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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 Friday, Sept. 2:
TOP PLAY
The play: College football, Illinois money line over Indiana
The odds/bet: +100 ($30 to win $30)
The book: FanDuel
Time/TV: 7 p.m. (FS1)
Our take: Our pick of Purdue lost in heartbreaking fashion by a half-point last night, so why not pick on the Boilermakers’ biggest rival to reverse the mojo?
It doesn’t really work that way of course, but this is a good pick on its own merit. For one thing, Illinois got its opener out of the way last week — a good thing because the Illini had a chance to get the kinks worked out but didn’t have to work too hard in a 38-6 win over Wyoming.
That’s the other part of this. Illinois is more of a sure thing than Indiana. The Illini flashed a vintage Bret Bielema defense — the Wisconsin kind more than the Arkansas version — against Wyoming, allowing just 1.5 yards per passing attempt.
Indiana is better than Wyoming, but it’s unclear why the Hoosiers are favored here. Their starting quarterback hasn’t been announced, but most reports favor Connor Bazelak, the Missouri transfer who struggled against top defenses for most of his career in the SEC.
If you want to get greedy, parlay Illinois with the under 46.5 here. Otherwise, take the +100 odds on the money line and run.
MLB FRIDAY NIGHT
The play: MLB, Phillies money line over Giants
The odds/bet: +100 ($10 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 9:15 p.m. (Apple TV+)
Our take: Here’s an example of a line that just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yes, the Phillies are on a long road trip and a long way from home. But they’ve been out west for the whole week already and, quite frankly, are just much better than the slumping, beat-up Giants.
San Francisco is starting Alex Cobb, who has generally been solid in the orange and black but has spun his tires a bit recently, struggling to get deep into games, giving up more hits and striking out fewer batters. Contrast that with Phillies starter Kyle Gibson, who has five quality starts in his past six outings (and also had one against the Giants in May).
The lineups are no contest, the Phillies have the hotter starter and the Giants are ice cold. Even money? Take it.
HOW WE’VE FARED
College football: Purdue +3.5 over Penn State (LOST $30)
College football: West Virginia-Pitt under 52 (LOST $10)
Thursday’s profit/loss: -$43 (0-2)
Total for the week: +$24.40 (3-6)
Total for September: -$43 (0-2)
Total for 2022: -$91.80 (223-251)
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, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).