Monday Morning Gambler: UNLV’s Cover Streak Comes To Abrupt End
By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
There was a point in UNLV’s game on Tuesday with UNR that bettors might have given up.
The Runnin’ Rebels were down at halftime, 26-23. The money had moved the line on the game from “pick” to UNR -2.5. And bettors had to wonder: On the road at Reno, would the Rebels fold in the second half?
They didn’t.
In fact, the Rebels, who were +0.5 for the second half, won the second period handily, 39-28, on their way to a 62-54 win over the Wolf Pack. It was their fourth win in five games. Moreover, they had covered all five games for bettors.
Which brought the streaking Rebels back to the Thomas & Mack Center for a showdown on Saturday with conference-leading Boise State. The line closed at Boise State -1.5 with the total at 128.
This time, Boise State dashed UNLV bettors’ hopes with an 86-76 win. The Broncos won both halves although UNLV did lead briefly in the second period. And the Rebel defense was nowhere in sight sending the total over by 38 points.
Coach Kevin Kruger to reporters after the game: “We showed a lot of fight, a lot of grit. To come back on a team like Boise and give ourselves a chance to win, I was really proud of that side of it.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels. UNLV (17-12, 13-15 ATS) next hosts the Wyoming Cowboys (23-5), who will likely be favored, on Wednesday. Wyoming is No. 46 in the current KenPom ratings. UNLV is No. 84.
Elsewhere:
— Down and out: The Vegas Golden Knight have been the mirror opposite of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in not paying bettors.
After a 3-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday night, the boys in the gold-toned helmets had lost four of five games.
They returned to T-Mobile Arena as home underdogs in the tempting +140 range vs. Western Conference-leading Colorado. Although the VGK led 2-1, the Avalanche scored two quick goals in the third period to escape with a 3-2 win. The only Vegas Golden Knights bettors who cashed tickets were those who laid about -185 on the puck line.
Coach Peter DeBoer to reporters after their fifth loss in six games: “We’re in the points business so it’s disappointing. But, boy, we left it out there. That’s exactly how we want to play. We did a lot of really good things — except win.”
Bettors tearing up their tickets surely know that.
The Golden Knights (29-24) next host the San Jose Sharks (24-29) on Tuesday, a game in which they will likely be heavy favorites.
— Grudge match: Colby Covington (16-3-0) is still around -350 vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-15-0) at UFC 272 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Masvidal is around +250 on the buyback in the welterweight main event that some are calling a grudge match between former friends and teammates.
— Masters odds: Las Vegas pro golfer Collin Morikawa is generally about +1200 to win the Masters. Jon Rahm at +850 is the favorite. Much further down the list, Bernhard Langer, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples are all +100000 or 1,000-1. The Masters begins April 7.
— Laugher of the week: If you laid 21 points with Loyola Chicago on Wednesday vs. Evansville, it might have seemed like a lot of points. It wasn’t. The Ramblers steamrolled the Aces, 82-31, covering by 30 points. Wouldn’t it be nice if every game were so easy?
