See spot. See spot bet: This week's best spot bets
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| Ben Burns - 1/8/2015 11:22 AM |
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Spot bets are classic handicapping practices that have proven
profitable no matter what sport you're betting. Whether it's a team
looking past this week's opponent, one coming off a hard-fought victory,
or a rough patch of schedule, bettors can find value picking their
spots. Expert Ben Burns points out his favorites:
Letdown spot The Kansas Jayhawks open Big 12 play with a bang, travelling to Waco, Texas to take on the No. 22 Baylor Bears in what should be an up-tempo shootout between two teams trying to stake their claim not only in the conference but the national title conversation. The Jayhawks - win or lose - could be ripe for a letdown following this battle with the Bears. Kansas heads back to Lawrence to host the Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday afternoon. The Red Raiders have had all week to plan for KU - being off since losing to West Virginia Monday - and bring a stingy defense that allows just 60 points per game. Texas Tech is an aggressive team that attacks opponents, forcing refs to blow the whistle an average of 22.2 time per game - seventh most fouls drawn in the country. That's equated in TTU picking up 26.9 percent of its points from the foul line. The Red Raiders ability to get to the line and slow the pace of the game could be a big speed bump for KU's quick tempo, especially coming into this letdown spot off the Baylor game. Lookahead spot Once again, we find the Washington Wizards featured in our weekly spot bet opportunities. The Wizards did exactly what we predicted last week, fighting Oklahoma City hard Friday, then falling apart against San Antonio Saturday. This week, Washington is our candidate for the lookahead spot, with a big game versus Chicago on the schedule Friday. The Wizards are trying get their place back in the Eastern Conference after a rough road trip out West. But before they can test their mettle at home versus Chicago, they host the lowly New York Knicks Wednesday night. The Knicks are a mess but will undoubtedly get heaping piles of points in DC. On top of that, Washington is back home after a five-game road swing that bridged the New Year, so there are plenty of things to take care of - off the basketball court - for the Wizards this week. Schedule spot The New York Rangers pack their sunscreen for a three-game cross-country road trip out West. The Rangers open this stretch of three road games in four nights in Anaheim Wednesday, before facing Los Angeles - the team that beat it in the NHL final last year - Thursday and San Jose Saturday night. The first two games have 10:30 p.m. ET starts while the puck drops at 10 p.m. ET Saturday. "I think it's the hardest road trip in the season, the California one," center Derick Brassard told the media. "We are going to play some really good teams." New York is playing well heading into this trip, having won 10 of their last 11 contests, but last year's West Coast run produced a 9-2 loss to the Sharks and a 6-0 blanking against the Ducks. Then, of course, there are the Kings, who rolled over the Rangers in five game in the Stanley Cup final last June. |
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