Saturday Best Bets, Friday Recaps
Friday was another action-packed day with a full slate of college basketball conference tournament games, but I also went back to school as I made my annual Career Day presentation at a local elementary school.
Yes, I was talking with four classes of fifth graders about the sports betting industry (hey, they live in Las Vegas so they gotta learn it sometime, especially with the Super Bowl coming here next February!), but actually the major emphasis of my talk and Q&A session was on sportswriting, journalism and the evolving media world in general. Don’t worry, I didn’t corrupt their young minds too much as they were much more interested in famous athletes I’ve interviewed (Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, etc.) and who I thought was better (Jordan vs. LeBron or Messi vs. Ronaldo). Of course, I was also following my bets. I split my NCAA plays during the day with Rutgers +6.5 covering in its 70-65 loss vs. Purdue but Mississippi State +7.5 getting blown out 72-49 by Alabama; and then lost later with Arizona State +8 vs. Arizona as the Sun Devils were hanging around until the Wildcats pulled away late to win 78-59. At least I won my lone NBA play on the Spurs +12.5 vs. the Nuggets (I doubt you saw that play anywhere else) as San Antonio pulled off the 128-120 outright upset and +600 on the money line (cha-ching!). Let’s recap the rest of Friday’s action in the major team sports and then look for plays on Friday.Friday Recaps
NBA: Faves/dogs split 3-3 SU on Friday but dogs led 4-2 ATS as Blazers (+9) covered in 120-119 loss at 76ers. The upsets were by the Spurs (+12.5 in 128-120 win vs. Nuggets), Nets (+4.5 in 124-123 win at Timberwolves) and Lakers (+3 in 122-112 win vs. Raptors). Home teams 4-2 SU but only 3-3 ATS. Overs led 5-1.
More NBA: On the season, favorites lead 647-341 SU with 15 games closing pick-'em, but underdogs improved to 492-473-23 ATS (51%). Home teams lead 592-411 SU and 511-471-21 ATS (52%). In totals wagering, Overs improved slim lead to 501-487-15 (50.7%).