Today’s top games to watch, best bets, odds: Pivotal WNBA matchup, massive MLB slate and more

A pair of WNBA teams fighting for playoff positioning collide Tuesday night as the Golden State Valkyries host the Phoenix Mercury. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET from the Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Mercury (20-13, .606) currently sit in fourth place, percentage points ahead of the Las Vegas Aces (21-14, .600), who take a seven-game winning streak into their Tuesday night contest against the Atlanta Dream.

The Valkyries (18-16) have won seven of their last 10 to enter the playoff picture as the current No. 7 seed. However, the Mercury have won both head-to-head meetings this season. Both clubs are among the most perimeter-oriented teams in the league, and have made 23 3-pointers combined across their previous two matchups.

Golden State saw its four-game winning streak snapped with a 79-63 home loss to the Dream on Sunday, while the Mercury got an 85-82 road win over the Seattle Storm behind a triple-double from Alyssa Thomas (19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists). The Mercury pulled out a 78-77 road win over Golden State on July 14 and an 86-77 home victory on June 5.

Phoenix is a 6.5-point favorite and the over/under for total points scored is 154.5 in the latest WNBA odds for Mercury vs. Valkyries. 

In addition to the five-game WNBA card, the sporting landscape Tuesday also features a full MLB slate, and we’ll look ahead to a pivotal conference clash in Week 0 of the 2025 college football season. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet at the top sportsbooks on Tuesday, Aug. 19. All times Eastern.

WNBA best bets today, where to watch

Mercury vs. Valkyries 

Time: 10 p.m. | Location: San Francisco | TV: ION | Stream: Fubo (watch now, save $20!)

SportsLine picks — Valkyries +6.5 

SportsLine’s WNBA expert tandem of Calvin Wetzel and Aaron Barzilai note Golden State is 8-3 against the spread as a home underdog this season and has yet to fail to cover in back-to-back home games. They see this trend holding up Tuesday and say they would even play this spread at a reduced number. 

More WNBA best bets:

MLB best bets today, where to watch

Yankees at Rays 

Time: 7:35 p.m. | Location: Tampa TV:  MLB Network | Stream: Fubo (watch now, save $20!)

SportsLine picks — Model pick: Rays +1.5 (-160), Expert: Yankees -125 ML 

The SportsLine Projection Model sees a tight outcome in this AL East showdown and willing to lay the relatively thick price to take an insurance run with the underdog Rays. The model sees the Rays covering 1.5 runs at least 63% of the time, a success rate that warrants paying the -160 price tag. 

However, SportsLine MLB expert Zack Cimini (19-12, +633 last 31 MLB picks) prefers the Yankees straight up at -125. He expects a potentially road-weary performance from the Rays, who return home following 12 away contests. He also notes Yankees starter Carlos Rodon picked up a win in his last road outing against the Texas Rangers.

More MLB best bets

Looking ahead: Iowa State vs. Kansas State 

Time: Noon Saturday | Location: Dublin, Ireland | TV: ESPN 

SportsLine expert picks — CFB expert Josh Nagel gives his top picks for Iowa State vs. Kansas State

College football makes its long-awaited return Saturday with five FBS games, highlighted by a clash between Big 12 stalwarts Iowa State and Kansas State. The Cyclones are coming off a season in which they reached the Big 12 title game and have hopes of another such run behind proven gunslinger Rocco Becht at quarterback. However, the battle-tested Wildcats have an accomplished quarterback of their own in Avery Johnson and should have one of the stronger defensive lines in the conference. 

The point spread has seen some movement but has settled in with Kansas State as a 3-point favorite with an over/under total of 48.5 points. The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, sees the Cyclones winning outright with a projected finals score of 28-27. Click here to see the model’s score and player projections for every FBS game on the college football slate Saturday.