Case of the Mondays: All Undefeated in NFL, Kentucky Lone Undefeated in Hoops
by Ricky Dimon - 2/2/2015
It's the day after the Super Bowl, which means every team in the NFL is once again undefeated. Of course, the Seattle Seahawks may not feel like it after
blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the New England Patriots then squandering a last-minute scoring chance. In college basketball, meanwhile, only
one undefeated team remains after Virginia saw a huge advantage of its own go up in smoke.
Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag unless otherwise indicated.
Darrell Bevell . The Seahawks' offensive coordinator had a golden chance for redemption after two consecutive three-and-outs in the final quarter had helped New England seize a 28-24 lead. And he could have achieved such redemption in the simplest of fashions: by handing the ball off to one of the best and most reliable running backs in football. Sitting pretty at 2nd-and-goal on the one-yard line with 26 seconds left, Seattle instead went into cease mode and called a slant pass. The rest, of course, is history. Russell Wilson was picked off by Malcolm Butler, and just like that the Patriots clinched victory. Whether the call was entirely Bevell's fault or not, it will likely haunt him for the rest of his coaching career. The Seahawks are +600 favorites to win it all next season.
Brooklyn Nets
. The Nets lost four games in row to wrap up the month of January, during which they compiled a 3-12 record. They are 2-12 in their last 14 outings, a
stretch that has dropped them out of the current playoff picture behind an equally moribund franchise in Charlotte. On the surface, that might seem like a
positive development because it would normally mean Brooklyn is in position for a lottery pick this summer. So, too, would trading center Brook Lopez (whom
the team is currently shopping). But there's just one small problem. Stemming from the Joe Johnson trade, Atlanta-already the best team in Brooklyn's
conference-has the option to swap draft picks with the Nets in 2015. Ouch. The Nets are +9 home underdogs against the Clippers on Monday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
. Speaking of taking a tumble down the standings, the Leafs have lost nine consecutive games and sit 12th in the Eastern Conference with 48
points. That's only one more point than they had when the losing streak began back on Jan. 12, because only one of their nine setbacks has come in overtime
or a shootout. In the entire month of January, Toronto accumulated all of three points thanks to a horrendous 1-11-1 record. And it may only get worse
before it gets better. The Maple Leafs will be without veteran defenseman and captain Dion Phaneuf for at least a week due to an upper-body injury. Phaneuf
has two goals and 20 assists this season. Toronto is +5000 to win the Eastern Conference.
Virginia
. Virginia had been keeping pace with Kentucky the entire way, leaving two undefeated teams in college basketball week in and week out. More of the same
seemed to be continuing for another week when the Cavaliers led Duke by nine points with barely more than five minutes remaining last Saturday. Even
playing at home, however, they could not seal the deal. UVA missed its last four field goals and made only two of its last nine shots (free throws
included) as the Blue Devils finished the game on a 19-5 run to prevail 69-63. Now 19-1, Virginia is a +800 second choice (tied with Duke) to win the
National Championship.
Manchester City
. Draws with Chelsea are generally great news for the opposition. Not when you're Manchester City, and not when you're already five points out of first
place in the English Premier League standings. Man City scored an equalizing goal just prior to halftime, so in one sense the result could have been worse,
but the visitors had far more chances than Chelsea in the second half and could not come up with an all-important second goal. City remains five points
back (48 to 43) on the EPL table, also five points ahead of third-place Manchester United. Chelsea is -400 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Premier League.
Andy Murray
. Murray must be getting tired of finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, especially to Novak Djokovic. The Scot is now 0-4 lifetime in Melbourne
finals, including 0-3 against Djokovic. The Serb, meanwhile, is 5-0 lifetime in title matches Down Under after beating Murray 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 on
Sunday. Murray briefly had momentum after taking the second set and leading 2-0 in the third only to lose 12 of the last 13 games. Murray is +2000 at
Bovada Sportsbook to win the French Open; Rafael Nadal is a +135 favorite.
Tiger Woods
. Tiger is accustomed to finishing at extreme ends of leaderboards. Of course, while it used to be at the top, now it's at the bottom. The former world No.
1 came in last (tied) at his own tournament in December and he came in last (tied) this past week in Phoenix. This latest performance was even more
concerning, as Tiger followed up a mediocre 73 with a disastrous 82. During the second round he was literally hitting chip-shots like an amateur hacker.
Tiger is +1800 to win the Masters. Ironically, those are the same odds he had to win in Phoenix, and how did that work out for him? He is +350 to win at
least one major in 2015.
Read more articles by Ricky Dimon
Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping
- Best Prop Bets Tonight: MLB Division Winner Odds
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza
- Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza