Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, but we only have to wait a few more days until more holidays start to roll in. Hannukah is only a week away, while Christmas comes in less than a month. Hopefully, you’ve got an army of sweatpants on standby in the midst of the holiday season.
We are also in the midst of a pretty crowded part of the sports calendar. Pro and college football continue on, while college basketball got underway last week. The NBA season gets going in about three weeks, as well.
Let’s close out November in style, shall we? BetOnline has three odds boosters on the menu for the final day of the month. Let’s try to scrounge up some betting value.
NCAAB: LSU (-26.5) and SMU (-21.5) BOTH to Cover (+325)
LSU basketball is off to a 1-1 start to the season. The Tigers picked up a 13-point win over SIU Edwardsville in their season opener before falling at the hands of St. Louis last time out. LSU fell by four points in a close one against the Billikens over the weekend.
Will Wade’s squad will be back in action on Monday night at home against Southeastern Louisiana. This is a Lions team off to an 0-2 start after getting absolutely trounced 84-59 by UAB in their most recent game. Southeastern Louisiana finished just 8-23 a season ago after posting two straight seasons above .500.
Saint Louis just beat LSU without Hasahn French and Fred Thatch. This is NOT a huge upset. Billikens could be the best non power conference team in America.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 28, 2020
LSU finished 12-6 in the SEC a season ago, and they’re widely expected to be among the contenders in the conference this year. 26.5 points is a massive spread, even by college basketball’s standards, but it’s obviously a great bounce-back spot for the Tigers.
SMU is favored by about three touchdowns tonight over Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Mustangs came out and throttled Sam Houston State by 30 points in their season opener. Junior guard Kendric Davis did the vast majority of the damage for SMU in that one, finishing with a team-high 33 points. The Islanders lost by 12 points to Texas State last time out, dropping their record to 1-1.
NFL: Seahawks (-5.5) to Cover AND Over 49.5 Points (+310)
The NFL has had a wild week, with a game being postponed twice and another game featuring a team with no active quarterbacks. We have what should be a fairly normal tilt on tap for tonight with the Seattle Seahawks visiting the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
The Seahawks being just 5.5-point favorites is a bit of a surprise given the quality of the two teams.
Seattle is 7-3 and sitting atop the NFC West, while the Eagles are just 3-6-1. That’s terrible record is still good enough to put Philly near the top of the NFC East, but this is a team going nowhere fast. The Eagles haven’t won since a 23-9 triumph over the miserable Cowboys back on the first day of November.
Seattle is 6-4 against the spread this season, which is one of the better marks in football. The Eagles are just 3-7 ATS, which is among the worst. Philadelphia’s games have also gone under the implied total six times through 10 weeks, with the Seahawks going over six times through 10 games.
NFL: DK Metcalf to Score First Touchdown (+700)
DK Metcalf has been one of the season’s breakout stars. The second-year wideout has already caught 48 passes for 862 yards and nine touchdowns. While Tyler Lockett still leads the Seattle Seahawks in targets, Metcalf has managed to accrue over 110 more receiving yards on 19 fewer receptions. Metcalf has become one of the game’s preeminent big-play threats.
Terry McLaurin’s max speed of 20.99 MPH is the 3rd-highest by a skill-position player making a tackle this season. DK Metcalf owns the fastest at 22.64 MPH 💨
(via Next Gen Stats) pic.twitter.com/etCShaZ7eM
— ESPN (@espn) November 27, 2020
Keeping him out of the end zone will be no easy task for a Philly defense that has been leaky all year long. Metcalf has scored in all but three games so far in 2020, including the first touchdown of Seattle’s game last week against Arizona.
Interestingly enough, the Eagles’ defense has fared well against opposing receivers so far this season. Philadelphia hasn’t allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver since their game against the Giants back on October 22. Most of the damage done to the Eagles through the air has come from opposing tight ends.
What’s The Best Bet?
While I certainly like SMU to take care of business against a completely overmatched Texas A&M Corpus Christi team, I’m a bit skittish about trusting LSU to cover a 26.5-point spread. The Tigers will almost surely beat Southeastern Louisiana at home, but 26.5 points is a huge number.
I’m also never too keen on betting on which player will find the end zone first, which has me wary of going all-in on Metcalf to score the first touchdown of Monday Night Football. The value is there at +700 if you want to take the flier, but it’s never the best value on the board.
The best bet here is a Seahawks cover plus the over on 49.5 points. This game has legitimate blowout potential if Russell Wilson is on his game, so there is no legitimate reason to believe Seattle can’t cover here. West coast teams coming east have a checkered track record, but I think the Seahawks take care of business.
There’s a chance of some rain tonight in Philadelphia, but the over on 49.5 points is still easily attainable. Seattle has already scored at least 30 points in six games, while the Seahawks’ defense has been one of the most porous against the pass all season long. We could have a legitimate shootout tonight, so I’m plenty confident in betting the over here.
Boosted Odds Prop Bet:
Seahawks (-5.5) to Cover AND Over 49.5 Points (+310)
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
