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NBA and NHL and College football odds recap for Friday, October 23, 2026: what the lines got right and wrong
Five NBA underdogs won outright on Friday night, and road teams owned the spread. The closing lines gave all five of those underdogs together about a 1 in 93 chance of winning. Home teams went 2-10 against the spread. The spread is the margin a team must win by, or can lose by, to "cover" for bettors. Favorites won 7 of 12 games but covered only 4. College football added its own upsets, with three underdogs winning outright out of five games.
NBA
First, the moneyline: a straight bet on who wins, with no points involved. The biggest surprise there was the Mavericks. They closed at +215, which the market read as a 30.4% chance, and they won 121-105 over the Pacers. That beat the Indiana spread by 23.5 points. The Rockets (+154, 37.8%) won 114-110 over the Spurs. The Grizzlies (+136, 40.7%) won 111-108 over the Warriors. The Timberwolves (+102, 47.4%) won 115-93 over the Magic. The Bulls were technically the underdog at -102, with a 48.3% chance, and they beat the Bucks 132-125.
The biggest cover belonged to the Hawks, and it wasn't close. They were 2.5-point favorites and won 128-81, covering by 44.5. Dallas and Minnesota each covered by 23.5, and the Pistons covered by 14.5 in a 128-111 win over the Heat.
Several covers came down to half a point. The Raptors closed as 9.5-point favorites and won by 10. The Pelicans lost 120-119 to the Jazz but covered as 1.5-point underdogs. The Clippers lost by 8 as 8.5-point underdogs and still covered. The Kings, at +9.5, lost by 8 to the Trail Blazers and covered by 1.5.
The total is the combined score the market sets for both teams, and you bet whether the game goes over or under it. The NBA went 5-7 on overs and unders, and the market missed some of them badly. Minnesota-Orlando closed at 234.5 and finished at 208, 26.5 under. Toronto-Washington came in 22.5 under. Atlanta-Charlotte and Memphis-Golden State each landed 17.5 under. On the over side, Clippers-Lakers (242 against 225.5) and Portland-Sacramento (248 against 231.5) each went 16.5 over. Chicago-Milwaukee went 15.5 over.
A line move is the change in a number between when it opens and when the game starts. Spread moves went 5-4 for the side they moved toward. The worst misses came in Indiana and Orlando. The Pacers went from 5.5-point to 7.5-point favorites and lost by 16. The Magic flipped from 1.5-point underdogs to 1.5-point favorites and lost by 22. The best call came in Washington. That line moved 5 points toward Toronto, from Wizards +4.5 to +9.5, and Toronto covered by exactly half a point. The Detroit-Miami favorite also flipped, toward the Pistons, and that move was right. In Utah, the line moved 4 points toward New Orleans, and the Pelicans covered by half a point despite losing. Total moves went 5-6. The biggest miss was Dallas-Indiana, which rose 7 points from 234.5 to 241.5 and then finished at 226.
College football
Stanford was the biggest underdog to win of the whole day. The Cardinal closed at +235, a 28.6% chance, and beat NC State 31-28, covering the 7.5-point spread by 10.5. Wyoming (+210, 30.9%) beat Air Force 28-14 and covered by 21. Duke (+114, 44.9%) won 19-16 at Virginia.
The biggest total miss was Army-Tulsa. It closed at 53.5 and finished at 73, 19.5 over, with Army winning 38-35. Duke-Virginia went the other way: the total fell from 53.5 to 47.5, and the game still came in 12.5 under at 35.
Line moves split 2-2. Virginia's spread shrank from 6.5 to 2.5, toward Duke, and Duke won outright. The Army-Tulsa favorite flipped to Army, which covered by 1.5. The UConn line moved toward UMass, from -15.5 to -12.5, but UConn won 35-16 and covered by 6.5. The Wyoming line moved half a point toward Air Force, and the Cowboys won by 14.
NHL
The NHL had only two games, and both favorites won and covered. The puck line is hockey's spread, usually set at 1.5 goals. The Canadiens (-170, 60.4%) beat the Blackhawks 4-1. The Avalanche (-122, 52.6%) beat the Lightning 6-3. Colorado-Tampa Bay's total rose from 5.5 to 6.5, the game finished with 9 goals, and the move was right.
The long shots
The least likely single result of the day was Stanford's 28.6% win. Next came Wyoming at 30.9% and Dallas at 30.4%. The NBA stood out for how many underdogs won on one night. Together, the closing lines gave its five underdog winners about a 1 in 93 chance. As a hypothetical parlay, which is one bet that needs every pick to win, those five would have paid +7,454. Picking all 12 NBA moneyline winners was about a 1 in 2,407 chance.
In college football, the three underdog winners together had about a 1 in 25 chance. As a hypothetical parlay, they would have paid +2,122. Getting all five college winners right was about a 1 in 61 chance and would have paid +4,795 as one ticket. These parlays are just a way to show how unlikely the night was, not bets anyone is known to have made.
By the numbers
NBA home teams went 2-10 against the spread.
The Hawks covered by 44.5 points, the biggest cover of the night.
Four NBA games were decided against the spread by half a point.
Minnesota-Orlando finished 26.5 points under its total.
Army-Tulsa beat its closing total by 19.5 points.
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I couldn't run any web searches for this edition because the search tool hit its usage limit, so the story has no injury news, outside reporting or fan reaction. Every number comes from the data you provided.
NBA: every game against the line
Favorites 7-5 straight up, 4-8 against the spread. Overs-unders 5-7. DraftKings open → close.
| Final | Spread | Total | Moneyline winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHI 132 @ MIL 125 | MIL -1.5 CHI covered | 239.5 → 241.5 Over (257) | CHI -102 48.3% chance, upset |
| NY 103 @ BOS 107 | BOS -2.5 BOS covered | 223.5 → 220.5 Under (210) | BOS -148 57.2% chance |
| ATL 128 @ CHA 81 | CHA +2.5 ATL covered | 226.5 Under (209) | ATL -142 56.3% chance |
| DAL 121 @ IND 105 | IND -5.5 → -7.5 DAL covered | 234.5 → 241.5 Under (226) | DAL +215 30.4% chance, upset |
| MIN 115 @ ORL 93 | ORL +1.5 → -1.5 MIN covered | 237.5 → 234.5 Under (208) | MIN +102 47.4% chance, upset |
| TOR 112 @ WSH 102 | WSH +4.5 → +9.5 TOR covered | 235.5 → 236.5 Under (214) | TOR -340 74.1% chance |
| DET 128 @ MIA 111 | MIA -1.5 → +2.5 DET covered | 234.5 → 235.5 Over (239) | DET -130 54.3% chance |
| HOU 114 @ SA 110 | SA -5.5 → -4.5 HOU covered | 225.5 → 224.5 Under (224) | HOU +154 37.8% chance, upset |
| NO 119 @ UTAH 120 | UTAH -5.5 → -1.5 NO covered | 241.5 → 238.5 Over (239) | UTAH -112 50.4% chance |
| MEM 111 @ GS 108 | GS -3.5 → -4.5 MEM covered | 235.5 → 236.5 Under (219) | MEM +136 40.7% chance, upset |
| LAC 117 @ LAL 125 | LAL -9.5 → -8.5 LAC covered | 229.5 → 225.5 Over (242) | LAL -360 75.1% chance |
| POR 128 @ SAC 120 | SAC +6.5 → +9.5 SAC covered | 232.5 → 231.5 Over (248) | POR -470 79.1% chance |
NHL: every game against the line
Favorites 2-0 straight up, 2-0 against the puck line. Overs-unders 1-1. DraftKings open → close.
| Final | Puck line | Total | Moneyline winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTL 4 @ CHI 1 | CHI +1.5 MTL covered | 6.5 Under (5) | MTL -170 60.4% chance |
| TB 3 @ COL 6 | COL -1.5 COL covered | 5.5 → 6.5 Over (9) | COL -122 52.6% chance |
College football: every game against the line
Favorites 2-3 straight up, 2-3 against the spread. Overs-unders 2-3. DraftKings open → close.
| Final | Spread | Total | Moneyline winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUKE 19 @ UVA 16 | UVA -6.5 → -2.5 DUKE covered | 53.5 → 47.5 Under (35) | DUKE +114 44.9% chance, upset |
| MASS 16 @ CONN 35 | CONN -15.5 → -12.5 CONN covered | 49.5 → 53.5 Under (51) | CONN -520 80.4% chance |
| ARMY 38 @ TLSA 35 | TLSA -1.5 → +1.5 ARMY covered | 50.5 → 53.5 Over (73) | ARMY -118 51.7% chance |
| AFA 14 @ WYO 28 | WYO +6.5 → +7 WYO covered | 42.5 → 46.5 Under (42) | WYO +210 30.9% chance, upset |
| NCSU 28 @ STAN 31 | STAN +7.5 STAN covered | 55.5 → 54.5 Over (59) | STAN +235 28.6% chance, upset |
Lines are DraftKings' opening and closing numbers. Chance is the closing moneyline with the sportsbook's cut removed. Past results don't predict future ones.
Our picks for this day and how they did