Category: Basketball Betting Tips

Are Golden State and Cleveland Headed for third Championship Battle?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Golden State Warriors just beat Houston to extend their winning run to 10 games and they are now all but guaranteed the top seed berth in the Western Conference. A couple of weeks ago the Warriors were in real danger following Kevin Durrant’s injury sparked a bad slump in form. They have bounced back in style and are now 4/5 favourites with Betway to win the NBA Championship.

There are just six or seven games to go before the end of the regular season now, and the playoff picture is becoming a lot clearer, with several teams having already punched their postseason tickets. Yet a few teams’ chances of making the playoffs are teetering on a knife edge, so there are lots of big games still to bet on.

Futures Update

There are no longer any lines on the division winners as they have been pretty much sewn up by Golden State, San Antonio, Utah, Cleveland, Boston and Washington. Futures betting now hinges on who will win each conference and the Championship. In the west, Golden State has hit form at just the right time. When Durrant returns they will be even stronger and look destined for a third consecutive Finals appearance, despite the threat of San Antonio and Houston. Paddy Power has 4/9 on Golden State. Whether it will meet Cleveland for a third year running is another matter entirely.

The Cavs have led the way in the east for most of the season, but have ceded the lead to the Celtics in the past week. If Boston can hold on and claim the top seed spot, they can really be a threat in the playoffs and look a good option in the east at 6/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes, while Washington is an interesting outsider at 10/1 with Bet Victor.

There is also the small matter of who will be named regular season MVP. James Harden is leading the way but it is still very close between him and Russell Westbrook, who have been the best two offensive players in the league by some distance this season. One thing worth noting is that while most bookmakers will only go to 1/2 on Harden, William Hill is offering 4/5, so that is a generous set of odds as he is expected to just about pip Westbrook to the honour, as his Rockets have been better than Westbrook’s Thunder this season and he has been breaking all sorts of records.

Upcoming Games

In the east three teams – the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers – have an identical record but only two can go to the playoffs. Their games should prove interesting in the week ahead. Chicago is on a three-game winning streak and should beat the Knicks ( who are 3-7 in their last 10) on Wednesday and cover a reasonable spread, but the Pacers are likely to lose to the Raptors. On Thursday, Miami faces a tough game against the Hornets and Charlotte looks a good bet.

Oregon v North Carolina: Predictions on Point Spread and Totals

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Every year armchair fans across the USA and further afield complete a March Madness bracket in which they predict the teams that will progress in the tournament. Tens of millions filled in online brackets this year and just 0.000003% anticipated that we would see North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon and South Carolina in the Final Four, illustrating what a rollercoaster ride this competition really is. Earlier this week we previewed Gonzaga v South Carolina, a game Gonzaga is expected to win, so now we move on to North Carolina v Oregon, which is a little closer in the betting lines.

Oregon Ducks v North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina was the favourite before the start of the tournament and has justified that status by cruising through to the Final Four. The Tar Heels have had to do it the hard way, overcoming second-seeded Kentucky in the Elite Eight and a very strong Butler team in the Sweet Sixteen. North Carolina is still the outright favourite to win the NCAA Championship (6/4 with SkyBet, compared to 13/8 at Ladbrokes on Gonzaga, 5/1 at BetVictor on Oregon and 9/1 at William Hill on South Carolina) and with good reason. The Tar Heels are by far and away the most experienced team left standing in this tournament.

Last year North Carolina suffered the heartbreak of losing to a three-point buzzer beater in the Championship Game against Villanova, and their four leading scorers this time around – Justin Jackson, Joel Berry II, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks – all played a part in last year’s run to the final. They have tasted what it feels like to be runner-up and will be desperate to go one better this time around. In Roy Williams, they have a coach making his ninth appearance in the Final Four. None of the other three coaches left has ever been this far before. Third-seeded Oregon beat very good teams in Rhode Island and Michigan to reach the Elite Eight and then surprised everybody with a 14-point win over top-seeded Kansas. It has proved it can frustrate and beat the sport’s best offensive teams and will be very dangerous, especially due to the confidence gained from upsetting Kansas. The outright looks close to call, and UNC may shade it, but Oregon +5.5 at 5/6 with Betfred looks a really good bet. Kansas was considered by many the best team in the tournament and Oregon shut it down completely, so it could well do a similar job on UNC.

Prop Bets

This being a big game there are all sorts of weird and wonderful specials bets, from guessing the winning margin to whether the points in a particular half will be odd or even. The crazier ones are best avoided, but the traditional total points look good in this game. They are both strong offensive sides, but this is such a good game that it should prove a cautious affair under 153.5 points at 5/7 with Bet365 looks good.

March Madness Final Four: Gonzaga v South Carolina Predictions

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

March Madness has most certainly lived up to its name over the past week, and after several crazy twists and turns, just four teams remain. Sixty-four have packed their bags and gone home, and just the four regional winners are left standing: Gonzaga, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina. Gonzaga and North Carolina are top seeds and were expected to be standing, but third-seeded Oregon’s presence is a shock, and few would have predicted South Carolina would be representing the east rather than Villanova, Duke, Baylor or Florida.

Clearly, South Carolina is the huge underdog at 9/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes, while North Carolina (6/4 with Sky Bet) and Gonzaga (13/8 with Ladbrokes) are heavily favoured, but this is March Madness and anything can happen. First up is South Carolina v Gonzaga, so we have previewed that one and we will feature the other game later this week.

South Carolina Gamecocks v Gonzaga Bulldogs

Gonzaga went into the tournament with the best regular season record of anyone and was among the favourites to win it. The Zags’ route to the final was made all the easier when 11th seed Xavier beat second seed Arizona in the Sweet 16. Arizona was the second seed and many expected the Wildcats to topple Gonzaga. Instead, they played Xavier in the Elite Eight and won by a huge 24-point margin, by far the heaviest win in the round.

South Carolina’s journey to the Final Four has been far less orthodox. The seventh-seeded Gamecocks were expected to crash out in the Second Round, where they faced pre-season favourite Duke, which had the best team on paper in the entire tournament. But South Carolina exploited Duke’s defensive weaknesses and earned a resounding 88-81 victory. They then played third seed Baylor in the Sweet 16 and defied their status as seven-point underdogs by absolutely thrashing the Bears, winning 70-50. They then knocked out fourth seed Florida in the Elite Eight and have earned themselves a place in the Final Four for the first time ever.

South Carolina’s superb defence has got them this far. It has the second best defence in the country now, but Gonzaga has the best. Gonzaga’s offence is also scoring a lot more points than the Gamecocks. Gonzaga should win this, but whether they can cover the spread is another matter as South Carolina is scrapping really well. South Carolina +8.5 at 8/13 with Betway looks good.

Futures Update

If Gonzaga gets past South Carolina it will face North Carolina or Oregon. The Tar Heels were pre-tournament favourites and have excelled in beating some excellent teams, so expect them to get the better of Oregon. That would be a sensational final and it’s easy to envisage a tight game that could be won by a single point. North Carolina’s Roy Williams is on course for a third NCAA Championship, while Gonzaga’s Mark Few has never before reached the final four, so that experience could swing it, but it will be tight.

James Harden pulls ahead in NBA’s exciting MVP race

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

For months James Harden and Russell Westbrook have been locked in a fierce battle to be named regular season MVP, but in the past week, Harden may just have done enough to snatch it. The Beard has achieved four straight games of scoring at least 30 points and having 10 assists, and the odds have been cut on him landing the prize. There is still some value to be had in backing him, however, as we approach the final nine games of the season.

MVP Race

Westbrook led the field for the first half of the season but Harden muscled his way into the reckoning with a record-breaking spell over Christmas. On December 31, he recorded 53 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds in a 129-122 win for the Houston Rockets over the New York Nicks. It was the first time anyone had ever posted stats better than 50-15-15, and it tied the record for the most points in a triple-double, which Wilt Chamberlain had held alone since the 1967-68 season. Two days later, he recorded his ninth triple-double of the season.

The records have come tumbling down for Harden since then. A 51-13-13 game against the 76ers in January made him the first player ever to achieve more than one 50-point triple-double in a season. He has already broken his own record for the most turnovers in a season. He is now on 19 triple-doubles for the season. He is on course to surpass 2,400 points and 900 assists this season, which would break another record.

But Westbrook refuses to go away. Despite playing for a poorer team, he has 36 triple-doubles and leads the league in points per game. Kahwi Leonard and LeBron James are also still in the mix. Harden is 4/6 with Sky Bet and Westbrook is 11/4 with Paddy Power, which also has 10/1 on Leonard and 12/1 on James. It will be tight, but momentum is with Harden right now, and 4/6 looks a good price.

Futures Update

The divisions are pretty much wrapped up now, so the value comes from predicting the winner of each conference and the NBA Championship. Momentum can play a crucial role at this time of year, and the form of the Boston Celtics (8-2 in their last 10) is very exciting, so they could give the Cavaliers a real run for their money in the east and look an interesting bet at 7/1 with Sky Bet and William Hill. The Warriors have won six straight and turned the screw in the west, so the value might not be there as they are just 4/9, but the Spurs (4/1 with Ladbrokes) are also in good form.

Upcoming Games

A huge game sees the Warriors face the Spurs in San Antonio on Thursday. Golden State is on a roll but has injury problems and the Spurs to win outright looks good. The Celtics over the Bucks and the Washington Wizards over the Clippers would make an interesting treble.

March Madness Sweet 16: Outright and ATS Picks and Predictions

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are four highly anticipated Sweet 16 games taking place on Friday as March Madness rages on, and there looks to be plenty of value on offer. Here we run through the four games and offer predictions on each.

Butler v North Carolina

Chris Holtmann taking Butler to the Sweet 16 is a tremendous achievement. He has fostered a versatile and balanced team, and they will not be intimidated by the Tar Heels here. They can slow the pace down and make life very difficult for them. North Carolina can win it, but it will be a tall order to cover the 7.5-point spread set by Vegas. UNC failed to cover an 11.5-point spread against Arkansas in its last game and was really pushed to the brink. The Bulldogs could well do the same here, as they are savvy and disciplined. North Carolina is joint-favourite for the tournament and should win this against a Butler team punching above its weight, but the best prices – 5/17 at Bet365, 2/7 at SkyBet – are not particularly appealing. You could see North Carolina win by four or five points, so Butler against the spread looks interesting at 19/20 with Coral.

South Carolina v Baylor

The east is a mess and Baylor will fancy its chances of progressing to the final four now. Seventh seed South Carolina pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the tournament in the last round by beating second-seeded Duke, pre-season favourite and many experts’ pick to win the tournament, thanks to a strong defence and a great performance from Sindarius Thornwell. But this could be a step too far. Baylor is now the highest remaining seed in the east after Villanova also crashed out, and has a clear route to the Final Four. All it has to do is beat a team that was 2-5 in its seven games before the tournament. Baylor has won its last three games against South Carolina, a team that is 3-7 against the spread versus winning teams. Baylor -3.5 at 10/11 with Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes looks good.

UCLA v Kentucky

The third and second seeds in the south face each other in what should be a fantastic game. It is the closest in the betting – Kentucky is 10/11 at William Hill and UCLA is 20/21 at Ladbrokes – and the spread is just -1 for Kentucky. It should be very close, but UCLA is such an exciting team at present and the slight underdogs can pull off a victory thanks to the superb form of Lonzo Ball, who is surely the best player in the tournament. Back him to lead UCLA to the next round.

Florida v Wisconsin

Fourth seed Florida plays eighth seed Wisconsin, giant killers of Villanova, in the final game. Wisconsin has gone this far thanks to its strong defence and will have momentum after toppling Nova, while Florida’s leading scorer KeVaughn Allen is struggling, so Wisconsin +2 with William Hill and Ladbrokes looks a good bet.

March Madness: Sweet 16 is Set and Betting Frenzy Continues

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We are now into the second week of March Madness and the Sweet 16 is set, with only the NCAA’s top teams left standing. They are now just four games away from winning the NCAA Championship and enjoying hero status in their respective hometowns. But this year’s tournament is ferociously competitive, and the eventual winner will have to fight every inch of the way.

Futures Update

Three-quarters of the teams have been eliminated from March Madness and only the strongest are left. There have been some huge upsets along the way, particularly in the East, where defending champion Villanova and pre-season favourite Duke have both already been knocked out. Wisconsin, Florida, and South Carolina are now fighting it out there, and it now looks the weakest region. In the other three regions the big guns have made it through: Kansas is still standing in the Midwest, in the West the prospect of Gonzaga and Arizona meeting in the Elite Eight looks a distinct possibility still, and North Carolina, UCLA and Kentucky are all through in the South.

Despite having the hardest run to the Big Dance (for the uninitiated it goes First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and the Big Dance), North Carolina is still the favourite at 6/1 with Ladbrokes. At those odds, it looks risky. The Tar Heels should beat fourth-seeded Butler but then will face either UCLA or Kentucky, both of whom could easily knock them out. Gonzaga is second favourite, 7/1 with Sky Bet, but it too has a nightmare road to the final, with the Arizona Wildcats (8/1 with Ladbrokes) in the way. The winner is unlikely to come from the East, where the best-priced team is Baylor, trading up to 33/1. A shrewd bet could be Kansas, 11/2 with Bet365, which has arguably the easiest run. Purdue is a strong team but beatable, and then they would have to overcome Oregon or Michigan to make the Final Four. You can also go each-way and get half the odds if they make the final. An interesting long-shot could be UCLA, 16/1 with Bet Victor, which has an incredible offence and could be dangerous in the West.

Upcoming Games

The first four Sweet 16 games take place on Friday and feature the two favourites in Kansas and Gonzaga. Both face tough games. Gonzaga is up against the strongest fourth seed, West Virginia, which annihilated Notre Dame with its pressing defence. It is likely to be a close encounter, but the Zags should scrape it (13/20 with Bet Victor). Kansas plays Purdue, a dark horse for the tournament thanks to its formidable front court and the form of Caleb Swanigan. The Jayhawks should get the job done (4/9 with Bet365) but Purdue -5 looks an interesting spread at 20/21 with Ladbrokes. Arizona should beat Xavier (2/7 with Bet365), so a treble of Arizona-Kansas-Gonzaga looks good, but Michigan v Oregon looks too close to call so is probably best avoided.