Sports Betting This Weekend: Arizona-Purdue, Ravens-Jaguars, Cure Bowl

The holiday sports fortnight begins in earnest this weekend with the start of bowl season. There are also important regular-season games in the NFL, college basketball, and beyond. 

The BetMGM online sportsbook has all the odds you need to enjoy this season of betting. 

College Football Bowl Games

Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State

Saturday, Dec. 16  |  3:30 p.m. ET  |  ABC/ESPN+

The 2023 college football bowl season explodes into session this Saturday, as 12 teams from G5 conferences kick off every gridiron fan’s favorite holiday season. Georgia Southern kicks off against Ohio at 11 a.m. EST.

Additionally, the Saturday college football slate will also feature the popular Celebration Bowl, pitting MEAC champion Howard against SWAC champion Florida A&M. That game begins at noon on ABC. 

Arguably the best game of the day is in the midafternoon window, as MAC champion Miami (OH) takes on Appalachian State from the Sun Belt.

App State (8-5) scored one of the more memorable upsets of the season, ending JMU’s undefeated run in overtime in Week 12 after a record-breaking College GameDay show. The Mountaineers went on to play in the Sun Belt Championship game because of JMU’s transitional ineligibility. 

In this game, though, App State won’t be the plucky underdog. Miami (11-2) is a 6.5-point underdog, as of BetMGM’s Thursday college football odds, despite the fact that the RedHawks have lost only one game since Week 2. Their defense allows only 16 points per game, which ranks seventh in FBS.

College Basketball

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 3 Purdue

Saturday, Dec. 16  |  4 p.m. ET  |  Peacock

Who says March is the only month for great NCAA basketball odds? Saturday’s hardcourt schedule features an incredible nonconference showdown between the two teams currently favored to win the national championship: Arizona and Purdue.

Arizona might have an edge as far as the AP Poll is concerned, but both the Wildcats and Boilermakers are +1000 apiece in the college basketball national championship odds table. 

Purdue center Zach Edey – once again the favorite in the Wooden Award odds market – is averaging 24.8 points per game, which ranks second nationally behind only Southern Illinois’ Xavier Johnson. His 10.8 rebounds per game is also a top 10 mark.

Any successful strategy for Arizona must involve constraints on Edey. But the Wildcats have a great inside-out game between guard Caleb Love and 7-footer Oumar Ballo that makes them equally formidable. 

NFL

Ravens at Jaguars

Sunday, Dec. 17  |  8:20 p.m. ET  |  NBC

With four games left in the season, the Baltimore Ravens are in position to seize the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. They’re now second in the Super Bowl odds table. 

But can they hold onto the high seed with a challenging final month of games?

That gauntlet – which includes games against the 49ers, Dolphins, and archrival Steelers – begins this Sunday, when the Ravens travel to Jacksonville.

The Jaguars were in position to jump into first place in the AFC as recently as 10 days ago, when they hosted a hobbled Cincinnati team on Monday Night Football. A win would have propelled Jacksonville to the top of the standings, just two seasons after the team went 3-14 under Urban Meyer’s tenure. 

Instead, Jacksonville lost to the Bengals in overtime, then followed it up with a road loss in Cleveland last week. The Jags are clinging to a one-game lead in the AFC South, with both Houston and Indianapolis lapping at their heels. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been dealing with a high ankle sprain.

Both teams really want this game for playoff positioning. On Thursday, BetMGM’s NFL odds priced the Ravens as a 3-point road favorite.