BetOnline Odds Boosters for Wednesday, November 25

BetOnline is serving up a fresh helping of futures odds ahead of Thanksgiving. Wednesday’s boosted odds feature four futures bets along with our first college basketball wager of the new season. You’ll obviously have to wait quite a while to pay out those futures, but there may still be some solid value on the table.

Let’s figure out which of the five options available today is most worthy of your wager.

Golf: Tiger Woods to Win a Major in 2021 (+1000)

Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters, which was his first major title in 11 years. He will finish the 2020 year without having claimed another major title, however, after finishing tied for 38th at the Masters a couple of weeks ago. Tiger also missed the cut at the US Open back in September, while settling for a tie for 37th at the PGA Championship in August.

While Woods’ win at the 2019 Masters was an incredible story, we are obviously well past the point in his career in which Tiger can be considered a legitimate favorite at any major.

The 44-year-old is still among the best players in the world, which is a remarkable feat for a player with so much mileage on his tires, but his days of being an automatic favorite in every tourney he plays are in the past.

The likes of Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas have taken the baton. Tiger is still capable of putting up a vintage performance here and there, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he challenged for yet another green jacket at some point in the future. Betting against Woods winning a major next year is something of a no-brainer considering he has a total of one major win in the last 12 years now.

NBA: Bucks to Win 2021 NBA Championship (+750)

The Milwaukee Bucks spent the majority of last season among the betting favorites to win the franchise’s first title since 1971. Milwaukee finished with the best regular-season record in the entire league for the second consecutive year, but they were unceremoniously ousted from the playoffs earlier than expected. The Bucks didn’t put up much of a fight while getting blasted by the Miami Heat in five games in the second round in the Disney World bubble.

This coming season may be the Bucks’ best chance to win a title with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the fold. The Greek Freak should sign a contract extension this offseason, but nothing is a guarantee. The Bucks have done everything they possibly can to upgrade the roster around him.

This offseason alone, the team has acquired Jrue Holiday, DJ Augustin, Bobby Portis, Torrey Craig, and Bryn Forbes. That may not sound like a murderer’s row, but the addition of Holiday alone is enough to make the Bucks better in the immediate future.

Welcome to Milwaukee, @Jrue_Holiday11!!#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/UyhFhR3Pxx

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 24, 2020

They failed in their pursuit of Bogdan Bogdanovic, but this is still clearly the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference. Teams like Miami, Toronto, and Boston are legitimate contenders, but the smart money is once again on the Bucks representing the conference in the NBA Finals. Where they go from there remains to be seen, of course. The reigning champion Lakers have upgraded their own roster this winter, so getting past the Western Conference representative in the championship round will be no easy task.

Still, you’re getting a conference favorite at +750 to win the whole thing, which is excellent value.

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers to Win Super Bowl 55 (+700)

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the talk of the season so far in 2020. While the division rival Ravens garnered most of the headlines a season ago, Ben Roethlisberger and co. have gotten off to a flying start this year. Pittsburgh is a perfect 10-0 for the first time in franchise history, and they have been the last remaining unbeaten team in the league for quite some time now.

Pittsburgh will look to sweep the season series over the Ravens on Thanksgiving Night. The Steelers are already massive -5000 favorites to win the AFC North, and a win on Thursday would essentially put the division on ice. Pittsburgh also has an inside track to the coveted top seed in the conference playoffs, which is huge considering they would be the only AFC team to earn a first-round bye.

As impressive as the Steelers have been, it’s still hard to give anyone the edge over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Kansas City has just one loss themselves, so it’s still entirely possible that Kansas City will enter the playoffs as the top overall seed. Frankly, I’d feel better about the Steelers’ chances of winning the Super Bowl if they were in the NFC.

NHL: Colorado Avalanche to Win 2021 Stanley Cup (+1000)

The Colorado Avalanche finished second in the Central Division last season with a record of 42-20-8. It was Colorado’s third straight playoff appearance, but the franchise is still looking for its first Stanley Cup Finals berth since winning the Cup back in 2001.

The Avs lost in seven games to the Dallas Stars in the second round after toppling the Arizona Coyotes in a five-game first-round series. Colorado made that series against Dallas competitive after dropping each of the first two games, but they were ultimately unable to seal the deal and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

#Isles Transaction: The team has acquired the Colorado Avalanche’s second round selections in the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts, in exchange for defenseman Devon Toews. pic.twitter.com/Skc1t1PQsR

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 12, 2020

We still don’t know when the 2020-21 NHL season will start, but we know that the Avalanche will start the campaign among the title favorites. NHL hockey betting sites have the Avalanche as +700 favorites as of this writing, which puts them in front of the Lightning and Golden Knights at +800 apiece.

The Avalanche reloaded this offseason by trading for Brandon Saad and Devon Toews within a couple of days of one another. The second-best team in the Western Conference a season ago just got immeasurably better without losing any of the key players that helped propel them to the top of the standings last season. The Avs look like a very interesting bet to make a legitimate run at the Cup next year.

NCAAB: Villanova (-13.5) and Kentucky (-23.5) BOTH to Cover (+375)

Yes, those are college basketball lines you’re seeing. This season is shaping up to be quite the messy one with no shortage of last-minute cancelations, but we’ll see what happens.

No. 3 Villanova will kick off its season tonight in “Bubbleville” against Boston College. This is a BC team that finished 14th in the 15-team ACC a season ago, and they come into this season having lost four of their top-five scorers. Boston College inexplicably won a game against Virginia last season, but this does not look like a good team in the least.

Villanova is, as usual, among the title favorites. The Wildcats are favored by about two touchdowns here. Nova returns four starters from last year, including seniors Jermaine Samuels and Collin Gillespie. The team has dealt with some preseason injuries, and the lack of home-court advantage for either team could make this game closer than you might expect.

No. 10 Kentucky will open the season tonight at Rupp Arena against Morehead State. The Wildcats are massive 23.5-point favorites in this one, though some books have the line as high as -25. Highly-touted freshman Brandon Boston Jr. will make his debut for Kentucky tonight as John Calipari reloads once again with an eye on another run to the Final Four.

What’s The Best Bet?

As much as I love Tiger, it’s hard to bet on him winning another major any time soon. Pass on Woods winning any of the four 2021 majors at +1000. The Avalanche have had the most exciting offseason of any NHL team, so their status as early title favorites is warranted. The problem is that the cream rarely rises all the way to the top in the NHL given all of the parity we see in the league every year. The +1000 odds are alluring, but an awful lot can go wrong here.

It’s also hard to bet against the Kansas City Chiefs winning the AFC for the second straight year. The Steelers have had a nice run, but the conference still runs through Kansas City. I’d give Pittsburgh a better chance if their path to the Super Bowl didn’t require a date with the Chiefs, so I’d pass on the Steelers’ current +700 odds to win it all next year.

One day away. #Steelers and #Ravens round two from Heinz Field pic.twitter.com/WgFUIW05wu

— SteelerNation (@SteeIerNation) November 25, 2020

We tend to see upsets early in the college basketball season. While I don’t think Morehead State or Boston College will actually win tonight, we’re looking at some uncomfortably big spreads in those games. Kentucky is a team with little experience, while Nova’s injuries could help keep BC relevant in that game. I don’t love pairing the two heavy favorites at +375.

That leaves the Bucks to win next year’s NBA title. If Mike Budenholzer can figure out how to run a playoff rotation, there is little reason to doubt Milwaukee’s chances of representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Getting through the Lakers or Clippers in the championship round won’t be easy, but the Bucks are the team with the clearest path to the Finals in the first place. That alone is enough to make Milwaukee an alluring betting option here at +750.

You will have to wait a while to cash this bet, but it looks like the best option on the board today.