Sportsologists

15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units

31-29 on NCAAB in 2018 up 3.93 units

Villanova -9.5 for 3 units. Providence just does not have the 3-point shooting to keep up with Villanova. The Wildcats won the first meeting between these two by 20. Villanova also has the better defense. Villanova lost to St. John’s because of St. John’s strong guard play, I do not think the Friars can get a performance like Shamorie Ponds put up for the Red Storm. Providence is 8-15 against the spread and Villanova is 17-8 against the spread. I thought this line would be about 13, so I am taking the value and the favorite.

VCU +3 for 2 units. Davidson has the better defense, but VCU has the better offense. Both these teams are 11-10 against the spread this season. Justin Tillman had 37 points in his last game, and will need to take over the rest of the season if he wants to go to the NCAA tournament in his senior season. VCU has only lost at home recently to Rhode Island and Richmond. Rhode Island is the best team in the conference and VCU just did not look right against Richmond. I’ll take the points with the home team as these teams are similar.

Mississippi State +1.5 for 2 units. Mississippi State is just better than Vanderbilt. The only reason this line makes any sense is because the Memorial Gymnasium is a tough place to play. Mississippi State has the better defense and the advantage inside. Vanderbilt has not lost at home in over a month, but I think that unbeaten run ends here.

NC State +5 for 2 units. My friends that are NC State fans hate me because every time I bet them, they do not cover. Let’s change that here. State is a good passing team averaging 16.2 assists per game. Passing and 3-point shooting is needed to beat the zone and I think the Wolfpack can do those things. Syracuse has won their last two games, but I do not think they are as good as NC State. This is a must win for both teams. Best of luck.

 

34-26-1 in soccer down 1.48 units

PSG +1/4 for 3 units at -120. Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani have their birthdays on this Champions League Wednesday. Cavani, Neymar, and Mbappe are all starting up top. Thiago Silva, Draxler, and Di Maria are all on the bench ready to play after dealing with injuries off and on this season. Bale is the super sub for Real Madrid. I could see this game ending 2-1 or 2-2 for PSG so I am betting them as the underdog. This is too much value to pass up against a Real Madrid team that has struggled this season.

Liverpool ML for 3 units at +118. Mane, Salah, and Firmino have all been in fine form and all start today. Liverpool’s midfield leaves a little bit to be desired with Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum starting. Hector Herrera could eat up this midfield for Porto, but the absence of Aboubakar may hurt Porto. Klopp will go for some away goals in this one so I expect an open game with Liverpool’s talent up front being the deciding factor. Best of luck.

Player To Win Snowboarding – Women’s Half pipe

Chloe Kim +135 for 3 units.

Arielle Gold +950 for 3 units.

At the Aspen X-Games, these two got gold and silver in the superpipe event. Gold went into first place after her last run, then Kim stole the Gold with her last run. Chloe Kim has arrived. She is only 17 and I think she will get her first olympic gold in the halfpipe here. Arielle Gold had a a near flawless run that she had never landed in an event, but Kim’s back 2 back 1080s stole the gold from Gold. I think Arielle may come through based on her impressive X-Games performance, but Kim is obviously the favorite.

 

Odds to win Men’s Ice Hockey

Russia -110 for 2 units. I am going with the favorite here. A lot of the best players will not be playing in this event due to the NHL schedule. Russia has, arguably, the second best hockey league in the world. I think Russia should be a heavier favorite so I am going to take the value here. If they make it to the championship game and are playing a heavy underdog, I will most likely hedge on the underdog. Best of luck.

15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units

31-28 on NCAAB in 2018 up 5.93 units

Idaho -6 for 2 units. Idaho has the better defense and advantage inside. Also, Idaho moves the ball better on offense. Idaho has been dominating opponents lately and I expect more of the same here. Brayon Blake is shooting over 45% from deep for Idaho and adds a nice threat from the forward position. Victor Sanders has been leading Idaho lately. I just can’t see Idaho losing this game.

6-6-1 in Hockey up 6.85 units

Panthers ML -105 for 1 unit. Haari Sateri has been playing well at goalie for the Panthers. They have won their past 4 games with him. The Kings have won 4 of their past 5 games and have a solid away record. If you look closer at their away record, they have only won one away game in the past 6 against a team with a winning record. The Panthers play better at home and I like them here. Best of luck.

4-5-1 in Hockey up 4.19 units

Finland – Sm Liiga

Jukurit Helsinki over 4.5 for 3 units at -112. Helsinki has been averaging over 4 goals a game in their last 5, while Jukurit just gave up 4 goals to a below average Assat team. Helsinki have the second most home goals in the league. Erik Thorell is playing well in his first season with Helsinki and had two assists the last time these two teams met.

Helsinki -1.5 for 1 unit at -102. I think this one could get out of Jukurit’s control. Helsinki has been playing some of the best hockey in the league recently. Helsinki’s only home loss this year was to league leaders Karpat.

NHL

San Jose Sharks ML OT included at -104 for 1 unit. Sharks have lost two straight at home, but their skid ends here. The Sharks have been playing better than their results have indicated recently. Martin Jones is 4-0-1 in his last 5 at home for the Sharks.

5-2 in snooker up 3.95 units

Mark Williams ML for 4 units at -145. This line is fishy to me as I had Mark Williams as a lot bigger favorite. Li Hang did win the last time these two played, but that was before Mark Williams got hot. Li has lost his last 5 matches against good competition, while Williams has won his last 10 matches against arguably better competition. Williams is a joint favorite to win this event at 20/1 odds.

Stuart Bingham ML for 3 units at -300. Bingham is a joint favorite to win this Shoot-Out at 20/1 odds as well. He gets an unranked opponent in the first round in James Silverwood. Silverwood has lost his last two matches against unranked competition. Bingham rarely slips up at the beginning of tournaments. Thought this line would be close to -450, so a value play here even at high juice.

Mark King ML for 2 units at -180. Ashley Carty has never beat King in an event. King is a fairly consistent player. King usually only loses to tough competition, Carty does not really qualify as that. Best of luck.

Mark Selby, Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Judd Trump, and Ding Junhui all chose not to participate in this tournament. I can’t speak for all these players, but I can promise Ronnie is not playing because the first place prize is not big enough. Ronnie has been feeling ill this year, but if this purse was considerably bigger than the 150,000 pounds it is.. he’d be there.

 

15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units

30-26 on NCAAB in 2018 up 9.02 units

Duke -1 for 4 units. UNC-Duke, one of the best rivalries in all of sports. UNC has not been able to cover 3s all year and Duke is making over 45% of their 3s in their last 3 games. Grayson Allen will most likely go off. Duke scores more points and allows less points than the Tar Heels. Duke has been winning in recruiting in recent years (much too Calipari’s dismay. Calipari isn’t salty at all mentioning how much his former players are worth), but UNC has been winning in March and April. I just think Duke is the better team at this point in the season. Duke doesn’t have a bench, but their starters are pretty damn good. If Grayson Allen can silence the Dean Dome like Austin Rivers did a few years back, he will go up the all-time Duke white boy list passing Greg Paulus and others by my estimation.

South Alabama -6 for 3 units. Little Rock away from home fade. South Alabama is 13-6 against the spread this year and now they get one of the worst teams in the conference. Little Rock has lost 6 in a row. University of South Alabama has lost 3 in a row, but all were on the road. No way USA doesn’t cover with the Olympics starting today too.

Gonzaga -12 for 2 units. Gonzaga won this game by 33 earlier this year at home. Gonzaga is hitting their stride again after some mid season hiccups. Gonzaga leads Pacific in every statistical category except blocks. My numbers said this line should be about 18 so I am taking the value here. Best of luck.

 

 

15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units

29-24 on NCAAB in 2018 up 12.09 units

UVA -2.5 for 3 units. Virginia is 15-4-1 against the spread this year and Florida State is 14-6-1 against the spread this year. Virginia has not lost a conference game all season and I do not see that happening here. UVA only gives up 52 points a game and defense travels. FSU does shoot 3s better at home and they will need to make a lot of them if they want to pull out a win here. FSU went to overtime with Syracuse and Miami at home, UVA is way better than both of those teams. I have said it before but I think UVA does not get the respect they deserve from Vegas because of the public perception and the style they play. I will keep taking advantage of these low spreads for UVA as I think they are the best team in the nation, sorry Villanova.

NC State +6 for 3 units. Virginia Tech has not beaten an ACC team with a winning record in the conference as UNC sits at 5-5 in the conference. State has the advantage in the paint and I think that will keep this game close with NC State maybe pulling out the win. Also, State has the better defense as they give up less points, have more steals, and block more shots. Maybe VT surprises and wins this game by more than 6, but I would not bet it as they just lost to Miami. Also, State is on a 3 game win streak.

Auburn -7 for 3 units. Texas A&M has not been great on the road this season and now they travel to face maybe the best team in the conference. Auburn is 12-0 at home, while the Aggies are 1-5 on the road. A&M did play maybe their best game of the season last time out, but that was against a bad South Carolina team. If you follow me, you bet on A&M in that game. I just think Auburn is too good at home for the Aggies. Auburn could get overmatched in the paint in this one, but I think they do enough to cover.

15-10-1 on NCAAB in 2017 up 5.25 units

27-23 on NCAAB in 2018 up 10.17 units

Michigan -1 for 2 units. Michigan won this game by 11 last week, and Northwestern could not get much going offensively. This game is in Rosemont, Illinois and not Ann Arbor. Michigan has a better offense and a better defense than their opponent in this one. Northwestern is 9-12 against the spread this year, while Michigan is 14-9 against the spread. I am siding with the better team.

Notre Dame -6 for 2 units. Notre Dame has lost 7 in a row and are still favored by 6 against Boston College. Notre Dame has lost some close games in their losing streak and injuries have derailed this season. This is a must win for Notre Dame at home if they want to make the NCAA tournament. BC has only won one away game all year when they beat Hartford on December 2nd.

Arkansas -7 for 2 units. Arkansas has too good of an offense at home for a struggling South Carolina team. South Carolina is shooting below 40% from the field on the season, that isn’t good. Daryl Macon played well last game and if he can keep it going, Arkansas will cover. Best of luck.