Weekend Sports Gambler: Good News, Bad News on the UNLV Rebels Football Program
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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Sports Betting Writer
If you’ve been following UNLV football this season, there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is the team is 7-3 against-the-spread.
The bad news is they are 4-6 and on a five-game losing streak.
But with two games to go, the Rebels can still become bowl eligible by winning their remaining two games against Hawaii and UNR. To put it another way (dialing up 1-800 SPORTS CLICHES), they control their own destiny.
First up is Hawaii. The Rebels are 10.5-point favorites for Saturday’s game in Hawaii. The total has come down from 59 to 55.5.
Ironically, the Rainbow Warriors (2-8) are also struggling in the won/loss column but are 7-3 ATS.
“(The end of the season) means something for the first time in a long time,” coach Marcus Arroyo told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “That’s exciting.”
We’ll find out how exciting after kickoff at Aloha Stadium at 8 p.m.
Elsewhere:
— Attention for Runnin’ Rebels: The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball program is turning a few heads after upsetting No. 21 Dayton, 60-52, on Tuesday.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of them,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said afterward.
The Rebels (3-0, 1-2 ATS) next host High Point on Friday at the Thomas & Mack. The Panthers are also 3-0. They covered the only game that had a betting line, a 91-80 win over Wofford in which they were favored by -2.5.
UNLV is -12.5 for the game with the total at 139.5.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
— The lowdown at Mile High: The Las Vegas Raiders (2-7), whose season has slowly capsized like a less glamorous version of the Titanic, next face the Denver Broncos, who at 3-6 are also in the lower echelon of the NFL.
The Broncos are 2.5-point favorites with the total at 41.5 for the game at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High with first-year Raiders coach Josh McDaniels directly in the cross-hairs of the discussion.
“People in today’s world want instant gratification. The guy’s coached nine games. We’re 2-7, not the results we’re looking for, but at the same time we’ve lost six one-score games with the ball and a chance to win at the end,” owner Mark Davis told ESPN.
Let’s just say Sunday’s game lacks playoff drama. The two teams’ combined record is 5-13. The Raiders are winless on the road in five games. At Covers.com, 56 percent of the betting interest is on the Broncos.
Kickoff, for those brave enough to watch, is at 1:05 p.m.
— On the road again: The Vegas Golden Knights rebounded from losses to the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks with a 4-1 win vs. the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night in which they were heavily favored in the -405 range.
“We made them work hard to get into the zone … expending some energy and some time to get set up,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy told The Associated Press.
The Golden Knights now return to to the road with a game Saturday at the Edmonton Oilers. No line yet on the game, but we’ll make the Knights (14-4) about a -150 favorite vs. the Oilers (9-8) with a total around 6.
The puck drop is at 7 p.m.
— Snow day: Oddsmakers aren’t expecting much offense in Saturday’s college football matchup pitting Iowa at Minnesota. The total is 32.5. A 13- mph wind is predicted, and snow is possible.
— Play of the Week (8-3): We improved our record to 8-3 on the season when Auburn, -1.5, defeated Texas A&M, 13-10 last weekend. This weekend, we’re playing Oklahoma State at Oklahoma over 66.5.
