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: Illinois (+11.5), West Virginia (+7.5) (Tipico Sportsbook)
Odds: +138
Leg 1: Illinois (+11.5) at Michigan
Featured as a Sonic Blockbuster on ESPN, Illinois/Michigan is a footlong tater tot-topped cheesesteak sandwich matched with a signature slushie chaser. Similar to the calories consumed over that gut-busting session, this game should fill bellies with plenty of buckets. It’s undetermined whether All-American guard Ayo Dosunmu (fractured orbital bone) will suit up, but, assuming he does, the Illini should prevent a lopsided loss. Kofi Cockburn versus Hunter Dickinson is a behemoth matchup of bangers. Whoever wins the interior battle could have a leg up. Additionally, perimeter rotations and defensive communication is critical for Illinois. Isaiah Livers, Eli Brooks, Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith all shoot at least 37% from distance. The Illini, earlier season blitzed from three, have given up just 31.4% in their last nine contests. Playing controlled and converting at the free-throw line are equally vital. Against Wisconsin, a game Illinois dominated for roughly 37 minutes, turnovers piled up for Illinois. To knock off Michigan an almost flawless game plan must be executed. If Ayo sits, the line is sure to balloon, but if Andre Curbelo, Adam Miller and Trent Frazier again rise to the occasion, a blowout seems highly improbable.
Leg 2: Baylor at West Virginia (+7.5)
A bottle of red wine with a tequila nightcap. That, my friends, is the hangover Baylor is still enduring post-COVID-19 shutdown. The Bears were predictably, yet uncharacteristically, sluggish against basement dweller Iowa St. after the hiatus, but the dragging play also carried over to their matchup in Lawrence, a 71-58 defeat at the hands of Kansas. Baylor was throttled on the glass and was noticeably off the mark from deep going 6-for-26 on threes. Derek Culver’s interior brawn is a troublesome matchup for the visiting Bears. WVU has snared a second chance on 33.7% of its possessions over the last month. Taz Sherman, Sam McNeil and Deuce McBride have also made sweet music from outside. The Mountaineers have splashed close to 38% on triples in their last seven games. Victorious in six of their past seven games, Huggy Bear’s bunch is executing at a high level on both ends. They’ve yielded a stifling 0.942 points per possession during the stretch. Will Baylor finally shake off the rust and ramp the RPMs like it did pre-pause? It’s honestly a rhetorical question. However, with WVU at home and given its recent string of quality performances, surrendering any points is too many.
Season record: 26-34
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