You can do all your shopping online on Friday. There’s plenty of football to watch and bet on.
The final Black Friday without the NFL includes both types of football too. The headlining event of the day is the USMNT’s long-awaited 2022 World Cup Group B game against England (2 pm ET, Fox). And the US got a lot of help on Friday morning from Iran.
Iran took down Wales 2-0 in the early game on Friday. That means the US is guaranteed to go through to the knockout rounds of the World Cup with any combination of a win and a tie against England and Iran. A loss to England isn’t the worst thing in the world now, either. The US can still lose to England and beat Iran and make the next round as long as Wales doesn’t beat England.
The English have moved up to -210 favorites to beat the USMNT. The US was +450 to win the game on Wednesday and is now at +600 in the hours before kickoff. A tie is at +320 — and that’s a result that would benefit both teams.
We’ve been eyeing the combo bet that includes a US win and a tie if you’re looking to be optimistic about the United States’ chances. The odds of a USMNT win or a tie are now up to +155. Betting England or a tie is now all the way down to -900. There’s not much return on that one.
A ton of college football
The biggest college football game of the day is in Cincinnati as the Bearcats host Tulane for the right to host the AAC championship game. There’s no spread available on the game as of Friday morning as Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant could be unavailable (Noon ET, ABC). Evan Prater would start if Bryant can’t go. The total is 44.5 and the winner will play UCF for the AAC title assuming the Knights beat moribund South Florida in the final week of the season.
Texas is an 8.5-point favorite at home against Baylor (Noon ET, FS1). The Longhorns are looking to finish Steve Sarkisian’s second season at 8-4 and head to a decent bowl game.
Arkansas has moved to a 3.5-point favorite on the road at Missouri (3:30 pm ET, CBS). The Tigers need to get the win to be bowl-eligible at 6-6.
Iowa, meanwhile, is a 10.5-point favorite at home against Nebraska and the total is just 38.5. Iowa just needs to beat the Cornhuskers on Friday to be the Big Ten West representative in the Big Ten title game. If the Hawkeyes get to the title game they will be massive underdogs to either Michigan or Ohio State.
The NBA returns after a Thanksgiving break
The NBA is also back with a vengeance after no games were played on Thanksgiving. There are 14 games on the schedule on Friday as everyone but Dallas and Toronto are in action. Games start as early as 5 pm ET with the Timberwolves and Hornets and the Nuggets and Clippers are the nightcap at 10:30 pm ET.
Denver is a 3.5-point favorite in the final game of the night after getting a win at Oklahoma City on Wednesday night without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. The Warriors are 7.5-point favorites at home to the Jazz while the smallest line of the night is in OKC as the Bulls are just 1.5-point favorites over the Thunder.
Who cashed tickets on Thursday?
The Giants became the latest team to cover the spread against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving with a late backdoor cover TD in the Cowboys’ win. The Lions also covered against the Bills as Buffalo needed a field goal in the waning seconds to knock off the Lions.
While all three favorites won on Thanksgiving, the only one to cover the spread was the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to beat the New England Patriots 33-26.