Weekly Sports Betting Preview

The Final Four of the NCAA Tournament isn't on tap until this weekend, but the semifinals of the NIT will be staged on Tuesday night and many key NHL and NBA betting matchups are also slated for the early part of the sports week.

Massachusetts will take on Stanford in the earlier NIT betting matchup on Tuesday, with the Cardinal a 2.5-point favorite at 5Dimes. Stanford dominated in their quarterfinal matchup and will likely see most of the action on the betting lines for the contest.

In the late NIT betting matchup on Tuesday it’s the top-seeded Washington Huskies as a 2-point betting favorite against No. 6 Minnesota, who upset No. 4 Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals. The NIT Championship Game is then set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Chicago Bulls are the only team to have clinched a playoff berth in the NBA heading into this week, so many spots are still up for grabs. Tuesday night it’s Houston trying to hold onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference - the Rockets will be in tough against the likely home-favored Dallas Mavericks.

Phoenix is still in the race in the West, but will need to come up big against the Spurs on Tuesday night. As well, the Knicks have some injuries right now but the home court advantage should help them on Wednesday night against Orlando, which has not been spectacular on the road so far this season.

The NHL's regular season is winding down, but some playoff races are still percolating. Buffalo is in Washington on Tuesday night for a critical matchup, with both teams in the hunt for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Other key NHL matchups on the board at 5Dimes this week include Florida against Montreal on Tuesday, while Los Angeles against Calgary on Wednesday night should draw plenty of interest on the NHL betting lines. San Jose also has a key matchup against Anaheim on Wednesday this week.