The Daily Sweat: The bowl season rolls on with Missouri-Army in Texas
Underdogs were off to a great start during bowl season.
Dogs won five of the first seven bowl games. Four won outright. It's not like that trend was going to last forever.
Louisiana, Tulsa, Wyoming and San Diego State struck back for the favorites. They won four in a row as favorites, and all the covers were fairly comfortable.
There's only one bowl game on Wednesday — just when midweek afternoon college football was growing on us — and the favorite seems like the right side. Army is a 6.5-point favorite at BetMGM in the Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Texas, against Missouri.
We already know what we're going to get out of Army. They're going to run the ball and then run it some more. It's hard for opponents to prepare for the Black Knights. Their triple-option is unlike anything opponents usually see. Also, Missouri's run defense ranks 125th. Not ideal for this matchup. Under coach Jeff Monken the Black Knights won their first three bowl games before losing 24-21 to West Virginia last year. On top of everything else, Army could be motivated to finish its season on the right note after losing to Navy.
Meanwhile, running back Tyler Badie of Missouri has opted out of the game. He led the SEC in rushing. It'll be hard for the Tigers to replace him. There just hasn't been anything pointing to Missouri as the right side in this bowl.
Yahoo Sportsbook's Pamela Maldonado likes Army, and that's enough to lock in a play. Go Army, beat Missouri.
Here's the first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
What other highlights are on the schedule?
It has been pretty dry in college basketball, but we get a pretty good game Wednesday. Undefeated Arizona, one of the best stories of the young season, faces Tennessee. That's a true road game for Arizona, and it's a 1.5-point underdog.
It's a big test for both teams. For Arizona, it would push the Wildcats further up the rankings and solidify their status as title contenders this season. Tennessee is off to a solid start, but a 71-53 loss to Villanova still clouds its resume. The Volunteers also lost in overtime to Seton Hall. It's a great early-season non-conference matchup between two top-10 KenPom teams (Arizona is No. 6 and Tennessee is No. 9).
NBA has a six-game schedule, for now
Hopefully none of the NBA games for Wednesday gets canceled. There are six on the slate. The most interesting is probably the Cleveland Cavaliers, a darling for bettors this season, at the Boston Celtics. It's another chance for the Cavs to prove they're playoff contenders, though the Cavs are one of the teams in the NBA that has been hit hardest by COVID-19. Boston is favored by 5.5 points.
Another game that could have been fun but will be affected by COVID is the Toronto Raptors at the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors have seven players in protocols, and the Bulls have been affected too though some players have returned. The Bulls are 9.5-point favorites.
What's the best bet?
As long as the line is still under a touchdown, Army should win convincingly. If you want to use Army as a teaser leg with an NFL game you like this weekend, that is also appealing.
