Weekend Sports Gambler: Pay Attention, You Might Find Golden Knights On A ‘Buy’ Cycle
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By Dan Behringer, LVSportsBiz.com Sports Betting Writer
The Vegas Golden Knights appear to be on a “buy” cycle — that is, going through a stretch where bettors can regularly cash tickets on them.
It started after the All-Star break when the VGK beat Nashville Predators, 5-1, at around +106. Two days later the Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild by an identical score. This time, they were -106.
Last Sunday, while crowds were cheering for their favorite prop bet during the Super Bowl, Foley’s Finest put a whipping on the Anaheim Ducks, 7-2. They were heavily favored at around -356 but easily covered the puck line around -140.
That brought the Golden Knights to their game Thursday vs. the San Jose Sharks, which they won, 2-1, when William Carrier scored with 16.6 seconds remaining.
They went off at around -195 with 73 percent of the betting interest on Vegas. Bettors might have been anxious during the game since the Boys with the Gold Helmets went 0-for-7 on the power play for the second time in franchise history, muffing multiple chances to put the game away earlier.
“It’s not easy to win in this league,” coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters after the game. “We stuck with it. Came back in the third period to win a hockey game, and that’s not easy to do, either. There’s things we need to fix, but I’m happy we came out of the right side of things.”
The “buy” cycle gets a severe test on Saturday at the Ice Palace on the Strip, sometimes called The House Jim Murren Built, when the formidable Tampa Bay Lightning visit. The early line has Vegas at around -111.
The puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
Elsewhere:
— No luck for the Rebs: While the Vegas Golden Knights have been cashing tickets for bettors, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels appear to have been on the “sell” cycle — that is, bet against them.
On Tuesday, they went off as 7.5-point favorites vs. San Jose State at the Thomas & Mack. But the Spartans won both periods on their way to a 76-66 outright win.
“We had good pockets tonight and battled at times, but obviously not enough,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger told UNLV’s website. “We didn’t sustain it for long enough stretches to come out on top. We made a good push there in the second half, but it just wasn’t enough.”
Obviously.
Savvy bettors might have remembered that San Jose also beat the Rebels in their conference opener, 75-72, on Dec. 28 and made their wagers accordingly.
UNLV (16-10, 5-9 MWC ) and losers of two straight, will next be at Boise State (20-6, 10-3) on Sunday. No line yet on the game.
Tipoff is at 6 p.m.
— Next stop? Wanna bet where Derek Carr will land next?
After Carr was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, Fox Sports posted odds on where Carr might land. The Panthers were +250, Buccaneers +300, Saints +450, Jets +800 and Colts +900, according to that post.
“The dream scenario for Derek Carr is ending up in New York with the Jets with all the young weapons they have,” FOX Bet trading associate Matthew Griffe said in the post.
From another perspective, Covers.com has odds posted on where Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers might end up after he emerges from hibernation, er, make that his darkness retreat. The Raiders are -390, and the Packers themselves are +300.
NBA All-Star Weekend: Team LeBron is -2 and Team Giannis is +2 for the NBA All-Star game on Sunday in Salt Lake City. The total is 318.5.
If you lean toward betting the game’s MVP, Giannis is +400, LeBron +600 and Damian Lillard +700.
— Blowouts and laughers: If you’re looking for a wider edge than a game like the NBA All-Star Game that may be decided by a few points, you may wish to poke around college basketball betting lines. Just as an example from Thursday, South Alabama was a -0.5 favorite vs. Southern Mississippi but won 85-84, a cover by 30.5 points. Rice was an 11.5-point favorite vs. Texas San Antonio, but the Road Runners won outright, 84-79, a cover by 16.5 points. Iowa was as low as -6.5 vs. struggling Ohio State, but put away the Buckeyes, 92-75, a cover by 10.5 points.
