As the Paris Olympics enter the final week of competition, the U.S. men’s basketball team is winning but not always covering the spread.
The Americans beat Puerto Rico 104-83 on Saturday to finish pool play, but failed to cover the 36.5-point spread.
At the BetMGM online sportsbook, 64% of the money was on Team USA to cover. The team went a perfect 3-0 in pool play, but was 1-2 against the spread.
The U.S. team will next take on Brazil in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Trends of the Week
Heading into the quarterfinals, the Americans are -650 to win the gold medal, while Canada and Germany are +900. On paper, the U.S. team has the easiest quarterfinal matchup against a Brazil squad that is +25000 to win gold.
Scottie Scheffler came from four shots back entering the final round to win the gold medal in men’s golf. Scheffler shot a final-round 62, including six birdies on the back nine, to finish at 19 under, one shot better than Tommy Fleetwood. Hideki Matsuyama finished third, two shots behind Scheffler.
Scheffler had odds of +400 to win entering the Olympic tournament, and he took in 30% of the money — by far the most of any player in the field.
Upsets of the Week
Julien Alfred beat Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s 100-meter dash. Alfred finished in 10.72 seconds, which gave her a .15-second win — the biggest margin in the Olympic 100 since the 2008 Beijing Games. Alfred was +450 to win, while Richardson was -345 and took in 93% of the money.
Umar Nurmagomedov defeated Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Night. Nurmagomedov was -350 to win, but Sandhagen took in 75% of the bets.
Coming Up
With college football getting ready to start, Georgia is the favorite in college football national championship odds at +300. Ohio State closely follows at +325, while Texas (+775) and Oregon (+800) are the next two teams on the odds table.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at +700. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is a close second at +750.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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