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Five Weekend Bets That are Going to Hit Harder than Ohio State’s Defense vs. a Redshirt Freshman Quarterback
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No Eagles this weekend. The boys are getting a deserved break after rightfully thumping the G Men at Lincoln Financial Field.
What we do have, is hockey action, yo! That’s what Jose from Norristown used to say on the radio. Sprinkle in some Sixers basketball, MLS postseason, and college football, and we’re going to absolutely smash another weekend of legal sports betting.
Penn State at Ohio State
Oh boy. This one is gonna be ugly.
The Lions are a +19.5 road dog without Drew Allar. They’ll be starting redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, who went 15 for 28 for 93 yards and two interceptions against Iowa. He did run for a score, and Penn State almost won a thriller on the strength of their ground game, but this is an OSU team that only once in seven games has allowed more than 10 points. If the Buckeyes limit Kaytron Allen it should be an easy home win for them.
The bet, sadly, is Penn State team total UNDER 10.5 points.
Temple vs. ECU
This line sucks. Temple is a +5.5 home underdog despite being 5-3 and playing for bowl eligibility. ECU is 4-3 and their best win is against a 5-3 Coastal Carolina team.
Maybe I’m missing a key injury or something, or the oddsmakers hated Temple’s sloppy game in Tulsa last week, but who even cares? Sometimes you gotta keep it simple. K.C. Keeler’s boys being a home dog is disrespectful, and so we take the Owls at +170 on the moneyline, OUTRIGHT.
Flyers vs. Maple Leafs
The Flyers are on a roll and enjoying a home stand. The Leafs are slow out of the gates, playing .500 hockey with 0 road wins.
No odds yet for this game, but I’d play the Flyers moneyline straight up, or just ride Trevor Zegras points and/or Owen Tippet SOGs if you can get a decent price. As they say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Sixers vs. Celtics
It’s hard to know what we’re going to get from Joel Embiid on any given night, be it minutes, or form, or whatever. So if that’s giving you some hesitation when it comes to betting the Sixers, keep it simple and look into the Tyrese Maxey props. Tyrese has chucked at least 9 threes in every game his year, and hits 4.5 on average. He’ll get you about eight assists and a handful of boards as well, so Maxey’s points/rebounds/assists number of 40.5 is totally doable. It’s hit in every single game so far, so to bet against it would be betting on him to cool off and fall back to Earth after a blistering start.
Union at Fire
The U took Game 1 of the opening playoff round with a penalty shootout win against the Chicago Fire. They went up 2-0 and then conceded two late goals, which was uncharacteristic, especially at home.
They’re in Chicago for Game 2 on Saturday evening, and both teams to score is a little devalued at -210. Looking elsewhere, if you believe that the Union as a #1 seed are simply the better team, I’d play Union to lead at anytime at -120. This would cash even if we get a repeat of Game 1 and find ourselves tied late, and/or in penalties.
If you hate my picks, or just want to fade entirely grab a DraftKings promo code and have at it.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com