Unrivaled Best Bets Today: 2 Top Picks for Friday, January 9

Unrivaled season two is back and in full force!

Photo courtesy of Unrivaled

Four consecutive nights of basketball, from Friday through Monday, will be aired on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max. In 2024, Unrivaled announced a six-year media rights broadcast deal with TNT Sports. Talk about visibility, this is what women's sports have lacked for so long.

For those who don't know, the 3-on-3 women's professional league was created by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart in 2023. Debuted in 2024, the league provides an alternative source of income and opportunity to stay stateside during the WNBA offseason. While several women have opted to play overseas in the past, Unrivaled offers competitive salaries, state-of-the-art amenities, multiple practice courts, private entrances, chefs, and more.

Rose BC won the inaugural championship, and there have been several positive changes to the league this season. The league expanded to eight teams, adding Breeze and Hive BC. While its home base is Miami for nine weeks, the league will travel to Philadelphia for matchups in late January.

Unrivaled featured a fast-paced style of basketball on a court measuring 72 by 49.2 feet. Featuring three seven-minute quarters, the fourth quarter utilizes a target score.  The first team to reach that final score wins. With only six players on the court at once, fatigue can set in, and defensive players can be exposed. That's the challenge, yet thrill when betting on a league like Unrivaled!

Sorry bettors, there's no overtime in this league.

Unrivaled Schedule & Betting Odds For January 9 (DraftKings)

Unrivaled Odds Are Current As of January 9 at 10 A.M. ET

If you're looking to bet on Unrivaled, welcome!

The first night last week did not disappoint, and this week signals the first full week of the season.

Set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET, Rose is tabbed as a 3.5-point spread favorite against Vinyl. At 8:45 p.m. ET, Breeze will take on Hive. Both matchups tonight will be broadcast on TNT/truTV, with a pregame and postgame show.

Let's take a look at my three best bets for the Friday, Jan. 9 Unrivaled matchups! In this article, I focused on spread bets. 2-1 betting on Unrivaled this season, I cashed out on Mist and Rose spreads last week.

Are you in search of further Unrivaled and sports betting promotions? We have compiled a list of the best sports betting offers here. 

Unrivaled Bet Bets

• Rose -3.5
• Breeze +4.5

Unrivaled Injury Report For Jan. 9

• Vinyl: Brittney Griner (OUT, R Lower Extremity)
• Rose: Kahleah Copper (OUT, R Lower Extremity)
• Breeze: Aari McDonald (OUT, R Lower Extremity)
• Hive: None

Vinyl vs. Rose

• Rose BC -3.5 (-115 DraftKings)

Today marks a rematch of the Inaugural season championship between Vinyl and Rose BC. Defeating Vinyl 62-54 to win its first-ever title, Rose will look to continue where it left off.

Although both teams are vastly different and newly constructed, Chelsea Gray, Azurà Stevens, Lexie Hull, and Kahleah Copper are all returning for Rose this season.

Rose took care of a Napheesa Collier-less Lunar Owls 80-62 on opening night, led by Gray, who produced 35 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Scoring the first 30-bomb of the season, will she be the first to have her jersey retired for Unrivaled?

Known as the "Point Gawd," Gray continues to thrive as she always does with her no-look and flashy passes. Shooting 14-20 from the field, and 5-10 from 3-point range, no one could stop her. In the pick-and-roll, mid-range game, or beyond the arc, Gray was sensational.

Of course, Rose had an advantage, given that the Lunar Owls were without both Collier and Skylar Diggins. Even so, this is a team that already has chemistry, and maybe Copper will lace up tonight. Having missed most of last year with an injury, the return of Copper could put the Rose at the top of the leaderboard.

Rose Dominated Last Week: Chelsea Gray, Azurá Stevens Dominance

Boasting the third-best odds to win the 2026 Unrivaled Championship (+450), I was extremely impressed by Stevens' ability to stretch the floor and activity in the pick-and-roll with Gray. Standing 6'6', don't let that fool you—Stevens shot over 38% from 3-point with the Sparks last WNBA season. On Unrivaled's opening night, she finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, shooting 7-18 from the floor, and 2-6 from beyond the arc. We all remember her 19 rebounds in the championship game, right?

It's evident that Rose mastered the Lunar Owls' lack of rhythm, spacing, size, and shooting. While overcoming the duo of Marina Mabrey and Aaliyah Edwards, I was even more impressed with Shakira Austin's ability to play a part (12 points, six rebounds) in the pick-and-roll. This very well may be the best PNR and facilitating team in Unrivaled. Speaking of passing, Sug Sutton may be the addition Rose needed. An underrated passer, she finished with four assists and is a speedy player who can easily get downhill (seven points).

Anchored by Stevens and Austin in the frontcourt, I'm not worried about size here, although Rose finished with the fewest rebounds of any team (30). Plus, we all know that Lexie Hull is a critical x-factor who not only defends but is a certified flamethrower. Speaking of defense, this is a Rose squad that tallied 11 steals and limited the Lunar Owls to 44.4% field goal and 27.8% 3-point shooting. Sutton alone recorded five steals!

What was so impressive was the fact that every player on Rose finished with a positive +/-. Dominating on the second-chance opportunities, Rose's 25-9 first-quarter lead was quite impressive.

Vinyl's Struggles on Full Display

Vinyl BC hardly embodied a squad that ventured to the championship game last season. With Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, and Rae Burrell returning from last season, opening night was an utter disaster.

Losing to the newly minted Laces, 58-44, Vinyl is now last in the standings in points per game. Flustered to the max, this isn't a team that resembles Olympic 3x3 players in Hamby and Howard.

Shooting 17-48 (35.4%) from the field, and 4-20 (20%) from three, Vinyl couldn't hit a shot if they wanted to. I doubt Howard will repeat a 3-15 (FG), and 2-10 3-point shooting performance, but she is the ultimate x-factor for this team. Leading the team with 15 shot attempts, Rae Burrell and Brittney Griner combined for just four points and four shot attempts each.

On paper, this should be one of the more experienced teams, and newly acquired guard Courtney Williams should thrive in the pick-and-roll with Dearica Hamby. Considered one of the best mid-range shooters in women's basketball, this is where Williams can thrive.

I was a bit disappointed by the abysmal offense, and the Vinyl must get Hamby more involved on the paint today (eight points vs. Laces). That said, Vinyl will have to heavily rely on its starting three: Hamby, Williams, and Howard. We know Rae Burrell is considered one of the most athletic players in the game, but I'm torn on her and Griner's roles on this team. While the pace did not favor Griner last year, that will remain a challenge in the 3-on-3 setting.

Aside from Erica Wheeler and her speed, I'm not all that confident in the Vinyl bench.

Unrivaled Championship Rematch: Vinyl vs Rose

While it's possible, I don't think Vinyl wins this outright, as mentioned previously, I'm going to have to see chemistry. They settled for threes, which cannot happen tonight, especially against Rose.

The difference between these teams is the bench strength. This is especially if Copper returns tonight. This roster would almost be unfair at that point. If not, the Rose will be short a player, but we can't underestimate Austin and Sutton. For Vinyl, Griner played just 2.4 minutes, which was perplexing, along with Burrell, who played just nine minutes.

I was impressed by Vinyl's defense, which held Laces to 58 points on 44.6% field goal shooting. Not to mention, both Howard and Williams are two-way players. If they stick to their plan from last week offensively, I can't see this going too well. On paper, they have several scorers with Howard, Williams, Wheeler, and Hamby. Is it just a matter of time to gel and develop chemistry?

The line originally favored Rose by 2.5 points, and it has now opened up to 3.5. 1-0 ATS this season, Rose isn't the favorite to win the championship this season, but has shown they can beat teams alone with Finals MVP Chelsea Gray.

Final Unrivaled Best Bet Pick and Prediction Today: Rose -3.5 (-115 DraftKings)

If Griner is still recovering from injury, Vinyl will be forced to play small against Stevens and Austin tonight. Nola Henry is considered one of the premier coaches in Unrivaled and is wily in her schemes. Now, it's been reported that Grinder has been ruled out tonight.

• I'm laying the points with Rose tonight. They were a well-oiled machine on both sides of the ball last week, although they will remain without Kahleah Copper tonight. Rhyne Howard will have to improve her shot, and Vinyl will have to commit to a small-ball lineup. While their defense is strong, I don't trust this team offensively... just yet.

Breeze vs. Hive

Tonight marks the first matchup between two expansion teams: Breeze and Hive. Headlined by Dallas Wings' star Paige Bueckers, Breeze and company knocked off a brand new Phantom crew 69-62 on opening day.

Comprised of younger players, Breeze mainly relied on its main core of Bueckers, Rickea Jackson, and Dominique Malonga, who combined for 57 points. Leading the pack with 24 points, Bueckers has been crowned the nickname "Midrange Mommy, delivering five rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.

Defeating Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Plum, and Tiffany Hayes, to name a few, is a tall task. The question is: can Breeze continue to rely heavily on its core three? I wasn't impressed with Cameron Brink, who logged just seven minutes of playing time and got into foul trouble. Not to mention, Kate "money" Martin, who scored eight points in just under seven minutes.

Aari McDonald has been ruled out for Breeze tonight, but it will shorten its rotation even further. Sure, there's no question Breeze has certified bucket scorers, and it's evident that Jackson has further refined her game in the off-season. This team thrives off of Bueckers' ability to score in the mid-range and get downhill, in addition to the pick-and-roll game with Malonga.

Aside from Martin, every player finished positive +/- on the court, and won the battle with Phantom in the paint, 39-34. Not only were second-chance points critical for Breeze, but their ability to score in numerous ways was impressive. Shooting 2-10 from three, that worries me a bit, especially since the three-ball is so prevalent in today's game.

I expect Breeze to show out defensively, which is exactly what happened last week. Limiting Phantom to 62 points, Breeze restricted them to 41% from the field and 6-20 (30%) from beyond the arc.

Can Hive Climb Back?

There's no doubt that the Hive has a disadvantage, as none of its players have previous three-on-three experience. Headline by Kelsey Mitchell—don't sleep on this team.

Having lost to the Mist 72-56 on opening day, it's not as bad as it seems. Not only did they play one of the strongest teams in Unrivaled, but Miist is also the favorite on DraftKings to win it all (+300 odds). Competing against Breanna Stewart, Allisha Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Veronica Burton, and Alanna Smith is no easy feat—that team is stacked.

Hive is considered the underdog, especially since two of its six players (Sonia Citron, Saniya Rivers) were rookies from the 2025 WNBA Draft Class.

There's some good and bad to take away from last week's matchup. The bad—Hive shot just 2-15 (13.3%) from 3-point and put up just 56 points. Scoring the least amount of points of all eight teams is certainly worrisome. In addition, they were shredded on the glass, and allowed five Mist players to score in double-figures. While Mist shot less than optimal, they scored 42 points in the paint, and thrived in second-chance opportunities.

There's no question that personal fouls were a challenge for Hive; however, I was encouraged by Rivers' defensive efforts  (three stocks) and Monique Billings' ability to find her way to the line with a stat line of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks.

Battle of The Expansion Teams

Kelsey Mitchell is a walking bucket, but underperformed with 11 points on 4-13 field goal shooting. Where I think Hive can keep up tonight is in the 3-point game. Head Coach Rena Wakama is clearly committed to the long-range game, and Hive took 15 3-point shots last game. While they certainly weren't falling, I was encouraged that sharpshooter Sonia Citron took 12 shots alone. Viable snipers from long distance, both Mitchell and Citron can keep Hive alive if they catch fire from beyond the arc.

Both teams have several players who have the ability to get to the free-throw line, which is critical in Unrivaled—notably, Bueckers, Mitchell, Citron, and Billings. Without McDonald, Breeze loses a player who not only fills in for Bueckers at guard, but can also get downhill.

There's no question that Malonga and Cameron Brink can pose a threat to any frontcourt opponent. Tonight, she faces Seattle Storm teammate Ezi Magbegor, who's quite familiar with her game. Earning All-Defensive Team honors, don't sleep on Magbegor—or Billings, for that matter (can space the floor).

Final Unrivaled Best Bet Pick and Prediction Today: Hive +4.5 (-115 DraftKings)

While the shooting may seem shaky, the Hive have bucket getters to keep up with Citron and Mitchell, and Natisha Heideman has proven herself as an x-factor in any league. A player who can space and push the pace, Heideman is lethal in transition.

• I'm laying the points with Hive tonight. While they don't have the advantage size-wise, this is a diverse squad. It all comes down to Wakama's rotations, who was hesitant to play all of her players last week. Dividing up the playing time fairly equally, health is their greatest wealth. I know I'm going against the public, as 92% of the public is betting on Breeze to cover the spread on DraftKings.  The Breeze is loaded with talent, and the Bueckers and Malonga mid-range and pick-and-roll deems unguardable. The question remains: how much playing time will Brink receive tonight? Can she stay out of foul trouble?