (-1.5 at Lakers) were the second-most bet team in terms of money to cover on Sunday. Boston rolled to a 111-89 win.
Upsets of the Week
On the PGA Tour, Jacob Bridgeman won the Genesis Invitational. He entered the final round with a six-shot lead and held on for a one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama. Bridgeman finished at 18 under for his first PGA Tour win. Entering the event, he was +8000 to win and took in just 0.6% of the bets and 0.2% of the money in pre-tournament outright winner betting.
Canada goalkeeper Jordan Binnington looks back at the net as a shot by United States' Jack Hughes gets past for the winning goal in the overtime period of the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
There were two top-five matchups in college basketball on Saturday, and both were upsets. Arizona was a 6.5-point underdog against Houston and won outright 73-66. Duke was a 2.5-point underdog against Michigan and won 68-63. Arizona took in 61% of the bets and 65% of the money, while Duke took in 31% of the money.
Coming Up
With March Madness closing in, Michigan is favored to win the national championship at +375, followed by Duke and Arizona at +450, and Houston at +750.
Florida is next at +1150, followed by Iowa State and Illinois at +1300, UConn at +1700, Purdue at +2500 and Kansas at +3000.
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Houston guard Kingston Flemings (4) attempts to block a shot from Arizona guard Anthony Dell'orso (3) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Houston. Credit: AP/Maria Lysaker
This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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