With the All-Star game behind us, we have three days until NBA kicks into gear for the last quarter of the season. Despite the Slam Dunk contest odds being taken down in New Jersey, there was still plenty to bet on throughout the weekend. On Sunday bettors had college basketball, the NBA All-Star game, golf, and UFC to sweat. Here is your full sports betting recap and lookahead for Monday.
Underdogs Take Down All-Star Break Contests
The underdogs struck again during NBA All-Star weekend. The big men took home another NBA Skills Challenge, as Jayson Tatum beat Trae Young with a half court heave. Tatum’s win makes the big side of the bracket 3-1 since the NBA incorporated the Big vs. Small. We hope the Skills Challenge Betting Preview from SharpSide helped you cash Tatum in as a winner.
In the Three-Point Contest, the Brooklyn Net’s Joe Harris outshot Steph Curry and Buddy Hield to walk away the champion. Curry had the highest scoring round of the night with 27 points in the first round. Harris won with 26 points in the final round, beating Hield who just had 16 after a 26-point first round showing and Curry who had had 24 points in the final round.
Oklahoma City’s Hamidou Diallo brought the thunder to the Dunk Contest after oddsmakers made him the biggest underdog in the field. As pointed out over at SharpSide, Diallo had the highest vertical of the four contestants, and the second highest vertical in NBA combine history. We thought this made Diallo (+400) a good bet.
Diallo combined Vince Carter’s signature honey dip dunk from the 2000 dunk contest with a 7’2” prop, dunking over Slam Dunk Contest judge, Shaquille O’Neal, to ensure himself as the 2019 Slam Dunk Champion. So, it’s official: 20 years later, Chris Dudley is finally avenged.
Durant Leads Team Lebron in 2nd Half Comeback
NBA All-Star Weekend ended with a Team LeBron comeback to beat Team Giannis 178-164. Team LeBron covered the 6.5-point spread help from the game’s MVP, Kevin Durant, who dropped 31 points on 10 of 15 shooting. Team Giannis had a 53-37 lead after the first quarter and a 13-point lead at half. Antetokoumpo lead the game with 38 points (17 for 23) and 11 rebounds. The game went Over despite the 316-point total, a year after the 2018 All-Star game hit the Under by more than 30 points.
St. Johns Stuns Nova
St. Johns defeated No. 13 Villanova outright 71-65 to hand them their second loss in the last two weeks. St. Johns was 4-point underdogs and cashed +165 moneyline tickets. St. Johns is now 12-13-1 ATS overall and the Over/Under is 12-12-1 in their games. Villanova was 6-1 ATS on the road before entering Sunday.
Big Monday Heads to Virginia
Monday night, No. 4 Virginia will take on in-state rival No. 22 Virginia Tech. The game will feature two college basketball’s best coaches, Tony Bennett and Buzz Williams. Bennett coached teams consistently have one of the best defenses in the nation, and that’s no different this year.
Defense travels and oddsmakers agree, opening the line at Virginia -5.5. The game features a low total of 122. Virginia isn’t the only team with a defense that can show up, though. Just two weeks ago, Virginia Tech held North Carolina State to an unbelievable 24 points for the game. Virginia Tech has only lost one game at home all season but is 6-6 ATS in those same games. On the other hand, Virginia is 7-1 ATS while traveling. Despite Virginia Tech losing 81-59 in their first meeting this season, I think Williams gets his team to show up this game. Breakfast Lean: Virginia Tech +5.5, Over 122.
Injury Report
Dean Wade tweaked is ankle in a 78-64 loss it Iowa State over the weekend, and his status remains uncertain for Monday’s game at West Virginia. K-State is currently -7.5 and the point total is 133.5. Keep an eye on Wade’s status as we inch closer to game time, but don’t be surprised if Bruce Weber decides to rest him. This is one of K-State’s easiest weeks in Big 12 play, and K-State needs to make sure their star is healthy for the final stretch of conference play.
Meltdown in California
The Genesis Open at Riviera was plagued with weather delays, but the tournament finished on schedule as JB Holmes cashed huge 100-to-1 tickets for golf bettors Sunday. It ended up being quite the meltdown from Justin Thomas who had a healthy three-stroke lead going into the final round. On top of that, only Dustin Johnson had better pre-tournament odds than Thomas.
Thomas struggled shooting a 4-over 75 on Sunday, while Holmes shot 1-under for a 4-stroke comeback victory. This was the final leg of the PGA Tour’s annual stint in California. The Tour will head back to southern California in June for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. This week the World Golf Championships invite the best golfers in the world to compete in Mexico in a no-cut event.
Velasquez Disappoints in Return to Octagon
UFC Phoenix was featured Sunday night on ESPN. Favorites cashed seven of the 12 fights, and there weren’t any major upsets with Francis Ngannou being the biggest upset at +150.
The Main Event featured Cain Velasquez’s return to the octagon versus Ngannou. Velasquez’s return didn’t last long, as he lost by TKO with 26 second left in Round 1. Velasquez started his UFC career 13-1, but has lost two of his last three fights.