Week Betting Preview: MLB ends, NBA starts
This year’s World Series has become a best-of-three affair after Boston and St. Louis battled their way to a 2-2 series tie in the first four games. The series remains at Busch Stadium for this Monday night’s Game 5, with 5Dimes opening the Cardinals as -125 home favorites. The Red Sox have been opened as +115 road underdogs on the current moneyline, and the total has been set at 7 runs.
The new NBA season tips off on Tuesday night with three games on the slate. Indiana hosts Orlando and the two Los Angeles teams will battle it out at the Staples Center, but the marquee matchup sends the Chicago Bulls to Miami to face the defending-champion Heat as 4.5-point road underdogs. The total for this game has been set at 187.5 points.
It will be a relatively quiet week in college football with several of the Top 10 teams in the latest BCS poll on a bye, but there is one major showdown on the schedule in the resurgent ACC. The Miami Hurricanes will put their 7-0 straight-up record on the line this Saturday night with a trip to Tallahassee to face their bitter rivals, the Florida State Seminoles. This matchup could easily be a preview of this season’s ACC Championship Game. The Seminoles are coming into this game with a chip on their shoulder after dropping to third in the BCS rankings despite pasting North Carolina State 49-17 last Saturday as 31-point home favorites. They have been opened as 21.5-point home favorites for this contest.
The NFL season crosses the halfway mark with Week 9 of a 17-week schedule of games. Cincinnati and Miami will kick things off on the NFL Network's Thursday Night Football, with the 6-2 Bengals favored by 1.5 points on the road against the 3-4 Dolphins. The total has been set at 42.
Sunday Night Football takes us to Houston for a huge AFC South clash between the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts and the 2-5 Houston Texans. Both teams are coming off a bye with the Colts favored by 3 points on the road. The total for this contest has been set at 45.
Looking all the way ahead to next Monday night’s game, the well-rested 4-3 Chicago Bears will come off a bye to try and close the gap in the NFC North title race against the 5-2 Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has been opened as an 11-point home favorite with the total set at 49.