CFB Bowl Season Starts Picking Up + NBA and NHL Insights and Trends

Also, could the Dolphins actually bench Tua?

In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: Spurs fizzled out, but NBA Cup in Vegas lived up to hype

2. The Rundown: The NFL quarterback that could be benched after missing out on playoffs

3. Game of the Day: Insights on the first game of a TNT hockey doubleheader

4. By the Numbers: Bowl season kicks off in full force with two games today

5. Overtime: Manning is staying at Texas

1. Leading Off

LAS VEGAS — The Knicks fell behind the Spurs in the NBA Cup final but never seemed intimidated by Victor Wembanyama. Unlike when San Antonio ended Oklahoma City’s 16-game winning streak on Saturday, Wembanyama’s presence wasn’t felt every time down the court. In fact, in his second game back after 12 games away recovering from a calf injury, the French superstar looked tired and out of rhythm at times.

The Knicks outlasted the Spurs and pulled away in the fourth quarter to win the third NBA Cup 124-113 in front of a Las Vegas crowd that treated the game more like a playoff matchup than a mid-December contest. Wembanyama finished with 18 points (7-17 shooting) to go with six rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal. But San Antonio was -18 in Wembanyama’s 25 minutes on the floor a game after a +21 effort in just 21 minutes, also off the bench like last night.

While both teams had seven players with double-digit scoring efforts, the Knicks veterans just wore down the Spurs in the end. New York guard Josh Hart was noticeably limping after checking in with four minutes left, but just over a minute into his time back on the court he had already blocked De’Aaron Fox and hit a 26-foot jump shot to grow the Knicks’ lead to 115-107 and put the game out of reach. San Antonio was up five after three but was outscored 35-19 in the fourth quarter.

This game doesn’t count in the standings — it only means a trophy and extra cash for the Knicks players — but it proved two things: 1) The NBA Cup final should remain a standalone event in Las Vegas. Fans flew in on short notice after New York and San Antonio won on Saturday and created an electric environment with the Las Vegas natives who bought tickets months in advance; and 2) the Knicks are the sportsbooks’ favorite to win the East for good reason.

— Abe Rakov

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

2. The Rundown

Chris Paul’s Final Season Turned Into a Nightmare That’s Still Unresolved

• ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne has a full account about why the Clippers cut ties with NBA legend Chris Paul in the middle of the night in what was supposed to be a celebratory retirement tour of a season: “It was a nice story until it wasn’t. What transpired instead was a toxic combination of miscalculations, miscommunication and shocking underperformance from a team many had picked as a dark horse in the loaded Western Conference.” The Clippers are 6-20 and 14th in the 15-team West, while Paul is still waiting to see if the team is going to trade him or buy out his contract.

• Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti, who led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season, Big Ten championship, No. 1 ranking, top seed in the College Football Playoff, and their first Heisman Trophy winner, was named the Associated Press college football coach of the year. He’s the first coach to earn the award two seasons in a row, and only three other coaches have won it twice: Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson and Nick Saban (the AP first started presenting the award in 1998). Cignetti is 24-2 in two seasons in Bloomington after going 52-9 in five seasons at James Madison.

• A day after the Dolphins were eliminated from the playoffs, coach Mike McDaniel is considering benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. “I think the quarterback play last night was not good enough, and so for me, everything’s on the table,” McDaniel said. Tagovailoa’s performance in Monday night’s loss to the Steelers was much improved from his 127-yard day the week before, as he was a tidy 22-28 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked four times, though. McDaniel’s other options are former Jets quarterback Zach Wilson and rookie Quinn Ewers out of Texas.

• University of Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is the top 2026 NBA draft prospect, according to ESPN’s updated top 100 rankings. BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa is second and Duke’s first year forward/center Cameron Boozer is third. Kentucky sophomore center Jayden Quaintance is the first non-freshman listed, while Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg is the top-ranked senior at 14th.

• NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is continuing to consider expansion and that a decision would be made sometime next year. In his news conference ahead of the NBA Cup final, Silver talked through the difference of adding two teams (ownership is watered down to 1/32nd of the league) vs. creating a European league (a pure new market). Seattle and Las Vegas would be the heavy favorites to land teams if the NBA chooses to expand.

3. Game of the Day

DeBrincat Notched 3+ Shots in 4 Straight as Red Wings Climbed to 1st in Atlantic

If you haven’t tuned into an NHL game yet this season, tonight might be the night with a solid slate on TNT … and not a whole lot of other quality options. The Red Wings are back on top of the Atlantic after six wins over their past 10 games, while the Mammoth are two points out of the Wild Card in the West in this early point of the season. Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat has two goals in two games in a row, while Utah’s Dylan Guenther streak of at least one goal in four straight ended in the Mammoth’s 4-1 loss to the Bruins last night.

Mammoth (16-16-3, 8-11-2 Away) vs. Red Wings (19-12-3, 10-6-1 Home)
7:30pm on TNT

The Odds

• Spread: UTA (+1.5, -203), DET (-1.5, +184)

  • 92% of the money and 71% of the bets are with DET

  • ATS | UTA (road): 7-13, DET (home): 7-9

• Moneyline: UTA +105, DET -126

  • 68% of the money and 67% of the bets are with DET

• Total (5.5): Over -138, Under +112

  • UTA: 18-16, DET: 18-15

Head-to-Head

Players to Watch

• DET RW Alex DeBrincat | 3+ Shots: -156 (6, 3, 3, 4, 1), Anytime Goal: +150 (2, 2, 0, 2, 0)

• DET C Dylan Larkin | 3+ Shots: -114 (2, 1, 3, 3, 1), Anytime Goal: +165 (0, 0, 0, 1, 1)

• UTA RW Dylan Guenther | 3+ Shots: -168 (0, 4, 2, 3, 1), Anytime Goal: +200 (0, 1, 1, 2, 1)

• UTA C Clayton Keller | 3+ Shots: -113 (4, 2, 2, 1, 3)

*Stats listed in parentheses are past 5 games, most recent to least recent.

4. By the Numbers

Memphis is 9-17 to Over, Nearly 60% of Spread Money is with Minnesota in Tonight’s Matchup

NBA

• Cavaliers (15-12, 6-5 Away) vs. Bulls (10-15, 6-6 Home)

  • CLE (-5.5, -110), CHI (+5.5, -110): 69% of the money and 61% of the bets are with CLE

    • ATS | CLE (road): 4-7, CHI (home): 6-6

  • Total (243.5) | CLE: 12-15, CHI: 12-13

• Grizzlies (12-14, 6-7 Away) vs. Timberwolves (17-9, 9-4 Home)

  • MEM (+7.5, -110), MIN (-7.5, -110): 59% of the money and 55% of the bets are with MIN

    • ATS | MEM (road): 6-7, MIN (home): 5-8

  • Total (232.5) | MEM: 9-17, MIN: 13-13

CFB

• Old Dominion (9-3) vs. South Florida (9-3)

  • ODU (+2.5, +100), USF (-2.5, -122): 71% of the money and 77% of the bets are with USF

    • ATS | ODU: 7-5, USF: 9-3

  • Total (52.5) | ODU: 5-7, USF: 7-5

• Louisiana (6-6) vs. Delaware (6-6)

  • ULL (-2.5, -120), UD (+2.5, -102): 52% of the money is with UD but 60% of the bets are with ULL

    • ATS | ULL: 6-6, UD: 4-7-1

  • Total (62.5) | ULL: 8-4, UD: 6-5-1

NHL

• Kings (14-9-9, 10-3-5 Away) vs. Panthers (17-13-2, 10-6-2 Home)

  • LA (+120), FLA (-142): 63% of the money and 76% of the bets are with FLA

  • ATS | LA (road): 9-9, FLA (home): 5-13

  • Total (5.5) | LA: 13-19, FLA: 17-15

• Hurricanes (21-9-2, 10-4-1 Away) vs. Predators (13-15-4, 8-8-2 Home)

  • CAR (-180) vs. NAS (+150): 89% of the money and 81% of the bets are with CAR

  • ATS | CAR (road): 6-9, NAS (home): 9-9

  • Total (5.5) | CAR: 16-16, NAS: 17-15

• Devils (18-14-1, 8-8-0 Away) vs. Golden Knights (16-6-9, 7-4-4 Home)

  • NJ (+154), LV (-185): 64% of the money and 81% of the bets are with LV

  • ATS | NJ (road): 7-9, LV (home): 2-13

  • Total (5.5) | NJ: 16-17, LV: 15-16

5. Overtime

Quotable

“Arch is playing football at Texas next year,” — University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning’s dad Cooper in a text message to ESPN reporter Dave Wilson. Arch Manning began the year as a Heisman frontrunner for the preseason No. 1 Longhorns, but a shaky start to the season derailed both the personal and team goals. The much-hyped quarterback who patiently waited in Austin was even booed by his own fans during an 11-25 performance for 114 yards in an underwhelming 27-10 win over UTEP. But in the final seven games of the season, Manning was 146-235, averaged over 255 passing yards per game, and threw 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Texas finished that stretch 6-1 with wins over then-No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 6 Oklahoma, and No. 9 Vanderbilt.

What to Watch (times ET)

• 2:30pm: Manchester vs. Brentford [Carabao Cup] on Paramount+

• 5pm: Old Dominion vs. South Florida [Cure Bowl] on ESPN

• 7pm: No. 13 Vanderbilt vs. Memphis [MCBB] on ESPN2

• 7:30pm: Mammoth vs. Red Wings on TNT

• 8pm: Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves on NBA TV

• 8:30pm: Louisiana vs. Delaware [68 Ventures Bowl] on ESPN

• 10pm: Devils vs. Golden Knights on TNT