This Week's Best Spot Bet Opportunities
By Ben Burns
Covers.com
Letdown spot
Wisconsin is rolling these days. In fact, the Badgers enter Thursday's game at Michigan State off seven straight wins, covering the spread in all seven of those games. One of those victories came at Illinois, a 63-55 Badger win on 1/31. Off the big game vs. the Spartans, and off a big upset win at Maryland in their previous game, it may be easy for the Badgers to suffer a letdown against the lowly Illini. Keep in mind that Maryland and Michigan State are the top two teams in the conference while Illinois (11-14) is third from the bottom. Consider grabbing the points with revenge-minded Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
Lookahead spot
The Louisville Cardinals responded to the news that they weren't eligible for the postseason by blowing out a bad Boston College team. Since then, the Cardinals have suffered losses at Duke and at Notre Dame. They'll get another crack at Duke on Saturday afternoon and the recent revenge factor should help provide the Cardinals with some added motivation for that game. First, however, Louisville will take on Syracuse on 2/17. Sure, the Cards will want to snap their losing streak. They'll be laying a fairly big number though and with the Blue Devils looming on deck, it could be easy to get caught looking ahead. Take a look at Syracuse on Wednesday.
Schedule spot
Returning home from an extended road trip can be tough. Girlfriends, wives, friends, bills (regular life) all need to be attended to and can often prove distracting. On Thursday the 18th the Maple Leafs will be playing their first game in Toronto in two full weeks. Much has happened over that span, as the team has traded away its captain, while traveling across the continent. The last time that the Leafs returned from a West Coast trip, they were defeated by lowly Columbus, in their first game back. The Hurricanes are 10-4 their last 14 visits here, including wins in each of the last two. They won here 1-0 in January and 4-1 here last season. Consider Carolina on Thursday.
SEC Conference Prediction Can someone in the SEC keep Alabama from picking up another conference title during the 2019 season, or will the Crimson Tide earn another championship?
ACC Conference Prediction The Clemson Tigers have dominated the ACC over the last four years. Are the Tigers set to add another championship to their list in the 2019 season?
Blue Jays vs. Dodgers Prediction The Los Angeles Dodgers have been dominant at home this season and that continued last night as they opened an interleague series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Will LA roll to another win tonight?
Tigers vs. Astros Prediction The Detroit Tigers will face their old ace in Justin Verlander tonight in game three of their four-game series at the Houston Astros. Is Houston on the runline the strongest bet on the board?
Phillies vs. Red Sox Prediction The Philadelphia Phillies edged the host Boston Red Sox last night in a series opener. Can Philadelphia carve out another win tonight as the series continues?
Royals vs. Orioles Prediction The Kansas City Royals and the host Baltimore Orioles have split the first two games of their three-game series. Which side will win today's rubber game?
Marlins vs. Braves Prediction Will the Atlanta Braves cruise to another win over the Miami Marlins when the two meet up again this evening at 7:20PM ET?
Indians vs. Mets Prediction The New York Mets put the hammer down on the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night. Will the Mets grab another interleague win this evening at 7:10PM ET?
Angels vs. Rangers Prediction The Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels split a doubleheader on Tuesday. Which team will be able to grab the single game tonight at 7:05PM ET?
Yankees vs. A's Wednesday Prediction After taking their series opener against the Yankees, the A’s have now won seven of their last 10 games overall. Are they a solid play for bettors again on Wednesday night when these two teams meet again at 10:07 p.m. ET?
