Vegas Play of the Day: UNLV at Kansas

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015 | 6:17 a.m.

Here’s the latest installment of the Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point. Our three sports writers started with a $10,000 bankroll — fictional, of course.

UNLV plus-13 at Kansas: $550 to win $500 : WIth four freshmen and a sophomore doing the heavy lifting for the UNLV basketball team, oddsmakers haven’t expected much of the Rebels. And early in the season, they sure resembled a team going through some growing pains. They lost by double digits against Stanford, Arizona State and Utah in not even coming close to covering the Las Vegas betting number.

That trend changed against Arizona Dec. 23. As a 13-point underdog, the Rebels won straight up. I bet the Rebels and easily cashed a ticket. It was my selection in this contest, too.

New Year’s Eve at Wyoming, the Rebels again covered the points spread as the underdog in a game they should have won. Again, I cashed a ticket, playing the Rebels at plus-7.

So, while Kansas is ranked and playing on its home court, don’t count the Rebels out. Sure, they’re likely not going to win. But I expect them to put up a good fight in a rare nationally televised game, showing off this young talent that’s quickly developed into a quality team.

And Kansas isn’t exactly a sure thing. They lost by 77-52 on Dec. 22 at Temple as an 8-point favorite. It’s the same Temple team UNLV limited to 50 points one month earlier in a victory.

Standings: Bern (61-52-1, $11,526), Keefer (58-60-2, $9,527), Brewer (54-59-3, $5,755)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21