Skip to main content

Best Bets Today: Top Picks, Predictions from Tuesday's Sports Slate

Sportsbook Review

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 4:01 PM EST • 4 min 50 sec read.

We've shopped the odds and lines at our best sportsbooks in search of today's best bets for Tuesday, Jan. 31. Our top picks include offerings from the upcoming Super Bowl 57, Tuesday's college basketball, NHL, and NBA action, as well as a look ahead to this week's PGA Tour tournament.

Let's kick off the week with a look at some of our favorite bets for Tuesday night and beyond.

Read on for today's best bets for Tuesday, Jan. 31, based on the odds from our best sportsbooks.

Tuesday's best bets

  • NFL: Travis Kelce first touchdown scorer (+700 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
  • College basketball: Iowa -6.5 (-110 via BetMGM) vs. Northwestern ⭐⭐⭐
  • NHL: Hurricanes regulation win (-125 via DraftKings) vs. Kings ⭐⭐⭐
  • NBA: Cavaliers -4 vs. Heat (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐
  • PGA Tour: Seamus Power to win Pebble Beach Pro-Am (+2200 via PointsBet)

Tuesday's NFL best bet

Travis Kelce first touchdown scorer (+700) ⭐⭐⭐

This number is just going to keep dropping as we get closer to kickoff. It’s already down as low as +600 depending on what sportsbooks you look at. But at DraftKings, we’re getting a bit of a gift.

Originally, Jalen Hurts was showing the best odds at +650, but he has since dropped down to +700 as Miles Sanders jumped to +650. This signals that the Eagles are favored to score the first touchdown of the game, but if Mahomes gets the ball first, are you really willing to not have Kelce as the first touchdown scorer of the game?

The Chiefs’ receiving corps is beat up, with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Kadarius Toney all suffering injuries this past Sunday. Therefore, the only real option at this moment for the Chiefs is Kelce. This number may go as low as +600, so get in early.

Super Bowl 57 prop picks to target early by Philip Wood.

Check out our best Super Bowl betting sites and 2024 Super Bowl odds. Also, check out our Super Bowl odds and Super Bowl MVP odds.

Tuesday's college basketball best bet

Iowa -6.5 vs. Northwestern (-110) ⭐⭐⭐

Iowa welcomed Patrick McCaffery back after a six-game absence, and though the coach’s son played just 13 minutes, he immediately contributed nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from deep. The Hawkeyes as a whole torched Rutgers’ second-ranked overall defense (per KenPom) for 12 3-pointers (50% shooting from deep) and were difficult to keep out of the paint, attempting 34 free throws (and converting on 29).

It was a masterful offensive performance, and Northwestern will have difficulty keeping pace despite winning three consecutive games out of its COVID-19 pause.

This is a three-star play, as the Wildcats rank 310th in effective field-goal percentage, which will not get it done against a team as polished offensively as the Hawkeyes.

This spread is -7 at DraftKings, so we are taking the 6.5 before the number moves at all sportsbooks.

College basketball best bets made by Mike Spector.

Check out all of our top college basketball picks, as well as our 2023 March Madness odds and 2023 Wooden Award odds.

Tuesday's NHL best bet

Hurricanes regulation win vs. Kings (-125) ⭐⭐⭐

Carolina has stormed its way to the second best record in the league (32-9-8) – and it has earned those Ws.

The Hurricanes are the only team in the league controlling more than 60% of score-and-venue-adjusted shot attempts and expected goals during five-on-five play. And for a little extra context, the second-best team in both categories is more than five percent behind.

Starting goaltender Frederik Andersen missed more than two months with a lower-body injury but has been terrific, since returning to action, boasting a .934 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average in six games.

While the Kings have been getting wins with Copley between the pipes, his numbers are relatively mediocre. Among the 46 goalies to play at least 1000 minutes, Copley’s .901 save percentage ranks 29th.

The Kings may be a quality team, though they are also the only team currently in a playoff spot with a negative goal differential. That is enough reason to like the puck-controlling Hurricanes to pull this one out in regulation on home ice.

Kings-Hurricanes picks made by Scott Cullen.

Check out all of our NHL best bets.

Tuesday's NBA best bet

Cavaliers -4 vs. Heat (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

This spread touched as high as 5.5 before settling in at 4 or 4.5 after it was announced Jimmy Butler is expected to play, which gives us the opportunity to pounce on the home team. My numbers project a 106.5-99 win for the Cavs, so there is enough of an edge there to lay the points for this three-star bet. It also favors the Under for those wishing to do so on the lowest total of the night.

Donovan Mitchell might be on a minutes restriction in Tuesday’s matchup, as he played about a dozen minutes in the first half during his return on Sunday. The Cavs rolled to a 122-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and didn’t need much from him in his return.

Cleveland is 26-23-3 ATS, which marks the 10th-best cover rate in the NBA. The Cavaliers are 17-8-1 ATS at home, including a 16-8-1 cover clip when laying points at home. Not only do my numbers project value in this spread - as do the trends - but I like the idea of backing the home team in a game featuring two similar squads.

Both the Heat and Cavaliers play at two of the three slowest paces in the league, which is why this total is so low. Cleveland secured a 113-87 home win over Miami on Nov. 20, covering the spread as a 7-point favorite and having the total finish Under 212.5 by 12.5 points. We expect a similar outcome in Tuesday's meeting.

Heat-Cavaliers picks made by Shane Jackson.

Check out all of our NBA best bets, and our 2023 NBA Finals odds and 2023 NBA MVP odds.

Tuesday's PGA Tour best bet

Seamus Power (+2200)

Power's odds to win opened as high as +2500 via DraftKings before falling at most of our top sports betting sites throughout the first day of betting. PointsBet's +2200 offering is the best remaining price and that still presents strong value over the +1900 now available elsewhere. The Irishman is coming off a T-9 finish in this event last year.

Power claimed his second PGA Tour victory at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in October. That started a run of three straight top-five finishes which ended his 2022 playing calendar. He began the new year with a T-25 finish during the Sentry Tournament of Champions and tied for 20th against a strong field for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Power is gaining strokes in every major category across his last 11 measured rounds, including 0.57 true strokes gained per round on approach. He's also tied for 43rd for the 2022-23 PGA Tour in par-5 scoring average, and he is ninth in birdie-or-better percentage.

Pebble Beach Pro-Am picks made by Esten McLaren.

Super Bowl prop bets

Prop bet enthusiasts have much to choose from in Super Bowl 57; here's a look at some of the more popular Super Bowl prop bets among the best sportsbooks:

Need help keeping track of your Super Bowl prop bets? Use our printable Super Bowl prop bet sheet (available once the Super Bowl matchup is set)!

Check out our best betting sites:

(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)

* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

Related pages

Written By:
Sportsbook Review
Free sports picks from SBR's experts. Get the latest analysis, odds and predictions on the top industry events. Home of the #SBRPros! SBR - trusted by sports bettors for over 20 years.