MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
Multiple times each week, FTN Bets’ resident college basketball junkie, Brad Evans, will attempt to posterize the ‘books with his favorite selections, whether sides, totals, teasers or parlays. As always, fade or follow Brad’s picks — fading is encouraged — that’s up to you.
2-leg alternative line parlay play: Kansas -2.5, Kentucky +8.5 (Tipico Sportsbook)
Odds: +118
Leg 1: Oklahoma at Kansas (-2.5)
Kansas has Jekyll-and-Hyde tendencies, at least for this profuse bettor. Toss a couple Turkish Liras on the Jayhawks, they inevitably bomb. Fade them, and they cruise to trouble-free cover. Sometimes you can’t win. Well … it’s time to exorcise the demons. Bill Self’s group should handle business in front of a scattershot crowd inside The Phog. They’re incredibly balanced, ranking No. 11 in offensive and No. 11 in defensive efficiency. KU’s impregnable interior defense (43.7 2PT% D in Big 12) and consistent outside bombardment (36.0%) are mismatches, especially the later point. Oklahoma has conceded 42.2 percent along the arc, bottom barrel in conference play. In other words, Jalen Wilson (34.8 3PT%), Christian Braun (38.2%) and Ochai Agbaji (40.0%) could unleash a torrential downpour. Toss in Kansas’ likely rebounding edge and it races away down the homestretch.
Leg 2: Kentucky (+8.5) at Florida
Is Dontaie Allen Kentucky’s savior? For Wildcats fans screaming for shooters of any kind, the freshman is precisely what the doctor ordered. In UK’s back-to-back wins against Mississippi St. and Vanderbilt, the promoted guard scored 37 points, drilling nine threes. On a team devoid of consistent bucket getters, he’s vital for John Calipari’s club to turn their miserable season around. Despite the positive momentum, this is a program dead last in the SEC in two-point percentage offense and near the bottom in effective field-goal percentage. Equally concerning, Kentucky has failed to seal off the glass, which is problematic against a Gators bunch which generates a second chance on 36.0% of its possessions in conference action. Florida’s chunk scoring ability, particularly from the perimeter as it features a trio of sharpshooters, Tre Mann, Scottie Lewis and Noah Locke, who net at least 40%, and transition execution also gives it a leg up. How Brandon Boston and Olivier Sarr body up big man Colin Casleton (69.4 2PT%) in the post could be the deciding matchup. Riding renewed confidence, UK falls just short.
Season record: 3-8 (One of these centuries … )
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