Show notes
Munaf Manji and Dave Essler talk betting for Thursday.
Munaf Manji and Uncle Diamond Dave Esler are back for a full Thursday slate on Cash That Ticket, hitting six games across three sports on the Straight Outta Vegas AM feed for April 2, 2026. The show opens with a quick accounting of Wednesday's results — Dave cashed his best bet on the Knicks team total as New York put up 130 against Memphis, while both hosts own a painful read on Gavin Williams against the Dodgers, with Dave pointing out that you'll pay what he calls the Yamamoto tax on Los Angeles every single night. College basketball leads the show, with two College Basketball Crown Tournament games in Las Vegas on the docket. First, New Mexico against Tulsa, where Dave likes the over on a 161.5 total for two teams that run, shoot threes, and score in bunches, flagging the first-half total of 76 on CBET and DraftKings as a potential in-game angle if the opening minutes drag. Then the conviction play of the night: Illinois State plus 7.5 against Auburn. Dave had gone on record a week earlier saying he'd never bet against the Redbirds, and he's not walking it back now. Illinois State has won on the road at Wake Forest and Dayton, plays with the kind of team cohesion Dave compares to the ball-movement Celtics teams he's admired over the years, and they're going up against an Auburn squad whose perimeter defense ranks 343rd in the entire nation. Dave's best bet for the night is the Illinois State team total over 70.5, backed by five straight games north of 70 points including an 81-point performance against Belmont. In MLB, the Braves travel to the desert to face the Diamondbacks, with Reynaldo López looking like his 2024 All-Star self after posting six innings and one earned run against Kansas City in his season debut. Dave takes Atlanta on the money line, citing concerns with Ryne Nelson's walk rate and the Arizona bullpen's historical unreliability, while Munaf offers the Braves first-five innings run line as the cleaner alternative. Game two of the MLB portion lands the Mets in San Francisco, where both hosts agree on the under 7.5. The Mets have scored three runs in their last 22 innings, Francisco Lindor made a costly mental error on the bases against St. Louis, and Robbie Ray has been sharp for the Giants while the bullpen Dave trusts on the San Francisco side tilts the value toward a low-scoring game. The NBA portion opens with the headline matchup of the night: the Lakers traveling to Oklahoma City, where the defending champion Thunder have gone 15-1 in their last 16 games and remain perfect against Los Angeles this season. Dave bets the OKC team total over, reasoning that the Lakers' defense, anchored by Luka Dončić and an aging LeBron James, cannot contain what the Thunder will generate offensively. Munaf takes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over 31.5 points at minus-113 on DraftKings, noting SGA just went for 47 against Detroit, has owned this matchup historically, and with the MVP race in full swing between him, Wembanyama, and Dončić, has every reason to put on a show. The late game sends the red-hot Spurs to the Intuit Dome for what amounts to their final road game of the regular season. San Antonio is on a 10-game win streak and sits just two games behind Oklahoma City in the West standings. The night before, Wembanyama put up 41 and 18 in 29 minutes against Golden State before coach Mitch Johnson pulled the starters with the game secured. Munaf lays the Spurs at minus-3.5, backing a fresh, deep, motivated squad against a Clippers team still sorting out its play-in seeding. Dave takes the Spurs in the first half. Before the best bets, don't forget the Pregame.com promo: use code PLAYBALL20 for 20 percent off the already discounted MLB Season All Access subscription and let the pros handle the grind of a 14-game-a-night schedule through October.
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