Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Sunday, April 2:
TOP PLAY
The play: NCAA Women’s National Championship: Iowa-LSU UNDER 160
The odds: -112
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Our take: It’s LSU vs. Iowa. It’s Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark. It’s two top-five offenses in the country squaring off in today’s national championship game. What more could you ask for if you’re a fan of college basketball?
All of the focus will be on the superstars squaring off in this showdown for silverware. However, what gets lost in the build-up is the Tigers’ sensational defense. Kim Mulkey’s squad has a top-25 scoring defense in the country; LSU is holding opponents to just 56.7 points per game this season.
The Hawkeyes are no regular opponent, though, especially with the nation’s most talented scorer in their starting line-up. Clark will undoubtedly get hers on the afternoon — even though Mulkey will formulate a plan to try and keep her under 40 points — but will it be enough? Not for the over.
160 is a lot of points. The Tigers have played in just three games this season where the game has produced over 160 total points (125-50 win vs. Bellarmine, 99-64 win at UA, 90-79 win at Florida). The last time LSU took on a top-five scoring offense was Friday night when it beat Virginia Tech 79-72.
Factor in the national title game jitters for two teams who’ve never been on this stage before and it’s hard not to see the under hitting in this contest.
WEST HAM WINS RELEGATION SCRAP
The play: English Premier League: West Ham moneyline vs. Southampton
The odds: -135
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 9 a.m. (USA Network)
Our take: It’s a good, old-fashioned relegation scrap in the English Premier League this morning. It’s 19th vs. 20th as Southampton heads to the London Stadium to face West Ham. There’s not been much to separate these two sides this season. They’re on an identical run of form over their last five games with one win, two draws and two losses. Therefore, we have to look at head-to-head advantages to determine who will win this contest.
The Irons have the better players, the better manager and they’ll be playing in front of their bubble-blowing home fans. The atmosphere will be rocking in East London as the hosts will be hoping their supporters can give them a much-needed boost en route to three points.
Saints are honestly just a poor side. They’ve managed to fend off the inevitable (relegation) for a few seasons, but it now seems like just a matter of time before the drop. Southampton is already on its third manager this season and things haven’t gotten any better. West Ham is a better defensive team and it has gotten more production from its forward line this year.
The Irons have the chance to move up into 14th with a win — I don’t see any way in which they fail to take all three points from this encounter. West Ham moneyline is the way to play this fixture.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Men’s Final Four: San Diego State -2½ over Florida Atlantic (LOST)
Men’s Final Four: Miami money line over UConn (LOST)
Saturday’s record: 0-2
Total for the week: 4-7, 1 pending
Total for April: 0-2, 1 pending from March
Total for 2023: 65-71, 1 pending
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
