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By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Drama in the WNBA Semifinals?
Who’d a thunk it.
But there were the Las Vegas Aces, the overall futures favorite and the No. 2 seed, playing the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday afternoon at Arizona State’s Desert Financial Arena with the best-of-five series tied at one game each.
The Aces had won Game 1, 96-90. But it was the Mercury that covered both the first-half and game’s betting line at +6.5. Then in what was perhaps an unexpected turn, the Mercury pummeled the Aces, 117-91 in Game 2, covering +6 for this game by 32 points.
Said coach Bill Laimbeer after the game to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “I told anybody that would listen that (Diana) Taurasi would try to take over the game and be the star of the show and will them to the win. And she did. It’s a series. We have lots of time to make adjustments, find our game and come back and win. We’re a very confident team. We think we can win anywhere we play, and that’s our task.”
Somebody was listening. In fact, according to Covers.com, most of the betting action was on Phoenix in Game 2.
In fact, Covers.com noted that 58 percent of the betting interest was again on Phoenix for Game 3 even though the Aces were -1.5-point favorites in the Sunday matinee.
Phoenix again brought its “A” game, winning every quarter en route to a 87-60 victory over Las Vegas. The Aces managed only eight points in the fourth quarter.
Laimbeer after the game to the Review-Journal: “Too many pick-and-rolls. Not enough ball movement. … We have another game to play Wednesday. I think we’re going to play our best game in that one.”
Game 4, which is now an elimination game for the Aces, is also in Phoenix on Wednesday. Expect the Mercury to be favored this time.
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Elsewhere:
— Prime time: The Las Vegas Raiders, will be back in the spotlight when they travel to play the Los Angeles Chargers at So-Fi stadium on Monday Night Football. The betting line, as high as -4 on the Chargers at some shops earlier, has come down to -3. The total is 51.5.
“We just want to win,” coach Jon Gruden said at a press conference late in the week in response to a question on the run game. “If we have to throw it, we’ll throw it. We do want to run. We’re trying. We’ll continue to try.”
Running back Josh Jacobs is questionable for the game.
— Covering, but not winning: The UNLV Rebels put up another brave fight on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, before falling to the Texas-San Antonio Road Runners, 24-17. The Rebels are still winless under coach Marcus Arroyo. But this season, they are a respectable 3-1-1 ATS after covering +21.5 on Saturday. Funny, when you cash a ticket, it’s rare that someone mentions that the team hasn’t actually won a game since 2019.
After a bye week, they next host Utah State on Oct 16.
— Life at the top: Betting the top teams again in college football? You generally enjoyed good success over the weekend. No. 1 Alabama, -15, rolled to a relatively easy 42-21 win over Ole Miss. No. 2 Georgia, -16.5, blanked Arkansas, 37-0. But No. 3 Oregon, -8.5, lost outright to Stanford in overtime, 31-24. Penn State, -12.5, defeated Indiana, 24-0. And No. 5 Iowa, -3, exploded in the second quarter en route to a 51-24 win over Maryland.
If you’re thinking of duplicating four out of five next weekend, remember the financial advisers’ mantra: Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
— Countdown to opener: The Vegas Golden Knights will be at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday for another preseason tune-up. They are still -250 vs. the Seattle Kracken in the season opener on Oct. 12 and about +750 in the futures market to win the Stanley Cup.
— Baseball playoffs set: It took all of 162 games to determine the final Major League Baseball playoff berths. MLB Wild Card action opens with the Boston Red Sox hosting the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday. The National League Wild Card has the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. The early line on Tuesday’s game has the Yankees behind Gerrit Cole favored at -115 vs. the Boston Red Sox. The total is 8.5.
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