Monday Morning Gambler: UNLV Bettors Get To Cash A Ticket In Dramatic (Point Spread) Outcome

Close. 

Very close.

It was No. 22 ranked San Diego State at UNLV, and the outcome was not decided until the final seconds.

We’re not talking about the game, of course. That was decided down the stretch. The Aztecs won, 71-62, on Wednesday. No surprise there.

But the point spread was closely contested, and there was a dramatic finish. UNLV was +9.5. San Diego State led at halftime, 35-28. In the second half, San Diego State extended the lead to as much as 16 points. UNLV fought back to cut the margin to eight. The Aztecs, in turn, went on a 9-0 run for a 62-45 lead. With less than a minute, San Diego State led, 71-56, and +9.5 didn’t look very promising for bettors clutching UNLV tickets in their sweaty palms.

But with 33 seconds left, Caleb Grill sunk a three-point shot. Then David Jenkins Jr. made another three-point bucket with 28 seconds left.

And just like that, UNLV covered +9.5. By the narrowest of margins. As we said, close. Very close. 

The last basket also brought the total at 133, just over the total of 131.5.

UNLV concluded the regular season on Saturday at Wyoming. Oddly, the line moved to UNLV -9 in some spots before tip. But Wyoming won outright, 80-69 as the Runnin’ Rebels apparently ran out of run in their final game. The total went over 144.5. 

UNLV finished the regular season at an unremarkable 11-14. Last year, they were 17-15.

In the first round of the Mountain West conference tournament seventh-seeded UNLV next plays No. 10 seed Air Force on Wednesday.

Elsewhere:

— Kyle Larson drove his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory on Sunday in NASCAR Pennzoil 400 before about 12,500 fans. He led a race-high 103 of the 267 laps around the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He paid bettors about +1000.

Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five. Kevin Harvick, who was sitting on the pole for Sunday’s race and who would have paid about +650, finished well back in 20th place.

“That was some fun racing on the restarts, so I hope everybody enjoyed it. I know I did,” Larson told NASCAR.com.

The next NASCAR Cup Series race is the Instacart 500 on Sunday at the Phoenix Raceway.

— The high-flying, gold-hatted Vegas Golden Knights beat the San Jose Sharks twice, 5-4 and 4-0, rewarding bettors who paid around -200 and -220, respectively, on Friday and Saturday. They put their six-gaming winning streak on the line against the Minnesota Wild on Monday at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, and are -115 with the total at 5.5.

— Jan Blachowicz upset Israel Adesanya on Saturday in the light heavyweight championship at UFC 259 in Las Vegas. Blachowicz paid bettors a respectable +215 in his win by unanimous decision. Over 2.5 rounds at -175 also paid.

“Everyone who supports me, all my people, I appreciate you. I’m sorry,” Adesanya said at his press conference. “I like to make my fans be proud when they say what I’m going to do, what I’ve already said being champ-champ or double champ, whatever. I’m sorry I let you down but if you want to get off the hype train, get the f–k off the hype train.”

Next up is UFC Fight Night on Saturday with Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad in the welterweight main event. Edwards is generally a -250 to -275 favorite.

— Selection Sunday for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is on tap for Sunday. Futures favorites include Gonzaga at around +275, Baylor at +300 and Michigan at +400. Further down Drake and Miami-Florida are +8000.

Most of the tournament’s 67 games will play out in Indianapolis. The Final Four will be on April 3 and April 5. 

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