The Summer Olympics wrapped up over the weekend in Paris.
Two of the bigger events were the gold medal games for both men’s and women’s basketball — both featuring Team USA vs. France.
Saturday was the men’s final, where Team USA beat France 98-87. Steph Curry led the way with 24 points, all coming on 3-pointers.
And in the women’s final on Sunday, Team USA beat France 67-66. It was their eighth consecutive gold medal — dating back to the 1996 Games. A’ja Wilson paced Team USA with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Trends of the week
At the BetMGM online sportsbook, the men closed as 16.5-point favorites, so they did not cover the spread. Forty percent of the bets and 42% of the money was on Team USA to cover the spread, while 73% of the bets and 33% of the money was on France moneyline (+900).
The women also closed as 16.5-point favorites. Fifty-five percent of the bets and 58% of the money came in on Team USA to cover the spread. They were -1600 on the moneyline, and took in 75% of bets and 91% of the money.
When it comes to MLB betting, the overs for Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes continue to dominate. On Saturday against the Dodgers he struck out eight batters, hitting the over 6.5 strikeouts. Overs are now 11-4 on his strikeout props this season.
Week 1 of the NFL preseason is in the books and underdogs went 10-6 against the spread, while unders went 12-4.
Upsets of the week
Aaron Rai picked up his first career PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship over the weekend. Rai shot a final-round 64 to win by two strokes. Players needed to play 36 holes on Sunday after no golf was played on Thursday due to Tropical Storm Debby. Going into the tournament, Rai was +3300 to win and took in 5% of the bets and 6.6% of the money.
In Saturday’s NFL preseason action, the Browns (-5.5), Bills (-3) and Raiders (-3) were the three most-bet teams to cover the spread at BetMGM sportsbooks, and all three did not.
Coming up
The Phillies are currently +450 to win the World Series after opening the year +1100. They are taking in the most bets (11.5%) and most money (15.7%).
Philadelphia is 69-49 and currently hold a 7.5-game lead in the NL East. They are tied with the Dodgers for the best record in the National League.
The Dodgers have the best odds to win the World Series at +325 and are taking in the third-most bets (9.7%) and the second-most money (12.6%).
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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