Best Sports Betting Picks Today: College Football, NBA, NHL Predictions for November 12

The big fella is back—and just in time for the start of the NBA Cup.

After missing the preseason and first nine games of the regular season, Joel Embiid is set to suit up for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday for the first time in 2024-25.

That’s arguably the greatest area of intrigue at the dawn of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament that will contest group play on Tuesdays and Fridays from today through Dec. 3 to decide an elimination bracket later that month.

We look at the start of the event as well as a showdown between NHL Eastern Conference contenders and a juicy piece of college football MACtion. Let’s go.

New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers

Embiid may have returned sooner from a left knee injury, but he racked up a three-game suspension for shoving a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist. The transgression? Name-dropping Embiid’s son and late brother in a column, calling into question his ability to stay in shape.

Now the star center gets the chance to take out frustration on a Knicks team that eliminated Philly from the playoffs last season. Embiid likely will be on a minutes restriction, but his track record for efficiency and the struggling Sixers’ urgency could equal instant contribution.

Limited to 39 games last season due to injury, Embiid shot 52.9 percent—including 38.8 percent from deep—while averaging a career-best 34.7 points. Look for Embiid to be a force near the rim but also hone his perimeter game away from the bump-and-shove.

Joel Embiid over 1.5 3-pointers, +110 (BetMGM)

New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers

Monday offered the Devils valuable “time to regroup,” goaltender Jake Allen said.

“It’s going to be a tough test this week, a tough challenge.”

That’s because the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils are set to play two games in three nights at the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers beginning Tuesday. The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers have won seven straight and their 23 points are one clear of the Devils for tops in the Eastern Conference.

New Jersey was blanked for the second time in five games during Sunday’s 1-0 home loss to San Jose, unable to solve former Devil Mackenzie Blackwood in a 44-save shutout.

The Panthers needed a shootout to defeat the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the first time in their current tear that they didn’t prevail by at least two goals.

Florida leading scorer Sam Reinhart had an assist to stretch his points streak to seven games and is eager to get another crack at New Jersey. He scored four goals in three games against the Devils last season.

Sam Reinhart over 0.5 points, -225 (BetMGM)

Western Michigan at Bowling Green

Western Michigan lost its perch atop the Mid-American Conference standings with Wednesday’s 42-28 home loss to Northern Illinois.

The same Huskies who upset then-No. 5 Notre Dame in September had since lost three conference games. Their triumph over the Broncos tightened the sprint for a spot in the league championship game in Detroit on Dec. 7, which goes to the top two schools in the MAC.

Western Michigan and Bowling Green are among four teams with one loss, with two others one game behind.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, the NIU game wasn’t an anomaly for the defense. Western Michigan has permitted at least 24 points in four of its five conference contests. The Huskies gained 255 of their 411 yards on the ground while throwing just three incompletions.

Now comes a Bowling Green attack that features the MAC’s top receiver in Harold Fannin Jr. (73 catches, 1,033 yards, six touchdowns) and averages 378.1 yards—slightly behind Western Michigan’s league-best 406.8.

Connor Bazelak has passed for 2,022 yards, third most in the conference, and will oppose a counterpart in the Broncos’ Hayden Wolff, who’ll be primed for a rebound.

Expect offense aplenty.

Over 58.5 points, -110 (BetMGM)