Clay Travis
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March Madness has been very kind to the sharps this year. There have been upsets all over the place, usually against the right teams – the Arizona Wildcats and Michigan State Spartans leap to mind. And the one team that bettors just can’t seem to embrace keeps chugging along. The No. 1 Villanova Wildcats have reached the Final Four; they’ll face the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks in Saturday’s semifinal, starting at 8:49 p.m. Eastern on TBS. Villanova’s a 5-point favorite on the NCAAB odds board as we go to press.
There’s also that “other” game at 6:09 p.m between the No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers and the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines, and the storybook Ramblers have moved from +5.5 to +5. Maybe some of those bettors should take a closer look at Villanova. Why don’t they? Is it because Villanova sounds too much like vanilla? And why all the hatred for vanilla? It’s not plain, it’s delicious – just like Wildcats basketball.
Black Hole Suns
March has also been a tasty month for betting on the NBA. The tanking has been absolutely epic this year; here are the recent results for the league’s bottom three teams.
Phoenix Suns: 0-12 SU, 4-8 ATS
Memphis Grizzlies: 2-9 SU, 3-6 ATS
Atlanta Hawks: 2-9 SU and ATS
That is some premium-grade tanktitude right there. Other teams are trying: the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic are each 2-6 SU and 3-5 ATS in their last eight games. But they’re running out of time if they want to catch up to these three losers. Phoenix has a road game this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern against the Houston Rockets – that should be fun. And don’t be surprised if Memphis mails it in this Sunday (9:00 p.m. ET) when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers.
This Is a Simple Game
Before we get to any of that sweet, sweet hoops action, it’s time to raise the curtain on another season of Major League Baseball. Opening Day is this Thursday with all 30 teams in action, and much like the NBA, the majors have become increasingly polarized between the haves and have-nots. There should be some betting value following the best teams – preferably those from smaller markets – and fading the worst teams, with added emphasis on the bigger brand names.
For added value, try getting one of each on the diamond at the same time. The defending World Series champions, the Houston Astros, open their 2018 campaign at 3:30 p.m. Eastern in Arlington against the rebuilding Texas Rangers; odds are pending at press time, but the Astros are projected to slip OVER their posted total of 96.5 wins at Bovada, while the Rangers are projected to land somewhere close to their total of 77.5 wins. Close enough for government work.
Broken Wings
Hockey will take a step back in the pecking order while baseball enjoys its Opening Day in the sun – but not for long, because the Stanley Cup playoffs are almost here. The Detroit Red Wings, aka the Dead Wings, have turned up the tank juice, losing three straight games since we put them on notice last week. But you’ll probably want to wait until Tuesday, April 3 (7:00 p.m. ET) to fade them on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are steaming towards the playoffs after losing just three games in March. Tanking always goes down better on the road.
The UFC is still on hiatus, but we’ve got a tremendous boxing match on Saturday between two undefeated heavyweights: Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) and Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs). Joshua is the –800 favorite on the boxing odds board, with Parker checking in at +550. Yes, Joshua is that damned good, but if you want to avoid some of that chalk, you can bet on Joshua at –300 to win by KO/TKO/DQ. Book it, and may the squared circle be with you.
