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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Sports Betting Writer
Will the real UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball please stand up?
It wasn’t that long ago that the Rebels upset ranked New Mexico, 84-77.
But on Wednesday, they fell to Boise State, 84-66. And they lost after leading at halftime, 33-31, but allowing the Broncos to dominate the second half, 53-33. Boise State shot 56.4 percent from the field for the game and made eight of 13 shots from beyond the arc in the second half. A slight +1.5 road ‘dog, Boise State officially covered by 19.5 points.
“They did a really good job of continuing to share the ball,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “They’re a great passing team. They share the ball extremely well. They find the open teammate every time.”
The Runnin’ Rebels, now 12-4 but 1-3 in the MWC, next host the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack.
No line yet on the game. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.
Elsewhere:
— Wild Card times: The biggest line for the NFL’s Wild Card weekend involves the Tua-less Miami Dolphins at the Buffalo Bills. That line has jumped from -11 to -13.5 on reports Tua Tagovailoa is ruled out for the Fish. Oddsmakers have set much shorter numbers for both the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the San Diego Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Dallas Cowboys. Both lines have the home team at +2.5. The total on the Baltimore Ravens at the Cincinnati Bengals game has been bet down from 43.5 to 40.5.
— Knights rebound: After defeating the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights (28-13-1-1) return to action Saturday vs. the Edmonton Oilers (22-18-2-1). The Oilers are 12-7-1 on the road. The Golden Knights are 13-10-0-0 at home.
The VGK recovered nicely from their previous drubbing by the Los Angeles Kings in defeating the Panthers, 4-2, affirming captain Mark Stone’s comment: “The good teams, they have one stinker and then they get back on the saddle and they get it going.”
The early line has Foley’s Finest at -162 for the game with the total at 6.5.
The puck drop is at 7 p.m.
— UFC 283: It’s still more than a week away, but Glover Teixeira (33-8-0) will face Jamahal Hill (11-1-0, 1 NC) in the light heavyweight main event of UFC 283 on Jan. 21.
Hill is generally around -125 or so. Teixeira is around even money.
The main event is slated for 7 p.m. at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Expedia says you can get there from Las Vegas in about 19 hours on a flight with two stops that will set you back about $735.)
— Laugher of the week: If you laid 4.5 points with Iowa State vs. Texas Tech on Tuesday, you got to enjoy the game without ever breaking a sweat. The Cyclones rolled to an 84-50 win, officially covering by 29.5 points. On the same day, blue bloods Kentucky and Villanova also lost outright. Duke failed to cover -9 the following day vs. Pitt. The big names in college basketball are struggling, but whether oddsmakers have adjusted the betting lines enough is unclear.
— Play of the Week (9-8): After thriving during the cushy days of college football and running our record to 8-3, our Play of the Week picker has faltered and stumbled to 9-8. We (and several sharps, it turns out) were on Raiders-49ers over 52.5, but the high total was never seriously threatened. This week, we’re on Tampa Bay +2.5 in the NFL Wild Card game.