By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Why not? They were laying 15.5 points visiting the third-from-last in the conference San José Spartans. A reasonable wager? Perhaps.
Regardless, some 40 minutes of basketball later at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Friday, UNLV had a win and a cover with a 76-60 victory. Close? Very close. But games are decided by the “hook” every day. The total went under 144.
“I’m hoping we can all put it together as a group,” coach T.J. Otzelberger told reporters after the game. “Hopefully, that’s still in front of us.”
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And for UNLV bettors, some covers by a more comfortable margin wouldn’t hurt either.
For weekend bettors, that was only the warm-up. The big game was NHL’s Outdoor Lake Tahoe game scheduled for noon Saturday between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort at Lake Tahoe.
Beyond the novelty of a game being played outdoors at Stateline, Nevada, VGK bettors were laying roughly -105 and the total was 5.5.
After one period of outdoor ice hockey, the Avalanche led 1-0, but there was an issue. With the sun shining brightly, there were pockets of soft ice on the outdoor rink. Warm-up indeed.
“We’ve done over 30 outdoor games,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters. “This has been the most difficult weather circumstance we’ve had, and it’s a beautiful day.”
The game wouldn’t resume until 9 p.m. And more than 10 hours later, bettors finally knew the outcome: Colorado 3, Vegas 2.
The VGK meet the Avalanche again on Monday, this time in Colorado at an indoor arena under controlled climate conditions. The line has moved to Colorado -135 and Vegas +115 to break its two-game losing streak against Colorado. The total is 5.5.
So end the weekend with a bet on the Runnin’ Rebels? This time the number drifted down to -13.5 with the total at 143.5. Were oddsmakers saying UNLV lacked the killer instinct to soundly put away San José State in the Sunday rematch? If so, they were right. UNLV struggled to a 67-64 victory, and the total again went under 143.5.
“We’re lucky and fortunate to come out with the win,” Otzelberger told reporters.
San José State bettors would likely agree. And take the cover, thank you very much.
Elsewhere:
— Derrick Lewis hit heavily favored Curtis Blaydes with a crushing uppercut KO in the second round of in a heavyweight match at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday. Blaydes was around a -420 favorite. Lewis paid bettors as much as +350.
ESPN Stats & Information called it the was the biggest upset in a UFC main event since Michael Bisping beat Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 in 2016.
UFC 259 is slated for March 6. Israel Adesanya, around -275, will face reigning light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz, about +220, in the main event in Las Vegas.
— William Hill has posted Major League Baseball win totals for 2021. At the top of the list are the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers at 104.5. The New York Yankees are second highest at 96, after opening at 97. At the other end, the Pittsburgh Pirates have the lowest total at 58.
— In college hoops, the Houston Cougars rolled Sunday in one of the Laughers of the Week. Laying 12.5, Houston crushed the Cincinnati Bearcats, 90-52. That gave them a comfortable cover cushion of 25.5 points. (UNLV, take note.)
— The Los Angeles Lakers are still favored to win the NBA Finals at around +250. The Brooklyn Nets are next at around +400 followed by the Los Angeles Clippers at +500. The Utah Jazz, who actually lead the Western Conference with a 24-6 mark, are +1400. The playoffs run from May 22 to July 22.