Cnotes 2019 WNBA News - Notes - Picks Thru The Playoffs !

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
6:35 PM Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:35 PM Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:05 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center
7:05 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center


*****************************


WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD


09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................7-5-0........58.33%.......+7.50


*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS


09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................2 - 4 ...............-12.00...............5 - 1............+19.50.........+7.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday?s 6-pack

NFL trends for Week 3:

? Falcons are 0-10 ATS in their last 10 games vs AFC opponents.

? Eagles covered twice in last nine games as a home favorite.

? Vikings are 20-5-1 ATS in last 26 games as a home favorite.

? Denver is 4-12 ATS in last 16 games as a road underdog.

? Patriots covered 12 of last 14 games as a home favorite.

? Raiders covered their last six road openers.

Tweet of the Day
?Eli and I spoke this morning. I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games???
Giants? coach Pat Shurmur

Wednesday?s quiz
Who was the Giants? head coach before Pat Shurmur?

Tuesday?s quiz
Jeff Fisher coached the Tennessee Titans in their only Super Bowl appearance.

Monday?s quiz
Chris Chandler was the Atlanta Falcons? QB the first time they played in a Super Bowl, when they lost to Denver

***************************

Wednesday?s List of 13: Mid-week musings??

13) NFL trends; over last 20 years, 11 NFL teams started their season 0-2, with both losses at home; those teams went 4-6-1 vs spread in their Week 3 road game.

This week, Jets, Panthers, Dolphins fit the bill.

12) Since 2005, NFL Week 3 home teams who played their first two games on the road are 11-28-2 vs spread; 6-22-2 when favored, 5-6 as an underdog.

49ers, Colts, Bills, Jets fit the bill this week.

11) Daniel Jones is starting at QB for the Giants Sunday in Tampa; last time Eli Manning got benched, that coach got fired a few weeks later, and Eli started again. We?ll see how this goes, but Jones doesn?t play defense, which is the Giants? biggest problem.

10) Submitted for your perusal, with no comment:
Jim Plunkett: 72-72 regular season, 8-2 playoffs, two Super Bowls.
Eli Manning: 116-116 regular season, 8-4 playoffs, two Super Bowls.

9) Steelers signed QB Paxton Lynch to their practice squad; he figures to be Mason Rudolph?s backup sooner than later.

8) NFC West teams are 7-1 against the spread so far this season.

7) MAC teams are 4-12 ATS as a road underdog outside their conference.

6) Nation-wide, home underdogs are 11-18 ATS in non-conference college games.

5) Pretty cool with Giants? OF Mike Yastrzemski in Boston this week, playing on the same field where his Hall of Fame grandfather played from 1961-83.

Carl Yastrzemski hit 452 homers playing half his games in a ballpark not built for lefty hitters; he had an .841 career OPS.

Mike Yastrzemski was traded from the sadsack Orioles to San Francisco on March 23; he is hitting .263 with 19 homers in a breakout rookie season- this should be a fun week for him.

4) Cardinals beat Washington 4-2 Monday night, but St Louis pitchers struck out only one batter the whole game, which in this day and age is pretty rare.

3) Sean Payton agreed to a 5-year contract extension that takes him through 2024, which would be his 19th season coaching the Saints.

2) New England is -22.5 against the Jets; how many points would you have to get before you would take the Jets?

Dolphins are +21 at Dallas; when was last time two NFL teams got 20+ points in the same week?

1) Big X teams are 13-4 ATS out of conference this season, 9-2 as a favorite.

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, September 19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOS ANGELES (23 - 12) at CONNECTICUT (23 - 11) - 9/19/2019, 6:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 5-4 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LAS VEGAS (22 - 12) at WASHINGTON (25 - 8) - 9/19/2019, 8:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 5-2 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 4-3 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




WNBA

Thursday, September 19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 6 games
Connecticut is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games at home
Connecticut is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Connecticut's last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Connecticut is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Los Angeles is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles's last 10 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut

Washington Mystics
Washington is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Washington's last 16 games
Washington is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games at home
Washington is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Las Vegas is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Las Vegas's last 13 games
Las Vegas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Las Vegas is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 7 games on the road
Las Vegas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Las Vegas's last 9 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Las Vegas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, September 19


Los Angeles @ Connecticut

Game 615-616
September 19, 2019 @ 6:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
110.810
Connecticut
114.879
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 4
157
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 1 1/2
161 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(-1 1/2); Under

Las Vegas @ Washington

Game 617-618
September 19, 2019 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
109.760
Washington
122.325
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 12 1/2
179
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 10
176
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-10); Over

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at CONN 06:30 PM
CONN -1.5
O 162.0

LV at WAS 08:30 PM
LV +10.0
O 176.5

 

[Cnotes53]

Sun rout Sparks 94-68, take 2-0 lead in semifinal series
September 19, 2019
By The Associated Press

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Jonquel Jones scored 27 points and Courtney Williams added 25 to help the Connecticut Sun rout the Los Angeles Sparks 94-68 on Thursday night and take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.

Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Sunday in Los Angeles.

The Sun led by one at the half before Williams blew the game open. She scored 13 of her points in the third quarter to the delight of her dad, Don, who was courtside wearing her No. 10 jersey. He was jumping up and down on every one of her baskets and waving a towel and a cardboard cutout of his daughter's head.

Connecticut led 70-57 after three quarters and scored 10 of the first 12 points in the fourth to dash any hopes Los Angeles had of a comeback. Sparks coach Derek Fisher pulled his starters with 5:31 left and his team down 23 points.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 18 points and Riquna Williams added 14 for the Sparks, who will have to win three straight to make the WNBA Finals for the third time in five years.

MYSTICS 103, ACES 91

WASHINGTON (AP) - Emma Meesseman matched a career high with 30 points in her second consecutive exceptional performance, and Washington beat Las Vegas to take a 2-0 lead in the teams' semifinal series.

Natasha Cloud added 18 points and 11 assists for Washington, while Elena Delle Donne scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the day she was honored with the league MVP award.

The Mystics can wrap up the best-of-five series and seal a return to the WNBA Finals on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Liz Cambage had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Aces, who have lost four of five meetings against the Mystics this year between the regular season and playoffs.

Kelsey Plum added 19 points and 10 assists for Las Vegas, which fought back from an 11-point second-quarter deficit to take a brief lead in the third, only to fade late.

 

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:05 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center
7:05 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center


*******************************


WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/19/2019.......2-1-1........66.67%......+4.50
09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................9-6-1........60.00%.......+12.00


*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

09/19/2019..............1 - 0................+5.00..............1 - 1..............-0.50............+4.50
09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................3 - 4 ...............-3.00................6 - 2.............+19.00..........+16.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top six picks for Week 3 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Colts -1.5 (674)

5) Ravens +6.5 (794)

4) Steelers +6.5 (934)

3) Lions +6 (937)

2) Seahawks -4 (974)

1) Rams -3 (1,474)

2019 record: 7-5


**********

Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday??

13) UCLA 67, Washington State 63:
? This amazing game ended at 2:27am here in the east.
? With 4:00 left in third quarter, Wazzu led 49-17; UCLA then scored 29 points in the next 7:24
? Bruins had a 100-yard kick return and a 69-yard punt return for TD?s.
? Both quarterbacks threw for 500+ yards.

? UCLA scored 50 points in the second half; Fifty!!!
? Coogs turned ball over six times (-5).
? Total yardage was 720-657, WSU.
? Wazzu QB Gordon threw nine TD passes, and his team still lost.

12) Toledo 41, Colorado State 35? At 2:34am, Colorado State?s receiver caught a pass on 2-yard line but was stopped on the 1-yard line as the game ended. Solid late night entertainment this week.

11) LSU 66, Vanderbilt 38? The most important new name in college football this season may wind up being Joe Brady, who is LSU?s passing game coordinator and receivers coach.

Brady came to LSU from the New Orleans Saints, where he worked the last two years; he has brought the Tigers? offense into the 21st century, and he may wind up making QB Joe Burrow a very wealthy young man when the NFL Draft rolls around next April.

Burrow was 25-34/398 yards passing with six TD?s Saturday in Nashville; at one time a few years ago, he was the 3rd-string QB at Ohio State.

10) Wisconsin 35, Michigan 14:
? Rushing yardage: 359-40, Wisconsin
? Wolverines were minus-4 in turnovers, 0-10 on third down
? Michigan completed only 17 of 42 passes.

Under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan is:
? 1-3 in bowl games.
? 0-4 vs Ohio State (lost 62-39 LY).
? 2-2 vs Wisconsin.
? 2-4 vs spread as an underdog.

I?m guessing the natives are restless in Ann Arbor.

9) California 28, Ole Miss 20? Rebels got hosed by the replay official, who neglected to call for a replay review of a possible touchdown of their 3rd down play that may/may not have been a TD that could?ve tied the game in the last 0:10. Bad officiating.

Last nine Pac-12-SEC games, the SEC teams are 7-2 vs spread, but both the Pac-12?s covers were by Cal over Ole Miss.

8) Appalachian State 34, North Carolina 31? Tar Heels outgained ASU 469-385, but were minus-2 in turnovers? App State scored a defensive TD. UNC is now 2-2, with all four games decided by six or fewer points.

7) Upsets of the Week:
? San Jose State (+20.5) 31, Arkansas 24
? UCLA (+18.5) 67, Washington State 63
? Buffalo (+14) 38, Temple 22
? Pitt (+12.5) 35, UCF 34
? SMU (+9.5) 41, TCU 38

6) I-A teams who almost lost to a I-AA team:
? Eastern Michigan 34, Central Connecticut 29? EMU blocked a punt for a TD with 0:10 left, avoiding a horrendous loss after they upset Illinois last week.

5) Pittsburgh 35, UCF 34? Panthers scored on a ?Philly Special? 4th down trick play with 0:56 left to hand the Golden Knights their first loss of the season. UCF had won its previous 27 regular season games; they rallied back from down 21-0 in this game, but couldn?t hang on.

4) Washington 45, BYU 19? BYU needs to get into a league; their schedule is stupid:

First 4 games: Utah, @ Tennessee, USC, Washington.
Next 8 games: @ Toledo, @ USF, Boise St, @ Utah St, Liberty, Idaho St, UMass, @ San Diego St.

Not a very well-balanced schedule. Most schools spread out their more attractive games.

3) USC 30, Utah 23? Trojans? 3rd-string QB Matt Fink was 21-30/351 passing; USC has really good receivers, but they?re running out of quarterbacks.

2) Nebraska 42, Illinois 38- Illini led 35-21 with 3:00 left in third quarter, but couldn?t hold it.

? Total yardage: 671-299, Nebraska
? Illinois was +3 in turnovers (4-1).
? Illinois completed only 9-24 passes.
? Cornhuskers ran ball for 344 yards.

1) Scott Frost is the football coach at Nebraska; his brother Steve is the PA announcer at Stanford football games.

 

[Cnotes53]

Semifinals have home squads up 2-0

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Jonquel Jones and Courtney Williams got the Connecticut Sun going in the third quarter and the team never looked back.

Jones scored 27 points and Williams added 25 to help the Sun rout the Los Angeles Sparks 94-68 on Thursday night and take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.

''I think we brought a different type of energy. LA came out and hit us in our mouth,'' Williams said of the Sparks' early lead. ''You know we had to come out and withstand their runs, stay mentally strong. We know basketball is a game of runs. We went on our run and kept our foot on the gas.''

Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Sunday in Long Beach, California, as the Sparks' normal home in Los Angeles isn't available.

''Right now at this time of the year our home court at Staples is prioritized with the Kings and their preseason games. So that's how it is,'' said Nneka Oguwmike, who led the Sparks with 18 points.

The Sun led by one at the half before Williams helped blow the game open. She scored 13 of her points in the third quarter to the delight of her dad, Don, who was courtside wearing her No. 10 jersey. He was jumping up and down on every one of her baskets and waving a towel and a cardboard cutout of his daughter's head. After the final buzzer, he ran on the court and picked up his daughter in a bear hug.

''Having my dad there is crazy. It's an amazing feeling to look over there and see someone bringing more energy than me,'' Williams said. ''He's been here since I was born, obviously. ... It takes me to another level to be able to look over to him and him telling me to stop turning the ball over. ... Telling me free throws are free, don't miss no free throws. Having him here, I love it.''

Connecticut led 70-57 after three quarters and scored 10 of the first 12 points in the fourth to dash any hopes Los Angeles had of a comeback. Sparks coach Derek Fisher pulled his starters with 5:31 left and his team down 23 points.

Riquna Williams added 14 for the Sparks, who will have to win three straight to make the WNBA Finals for the third time in five years.

''We weren't able to sustain the fight and energy it takes to win these games on the road,'' Fisher said. ''Credit them for how hard they were able to play.''

Riquna Williams had a dismal Game 1, missing eight of her nine shots and scoring just two points in the nine-point loss. She got out to a quick start on Thursday, scoring seven points in the first five minutes. Los Angeles led 16-6 midway through the period when Connecticut called timeout. The Sun then scored nine straight to get within one before the Sparks closed the quarter with the final six points.

The Sun battled back and took their first lead of the game with 1:04 left in the half on a basket by Jones. Connecticut led 41-40 at the half. Jones had 15 points for Connecticut while Ogwumike made all six of her shots and had 12 for Los Angeles.

IRONWOMAN

Alyssa Thomas played the first 74 minutes of the series before finally subbing out for the first time with 5:31 left in the game and her team up comfortably. She finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and four assists and helped hold Sparks star Candace Parker to just three points.

CHAIRWOMEN OF THE BOARDS

The 29 rebounds by Connecticut in the first half broke the WNBA playoff mark for a half. Four teams held the previous record of 28, most recently the 2017 Mystics. Connecticut finished the game with 46 to Los Angeles' 24.

''The rebounding is what stands out on the stat sheet tonight,'' Miller said. ''It carried us when we were struggling in the first half.''

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, September 22

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONNECTICUT (25 - 11) at LOS ANGELES (23 - 14) - 9/22/2019, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) in road games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 4-11 ATS (-8.1 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
CONNECTICUT is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more this season.
LOS ANGELES is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points this season.
LOS ANGELES is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) in home games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
LOS ANGELES is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in home games in August or September games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 16-5 ATS (+10.5 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games after a loss by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
LOS ANGELES is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record after 15+ games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 10-22 ATS (-14.2 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 17-29 ATS (-14.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-5 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 6-5 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON (27 - 8) at LAS VEGAS (22 - 14) - 9/22/2019, 5:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 25-46 ATS (-25.6 Units) in road games on Sunday games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 24-13 ATS (+9.7 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
LAS VEGAS is 14-22 ATS (-10.2 Units) in all games this season.
LAS VEGAS is 7-19 ATS (-13.9 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.
LAS VEGAS is 8-18 ATS (-11.8 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 6-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 6-3 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




WNBA

Sunday, September 22

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games
Las Vegas is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Las Vegas's last 14 games
Las Vegas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 7 games when playing at home against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington's last 17 games
Washington is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
Washington is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas

Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Los Angeles is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Los Angeles is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Los Angeles is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing at home against Connecticut
Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 7 games
Connecticut is 4-10-1 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games on the road
Connecticut is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Connecticut is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, September 22


Washington @ Las Vegas

Game 621-622
September 22, 2019 @ 5:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
121.478
Las Vegas
110.618
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 11
179
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 3
181 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-3); Under

Connecticut @ Los Angeles

Game 619-620
September 22, 2019 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Connecticut
108.590
Los Angeles
117.199
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 8 1/2
158
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 5 1/2
161 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Los Angeles
(-5 1/2); Under

 

[Cnotes53]

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

WAS at LV 05:00 PM
WAS -3.0
O 181.5

CONN at LA 07:00 PM
LA -5.5
O 161.5

 

[Cnotes53]

Sun advance to finals; Aces avoid elimination
September 22, 2019
By The Associated Press

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) Jasmine Thomas had 29 points and Courtney Williams added 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead Connecticut to a 78-56 win in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals and give the Sun a sweep of the series Sunday.

Connecticut advances to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2005, where it will play either Washington or Las Vegas. The Mystics have a 2-1 series lead over the Aces.

Nneka Ogwumike had 17 points to lead the Sparks. Candace Parker was held to just four points. She played just 11 minutes in the game. She sat out the second quarter and took one shot in the third quarter before going to the bench with 5:54 left. She didn't return to the game.

Thomas scored 14 of her 29 points in the third quarter on 6-for-7 shooting to lead the Sun to a 63-44 lead heading into the final quarter. Thomas made big shot after big shot for the Sun. Connecticut led 40-32 at halftime. Thomas had a team-best 11 points in the first half on 3 of 4 shots - all 3-pointers. She took the Sun's first shot of the third quarter, a 3-pointer, and made it.

Williams scored the first seven points for the Sun. The Sparks starters combined for just seven points in the first quarter and were a combined 3-for-15 from the field.

The Sun shot 43.8 percent in the first half while Los Angeles was just 34.9 percent from the field. The Sparks made just 1 of 13 3-pointers in the first half.

The game was played at Long Beach State because the Sparks' normal home Staples Center wasn't available.

ACES 92, MYSTICS 75

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Liz Cambage scored 28 points to lead the Aces to a victory over the Mystics in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals.

The fourth-seeded Aces staved off elimination after losing the first two games of the series in Washington D.C. The Mystics had their eight-game winning streak snapped, as they hadn't lost a game since dropping an 85-78 decision in Chicago on Aug. 23.

A'Ja Wilson added 21 points and eight rebounds, while Kayla McBride had 18 points.

League MVP Elena Delle Donne led the Mystics with 22 points. Kristi Toliver added 14 points, while Aerial Powers chipped in 13.

After falling behind 33-31 midway through the second quarter, the Aces used a 12-0 run in a four-minute span to open up a 10-point lead and never looked back.

The Aces carried the momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter on a 13-6 run.

The Mystics, who set a franchise high with 103 points in Game 2 and had scored at least 90 points in eight of their last 10 games, fell to 0-6 when scoring less than 79 points this season. Washington which is 26-0 when scoring 85 or more points this season, finished the game hitting just 38.6 percent (27 of 70) from the floor.

The Aces, who had lost seven of nine prior to their series-saving win, finished 35 of 72 (48.6 percent) from the floor, including 6 of 14 from 3-point range.

 

[Cnotes53]

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
12:00 PM Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena
12:00 PM Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena


**********************************


WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/22/2019.......0-4-0........0.00%.......-22.00
09/19/2019.......2-1-1........66.67%......+4.50
09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................9-10-1.......47.36%......-10.00


*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

09/22/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00.............0 - 2..............-11.00...........-22.00
09/19/2019..............1 - 0................+5.00..............1 - 1..............-0.50............+4.50
09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................3 - 6 ...............-14.00................6 - 4...........+8.00............-6.00

 

[Cnotes53]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Six interesting spreads for this week?s college football card:

? Penn State (-6.5) @ Maryland

? Arizona State @ California (-4.5)

? Wake Forest (-6.5) @ Boston College

? Iowa State (-2.5) @ Baylor

? Minnesota @ Purdue (-1)

? Washington State # Utah (-5)


**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but??

13) Bears 31, Redskins 15:
? Trubisky was 20-23/173 passing in first half.
? Chicago led 28-3 at half, but it was 28-13 and Redskins had ball on Chicago?s 15-yard line before Keenum lost a fumble.


? If Keenum isn?t going to protect the ball, might as well start rookie QB Haskins now; Redskins? bye isn?t until Week 10. Haskins needs to learn; you learn by doing.
? Last 18 times Redskins hosted Monday Night Football, they lost 17 times.

12) San Diego Padres fired manager Andy Green Saturday, but they probably fired the wrong guy. GM AJ Preller has been GM of the Padres since August 2014; since ?15, San Diego is 338-454, their last playoff appearance was in 2006.

Preller was once suspended by MLB for a month in the late 2000?s when he worked for the Texas Rangers in their international operations department; MLB later suspended Preller for another 30 days without pay in 2016 following an investigation into his trade of P Drew Pomeranz from San Diego to the Red Sox.

The guy is a cheater who got caught by MLB twice; he hasn?t improved the Padres very much, despite San Diego?s ownership shelling out major money on free agents Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado. How does he keep his job?

11) Royals? manager Ned Yost, who won a World Series title four years ago, will retire after this week?s games wind up. Yost managed the Royals since 2010.

10) When Buffalo Bills scored a TD early in their game Sunday, Cincinnati jumped offsides on the PAT, so Buffalo took the penalty, went for two points and grabbed an early 8-0 lead. Not a lot of coaches do that.

9) SouthPoint posts a fun prop on football days; which team will score the first TD in the early games? Green Bay (8-1) was Sunday?s winner this past week.

8) Milwaukee Brewers are averaging 35,870 fans per home game; Minnesota Twins are averaging 28,191, even though they?re having a great breakthrough season. Milwaukee has a dome at Miller Park, so fans never have to worry about the weather; Minnesota doesn?t.

Why didn?t the Twins build a retractable domed stadium? They cost themselves a lot of money both in April and September, when the weather is often dicey.

7) Last week, NBA changed a rule, making teams set their starting lineup 30 minutes before tip-off, as opposed to 10 minutes before tip-off, which helps coaches and gamblers.

6) On April 10, the Indians lost 4-1 in Detroit; it was the only time in 19 meetings this season that the hapless Tigers beat Cleveland. Indians are in a dogfight for the AL Wild Card; they?re 18-1 vs Detroit, 74-63 vs everyone else.

5) Baltimore Orioles have lost 100+ games for the second year in a row for the first time ever; hard to believe that they were in the playoffs three short years ago, losing the Wild Card game 5-2 to Toronto in 11 innings.

4) Handicapping is difficult: we mentioned the other day how seven QB?s started in NFL?s Week 3 who didn?t start in Week 1; you figure those teams might be at a disadvantage, but the seven teams went 6-1 against the spread in Week 3.

3) World Series starts the same night as the NBA regular season, which is a little bit odd on the NBA?s part. Maybe they figure the same people aren?t watching both sports.

2) Miami Dolphins are 17-point home underdogs agains the Chargers Sunday; this is only the fifth time since 1980 that an NFL team was a road favorite of 17+ points.

Biggest NFL pointspread ever? The winless ?76 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were +27 at Pittsburgh and lost 42-0, but they were an expansion team, and a very bad one.

1) Tip of the cap to the people at the Apple Store in Crossgates **** here in Albany; picked up a new iPhone Friday, and as usual, their service was excellent. Scott was very patient and answered all my questions; he roots for the Dolphins, so he has to be patient.

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, September 24


Washington @ Las Vegas

Game 625-626
September 24, 2019 @ 9:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Washington
116.763
Las Vegas
115.333
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 1 1/2
177
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 4
180 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Las Vegas
(+4); Under




WNBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, September 24

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON (27 - 9) at LAS VEGAS (23 - 14) - 9/24/2019, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 24-14 ATS (+8.6 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 2 seasons.
LAS VEGAS is 17-33 ATS (-19.3 Units) in home games on Tuesday since 1997.
LAS VEGAS is 18-36 ATS (-21.6 Units) in home games off an upset win as an underdog since 1997.
LAS VEGAS is 1-7 ATS (-6.7 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.
LAS VEGAS is 8-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 7-3 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 6-4 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




WNBA

Tuesday, September 24

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Las Vegas Aces
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Las Vegas's last 7 games at home
Las Vegas is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
Las Vegas is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when playing at home against Washington
Las Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Las Vegas's last 8 games when playing at home against Washington
Washington Mystics
Washington is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington's last 18 games
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Washington is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games on the road
Washington is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Washington is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Washington's last 8 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas

 

[Cnotes53]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

WAS at LV 09:00 PM

LV +4.0

O 180.5

 

[Cnotes53]

Mystics Top Aces 94-90, Advance To WNBA Finals

LAS VEGAS (AP) Elena Delle Donne scored 25 points, and the Washington Mystics earned a return trip to the WNBA Finals, outlasting the Las Vegas Aces 94-90 to close out their semifinal series on Tuesday night.

The Mystics, who eliminated the Aces in four games, will host the Connecticut Sun in Game 1 of the Finals on Sunday. Washington was swept by Seattle in last year?s Finals.

Emma Meesseman bounced back from her dismal performance in Game 3, when she was held to just six points, by scoring 22 points for Washington. Kristi Toliver added 20 and Natasha Cloud chipped in with 11.

Las Vegas built a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter, but the Mystics quickly turned things around. Toliver, Delle Donne, Cloud and Meesseman scored consecutive buckets to ignite a 16-4 run that closed the half and gave the Mystics a 45-43 lead at the break.

Washington carried its momentum into the second half when Toliver opened the quarter with a 3-pointer in front of the Aces bench and went on to score 10 of the Mystics? first 15 points in the third.

Las Vegas wasn?t done, though, as it erased a seven-point deficit and closed the third quarter on a 15-7 run that included five points each from Plum and WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby and gave the Aces a 68-67 lead.

League MVP Delle Donne and Meesseman took over in the fourth quarter. They scored 21 of Washington?s 26 points in the period to seal the win.

Hamby had a chance to tie the game with 3.4 seconds left but missed a 3-pointer from the corner.

TIP-INS

Mystics: It won?t show on the stat sheet, but Aerial Powers gave Washington the blue-collar support it needed, including a spark just before its second-quarter run. Powers, who finished with seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes, stood her ground against a driving Hamby and took the charge on the baseline with 5:40 left, with the Aces leading 34-27. The Mystics outscored Las Vegas 18-9 from there.

Aces: Kayla McBride, who averaged 7.5 points over the last six games of the regular season, came in averaging 14.7 per game on 50% shooting in the playoffs. But she went just 2 of 10 from the floor Tuesday night, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range.

NBA INVASION

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Quinn Cook of the Los Angeles Lakers were sitting courtside. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green also attended.

UP NEXT

Washington will host Connecticut in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday.

 

[Cnotes53]

FINALS: BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES

Mystics, Sun Set To Clash In 2019 WNBA Finals Presented By YouTube TV

The No. 1 Washington Mystics will face the No. 2 Connecticut Sun starting Sunday, September 29th in an East Coast WNBA Finals showdown. The Sun see their first Finals since 2005 while the Mystics look to take home the hardware a year removed from falling to the Storm in the championship round.

Finals Schedule

Game 1: Sun. Sep. 29, CON at WAS, 3:00PM, ESPN

Game 2: Tue. Oct. 1, CON at WAS, 8:00PM, ESPN

Game 3: Sun. Oct. 6, WAS at CON, 3:30PM, ABC

Game 4*: Tue. Oct. 8, WAS at CON, 8:00PM, ESPN2

Game 5*: Thu. Oct. 10, CON at WAS, 8:00PM, ESPN2

*if necessary

Season Series (CON Won 2-1)

May 25: Sun 84, Mystics 69

June 11: Sun 83, Mystics 75

June 29: Mystics 102, Sun 59

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday?s 6-pack

Six biggest NFL point spreads, all-time:

1976? Steelers (-27) W42-0 vs Tampa Bay

2013? Broncos (-26) W35-19 vs Jacksonville

2007? Patriots (-25) W31-28 vs Philly

1993? 49ers (-24) W21-8 vs Cincy

1977? Cowboys (-23) W23-7 vs Tampa Bay

2019? Cowboys (-22.5) W31-6 vs Miami

Quote of the Day
?I don?t think I ever saw a case where he threw a player under the bus. As a player, we knew he had our back.?
Ian Kennedy, talking about manager Ned Yost, who is retiring

Wednesday?s quiz
Mark Wahlberg starred in a 2006 movie called Invincible, about a 30-year old bartender who made the ?76 Philadelphia Eagles as a special teams player; who coached the ?76 Eagles?
(Hint: he won a Super Bowl as a head coach)

Tuesday?s quiz
Mark Rypien was QB the last time the Redskins won a Super Bowl.

Monday?s quiz
Jim Mora Sr coached the Saints and the Colts.

************************

Wednesday?s List of 13: Mid-week musings??

13) If Tony Romo makes the cut at the Safeway Open PGA event this week, then Boomer Esiason will move from the NFL Today studio to the broadcast booth to call the Bears-Vikings game Sunday afternoon with Jim Nantz.

12) Steelers? QB Mason Rudolph completed 14 of 27 passes Sunday in San Francisco, wth TD passes of 76-39 yards; those two TD passes were the only Rudolph completions that traveled more than one yard downfield in the air.

Will be interesting to see how opponents react to playing these new QB?s once they have more film to study on them.

11) Cam Newton is dealing with a Lisfranc (foot) injury and is out indefinitely; Kyle Allen is now Carolina?s starting QB for the foreseeable future.

10) Golden Nugget posted a pic last week of someone winning $20,000 at video poker; he had four deuces and an ace- the problem is, the person was playing $125 a hand? I can?t even imagine playing that much money on video poker.

$1.25 a hand is my limit on video poker; then again, I?m a nickel/dimer, but still??video poker goes pretty fast. $125 a hand can get expensive pretty quickly.

9) Cleveland Browns opened at +5 vs Baltimore Sunday but were quickly bet up to +7; four of their next five games are on the road. Lot of pressure on a rookie head coach to live up to expectations that may not have been realistic.

8) Orioles drew 1.31M fans in 80 home games this year, the lowest in Camden Yards history, and lowest for Baltimore in a non-strike season since 1978 at old Memorial Stadium.

7) Good news: San Francisco Giants finished 42-39 on the road this year, after going 57-105 on foreign soil the last two years combined.

Bad news: This will be the first season since 1940 where the Giants posted a winning road record but had a losing overall record.

6) In Buster Olney?s baseball column on ESPN.com this week, he describes the Mets as ???..the team generally regarded by rival executives as baseball?s model for dysfunction.? Not good.

5) Calvin Johnson was a great WR for the Detroit Lions; when he was in high school, he finished 2nd in the voting for 2003 Georgia 4A High School Offensive Player of the Year.

Who won the award that year? Rams? head coach Sean McVay.

4) Modern baseball announcers on local TV:
? Home team hits a homer: Player A has great power!!! Look how far he hit that ball the other way. He worked out all winter to get stronger.

? Visiting team hits a homer: Did you know homers went up 57% in AAA this year? Why is baseball using a juiced ball this season? Player B lunged at the ball and still hit it out!!!

3) So far this month, college football teams who were voted into the AP top 25 for the first time this season are 1-6 vs spread in their next game. Kansas State fits into that category this week.

2) RIP Texas/Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, who died Saturday at age 32; he was found dead overnight on Saturday in Austin. Police are investigating the death but do not suspect foul play.

Snead competed with Colt McCoy for the Longhorns? starting job in 2006 after Vince Young?s departure; he played in eight games in 2006, completing 26-of-49 passes for 371 yards, but then transferred to Ole Miss, where he started for two years (2008-09).

Snead skipped his senior season at Ole Miss to enter the 2010 NFL draft; he went undrafted and was later cut after signing with Tampa Bay.

1) Are podcasts replacing reading as a way of getting information? If so, that is kind of sad, because writing is such a cool thing to do. Seems like podcasts are a much lazier way of getting information out. You really have to spend your time wisely, and pick podcasts that are well thought out and informative, not just people running their mouths and getting paid for it.

 

[Cnotes53]

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top six picks for Week 4 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Texans -4.5 (752)

5) Saints +2.5 (812)

4) Cowboys -2.5 (845)

3) Vikings +1.5 (861)

2) Patriots -7 (930)

1) Chiefs -6.5 (1,463)

2019 record: 12-6


**********

Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a college football Saturday

13) Clemson 21, North Carolina 20? Tar Heels scored a TD with 1:17 left, then went for 2 points and the lead- they didn?t get it. Here is why I think that was a terrible idea:

? Recruiting is the lifeblood of all college football programs; for an underdog team like UNC, this was free advertising on national TV. You want the game to last as long as possible.
? Even if they lost in overtime, it would be a great headline: ?Tar Heels take Clemson to OT?
? All the pressure, 100% of it, is on Clemson. Play as long as you can; maybe they?ll screw it up.

? The game was televised on ESPN; Mack Brown spent the last five years working for ESPN, so all the announcers did was talk him up. The more of this, the better.
? The more recruits see of your stadium and enthusiastic fans, the better for you.
? Even if they get the 2-point conversion, Clemson had 1:17 left to try and beat them.

12) Oklahoma 55, Texas Tech 16? Jalen Hurts was 16-23/413 passing; how long can Oklahoma keep coach Lincoln Riley from jumping to the NFL?

Hurts is now 30-2 as a starting QB in college; in a perfect world, Alabama-Oklahoma would hook up in a January bowl game, Hurts against his old team. Good theater.

11) Alabama 59, Ole Miss 31? Tua Tagovailoa was 26-36/418 and six TD?s; Devonta Smith caught 11 balls for 274 yards and five TD?s. Thats a full day.

10) Baylor 23, Iowa State 21? Bears blew a 20-0 4th quarter lead on a hot day in Waco, then drove 49 yards on 14 plays and kicked the winning FG with 0:34 left. ISU had taken the lead on an 88-yard TD pass with 3:52 left.

9) Michigan 52, Rutgers 0? Why is Rutgers in the Big 14? What do they bring to the league?

Scarlet Knights are now 3-26 SU in conference play since joining the league; they?ve been outscored 82-0 in two league games this season.

In three years of Big 14 basketball, Rutgers is 13-43 in conference games; they haven?t been to the NCAA tournament since 1991. i won?t even bring up that the Big 14 is a midwestern league and Rutgers is in freakin? New Jersey.

It makes no sense; UConn would?ve been a better add, if they were so insistent on having an eastern team in the league. At least the Huskies are strong in basketball.

8) Arizona 20, UCLA 17? Arizona?s senior QB Tate sat this one out with an injury, but UCLA missed a short FG in last minute and falls to 1-4, and they trailed 49-17 in the game they won. Freshman QB Gunnell was 29-44/352 passing for Arizona.

7) Upsets:
? Houston (+7.5) 46, North Texas 25
? UMass (+7) 37, Akron 29
? Arkansas State (+7) 50, Troy 43
? Arizona State (+4) 24, California 17

6) SMU 48, South Florida 21? Mustangs are 5-0, averaging 44.4 ppg and they?ve beaten TCU.

5) Duke 45, Virginia Tech 10? This was the Hokies? worst home loss since 1974; they haven?t had back/back losing seasons since 1991-92, but appear headed that way this year.

4) Utah 38, Washington State 13? Last week the Coogs led UCLA 49-17 late in the 3rd quarter; in their last 79:00 of play, Wazzu has been outscored 105-27. Not good. Tough coaching job for Mike Leach now, restoring his players? confidence.

3) Houston 46, North Texas 25? Cougars? new QB Tune was 16-20/124 passing, and ran for 100 yards; line moved 10 points towards North Texas after Houston QB King red-shirted, so this was a good result for the bookmakers.

AAC teams were 4-0 out of conference this week, 3-0 vs C-USA teams.

2) Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 15? Two of Badgers? three TD?s were scored by their defense. Northwestern has now covered 15 of last 19 games as a road underdog.

1) Wyoming 53, UNLV 17? Wyoming ran the ball for 374 yards, and also averaged 10.2 yards per pass attempt. Ugly numbers. The new dome in Las Vegas opens next year; it is becoming less clear if Tony Sanchez will still be UNLV?s coach when next year gets here.

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA Finals Cheat Sheet

The 2019 WNBA Finals will begin on Sunday Sept. 29 as the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics meet in a best-of-five series.

Oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook opened the Mystics as minus-300 favorites (Bet $100 to win $33) while the Sun have a return of plus-260 (Bet $100 to win $260).

Finals Schedule

Game 1 ? Connecticut at Washington (Sunday, Sept. 29, 3:05 p.m. ET)
Game 2 ? Connecticut at Washington (Tuesday, Oct. 1, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Game 3 ? Washington at Connecticut (Sunday, Oct. 6, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Game 4 ? Washington at Connecticut (Tuesday, Oct. 8, 8:00 p.m. ET)
Game 5 ? Connecticut at Washington (Thursday, Oct. 10, 8:00 p.m. ET)

(1) Washington vs. (2) Connecticut

2019 Regular Season Meetings

May 25 ? Connecticut (-5.5) 84 vs. Washington 69 (Under 166 ?)
June 11 ? Connecticut (-3) 83 vs. Washington 75 (Under 166 ?)
June 29 ? Washington (-7) 102 vs. Connecticut 59 (Under 161 ?)

Playoff Form

-- Connecticut won and covered all three matchups against Los Angeles in the semifinals as it pulled off the three-game sweep.

-- The Sun won by an average of 19 points per game and the defense only allowed 66.3 PPG, which helped the ?under? cash in every decision.

-- Washington advanced past Las Vegas in four games of the semifinals. Despite posting a 3-1 record in that series, the Mystics went 1-3 against the spread for bettors.

-- The Mystics averaged 94.3 PPG in their wins and were held to 75 in the lone loss. The ?over? went 3-1.

ATS Numbers

-- The home team won and covered all three encounters between the pair this season, with the results coming by an average of 33 PPG.

-- Connecticut owns a 17-19-1 ATS mark this season.

-- At home, Connecticut has gone 17-2 straight up and 12-7 ATS.

-- On the road, the Sun struggled to a 5-12-1 ATS mark for bettors despite a 9-9 record.

-- The point-spread hasn?t matter when the Sun have been listed as an underdog this season. Connecticut has gone 3-3 both SU and ATS in that role.

-- Including the playoffs, Washington has produced a 21-16-1 ATS mark this season.

-- At home, the Mystics have gone 16-3 SU and 12-16-1 ATS.

-- The club has produced a 13-6 SU and 9-10 ATS mark on the road.

-- Washington was listed as an underdog four times this season and it went 2-2 both SU and ATS in that role.

-- Coincidentally, the two setbacks came to Connecticut (see above).

-- Game 2, 4 and 5 will be played on one day of rest. The Sun went 10-5 SU and 8-7 ATS playing with the short break this season while Washington was a tad better at 11-3 SU and 9-5 ATS.

-- The pair will have three or more days of rest between the first and third installments. Both Connecticut (9-3 SU, 6-6 ATS) and Washington (9-2 SU, 4-6-1 ATS) have fared well with the extra rest.

-- Sticking with the above, Game 1 and 3 are afternoon matchups. Connecticut has gone 6-9 ATS in day games while the Mystics own a solid 10-4 ATS mark.

Total Talk

-- The ?under? went 3-0 in this year?s regular season meetings between the pair.

-- In 2018, the two clubs saw their total results go 2-2.

-- Make a note that Washington has scored 75, 69 and 68 points in their last three trips to the Mohegan Sun Arena.

-- Including the postseason, the Sun watched the ?under? go 20-17 while Washington was a great ?over? wager (23-15).

-- Connecticut saw both its home (10-9) and away (10-8) records lean to the low side.

-- Washington saw the ?over? go 12-7 at home and 11-8 on the road.

-- As mentioned above, Game 1 and 3 will be afternoon tilts and even though the Mystics were an ?over? club this season, the high side was just 8-6 in day games. Connecticut watched the ?under? go 10-5 in afternoon spots.

WNBA Finals - Notable Trends

-- Both teams are aiming for their first WNBA title. While the Mystics were swept by Seattle in the finals last year, the Sun haven't been here since consecutive appearances in 2004-05. They were coached by Mike Thibault, who now ironically leads Washington.

-- Favorites have gone 13-8 straight up and 9-11-1 ATS in the last five finals.

WNBA History

-- Home squads have produced a 12-9 straight up record during this span.

-- Total bettors have watched more ?under? tickets connect in the last dance with the low side holding a slight 12-9 lean.

Stats to Watch

-- Washington has been an offensive machine, ranked first in points (89.3), field goal percentage (46.9%) and free throw percentage (87.5%).

-- The Mystics also led the league in 3-pointers attempted per game (25.4) and they were second in percentage (36.6%) from downtown.

-- Connecticut was ranked third in 3-point shooting percentage (35.6%).

-- That effort helped the Sun averaged 80.8 PPG, which was ranked fourth. That number could?ve been improved but Connecticut was ranked last in free throw percentage (70.3 PPG).

-- Washington surrendered 77.2 PPG defensively, ranked fourth in the league. Connecticut was a few hairs behind at 77.9 PPG.

Players to Watch ? Notable Quotes

Connecticut

The Sun have benefited by having a healthy year from their starting lineup; the team used the same five players to begin every game. Jasmine Thomas, Alyssa Thomas, Shekinna Stricklen, Courtney Williams and Jonquel Jones all have the ability to have big games, making them tough to game plan against.

The core of Alyssa Thomas (11.6 points, 7.8 rebounds), Jasmine Thomas (11.1, 5.1) and Jonquel Jones (14.6, 9.7) has been together since 2016. Point guard Courtney Williams (13.2, 5.6 and 3.2 assists) joined them in 2017. Jasmine Thomas says they're like a college team that is dominated by seniors and understand how to play with each other.

''We take pride in team basketball. That's what we have fun doing on the defensive and offensive end,'' said Jasmine Thomas. ''But I think we definitely have stars here. We have All-Stars; we have the best 3-point shooter in the league (Shekinna Stricklen - 3rd in the WNBA). We have people who are reaching milestones in their career so early. We do play team basketball, but we absolutely have stars.''

Washington

This Mystics team is very different than the one that got swept by Seattle last season.

The Mystics are led by forward Elena Delle Donne, who was named the 2019 WNBA MVP in a near-unanimous vote. Delle Donne averaged 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists and shot a league-high 97.4% from the free throw line.

Along side EDD is Emma Meesseman, who missed the 2018 season while preparing for the Women's World Cup with Belgium. Meesseman was a huge reason the Mystics were able to advance past Las Vegas, winning the series in Game 4 as she had 22 points in the win.

''We didn't have Emma. We're a different team when she's on it,'' Delle Donne said. ''We got a really good Connecticut team coming in. They are playing really great basketball. We'll focus on them and figure some things out.''

While the Mystics have been in this position before, only guard Kristi Toliver has won a title, doing so with Los Angeles in 2016. She had been sidelined with her own bone bruise before returning for the playoffs. She started in Game 4 of the series against Las Vegas - the first time she had done so in the playoffs.