(Sports Betting) Winter Is Coming

With March Madness and College Basketball wrapping up this week, we are entering the slow season for most sports bettors.

Here’s where the sports world sits today:

• 3 days until The Masters Tournament: April 10-13 ⛳️

• 7 days until NBA regular season ends 🏀

  • Play-In Tournament begin in 8 days

• 10 days until NHL regular season ends 🏒

  • NHL Playoffs begin in ~12 days

• Roughly 150 days until NFL season kicks off (Est. Sep 4, 2025)

  • 17 days until the NFL Draft 👀

• 138 days until College Football’s Week 0 🏈

• After tonight’s National Championship game, there will be no college bball for 218 days 🥲

In This Issue:

• (Sports Betting) Winter Is Coming

  • Community Cappers Lock In Their Weekly Picks

  • 2025 NCAA Championship: Betting Breakdown

  • This Sportsbook App Does ONE Thing Really Well

  • Slip of the Week

Community Cappers Lock In Their Weekly Picks

Last Week: 1-2 | -1.09u

• Tyler Anderson Under 3.5 Ks [+100] ❌ / The UNDERground Lab

• Houston +5.5 vs. Duke [-110] ✅ / Peak Picks

• Akshay Bhatia Top 10 Incl. Ties [+300] ❌ / Nuke Bets

Overall Record: 20-20 | +0.83u ⚖️

Yes, Clayton is a great offensive player, but if he or Alijah Martin is matched up on Cryer, I see LJ having a field day.

I’m looking for him to shoot at least 6 threes, hopefully making half of those.

If Houston wants any chance to win this game, it is mostly reliant on his shooting.

They had no chance to win last game without him, so look for the Cougars to continue to give him looks tonight.

Eovaldi has been pounding the zone and eating innings to start the year.

However, those teams were against the Red Sox and Reds who were struggling to begin the year.

The Cubs also, but have turned it around recently.

Weather conditions and high 20 mph winds are favorable for us with winds blowing out the opposite direction could make it difficult for him to paint the zone.

The Cubs have also demonstrated patience by not chasing and think they’re in a good spot to eat pitches.

It’s no secret that Eovaldi will resort to splitter and CB for K’s so with high winds, expect more break for those pitches and a more disciplined Cubs team.

Maybe he’ll probably even give up his first walk. Give us the UNDER

His over-reliance on hitting a draw will hurt him at Augusta with the course demanding all shot shapes, but he will be able to put 4 rounds of solid golf to have a top finish.

He ranks 23rd on tour is strokes gained total, representing his well-balanced game.

Lux has already seen Webb plenty of times (25 at-bats), but this will be the first time the two have matched up with Lux in a Reds’ uniform.

• Lux is .219 on the season and .240 in against Webb, who is letting lefties hit at a .357 average so far this season

The Reds lineup is heating up and Lux is due for a bigger game after a slow(er) start to the season; at + odds this feels like a great spot for tonight.

2025 NCAA Championship: Betting Breakdown

The stage is set for the 2025 NCAA Men’s National Championship in San Antonio.

On one side, we have the explosive offense of the Florida Gators.

On the other, the relentless defensive force of the Houston Cougars.

Let’s break it all down.

Vegas Lines & Betting Snapshot

• Opening Spread: Florida -1.5

• Moneyline: Florida -118 | Houston -102

• Over/Under: 141.5 points

Why Florida Is Favored

The Gators’ Offense Is Elite — and Walter Clayton Jr. Is Historic

• 85 PPG this season, 84 PPG in the tournament

• #3 in offensive efficiency nationally

Walter Clayton Jr. is in rare air - his back-to-back 30+ point games in the Elite Eight and Final Four are the first since Larry Bird in 1979.

• Clayton vs. Auburn: 34 points and 5 Threes

When Clayton sits, Florida stagnates.

When he gets going, they’re nearly unstoppable.

Florida’s defense is top 25 in efficiency, and they have held opponents to a 29.5% hit rate from three - 6th in the country.

They have a gritty, deep rotation in the front-court with Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon stepping up late.

Expect Alijah Martin to lead the defensive effort on Houston’s LJ Cryer.

Why Houston Could Pull the “Upset”

Defense Wins Championships; And Houston Owns That Identity

Houston ranks #1 in defensive efficiency and allows 58 PPG on the season - down to 56.6 PPG in March Madness.

They wore down Duke — a team with more size and arguably more talent — by grinding every possession and being the most physical team in America.

Houston is also top 20 in offensive efficiency, with 42% of their points in the last 3 games coming from beyond the arc.

• If Florida packs the paint, Houston has the weapons to punish them from deep.

Cryer Heating Up at the Perfect Time

• 26 points vs. Duke, including 6-9 from deep

• Averaging 3.8 Threes on ~45% shooting this tournament

Florida’s perimeter defense, while statistically strong, hasn’t seen a volume shooter like Cryer recently — and the Gators’ backcourt isn’t nearly as long or imposing as Duke’s was.

Matchup to Watch: Clayton vs. Houston’s Pressure

If Houston can limit Walter Clayton Jr., Florida’s offense gets real pedestrian.

Easier said than done — Auburn, UConn, and Texas Tech all tried and failed.

But Houston:

• Just shut down Cooper Flagg, the tournament’s most hyped player

• Will throw multiple strong, physical defenders at Clayton — and they'll try to wear him down, just like they did Duke

Betting Insights & Perspective

At Florida -1.5, oddsmakers are signaling this is essentially a coin flip on a "neutral" floor.

Bettors backing Houston are getting a little extra value thanks to public momentum on Clayton and the Gators.

Total (141.5): Houston will look to drag Florida into the mud.

• If they succeed, this turns into a 64–60 type of affair — not the up-and-down pace the Gators want.

Notable Player Prop Lines

• Walter Clayton Jr. OVER 19.5 Points (-112)

• Walter Clayton Jr. OVER 2.5 Made Threes (-170)

• LJ Cryer OVER 16.5 Points (-118)

• LJ Cryer OVER 2.5 Made Threes (+110)

• Emanuel Sharp OVER 2.5 Made Threes (+130)

• J’Wan Roberts OVER 6.5 Rebounds (+104)

The Bottom Line

Tonight’s championship is more than just offense vs. defense — it’s pace vs. patience, finesse vs. force.

Florida has the hotter star; Houston has the cooler nerve.

If anyone can stop Clayton, it’s Houston.

And if Houston hits their threes, this title might finally be coming home to H-Town.

Either way, this should be a closely-contested matchup that goes down to the wire.

This Sportsbook App Does ONE Thing Really Well

Everyone loves a sportsbook app that makes it easy to place bets, find promos, and generally simple to use.

The best sportsbooks do multiple things well, "bad" sportsbooks do nothing or very few things well.

This sportsbook is pretty mediocre, but it does ONE THING so well - And it’s something that no other sportsbook does.

Bally Bet: The One Hit Wonder

I know very few people who use Bally Bet, and fewer who really enjoy the experience.

That said, I’ve used Bally Bet for the past few months and can confidently say I’ve used better and worse sportsbooks in my time.

But the thing Bally Bet did that immediately caught my attention - you don’t have to "claim" or "opt-in" to promos and boosts.

You just… get them.

Unlike pretty much every other online sportsbook (and DFS/sweepstakes apps), Bally Bet doesn’t even have an opt-in or claim button for promos.

If your bet or betslip covers the "terms" for a certain promo, it just pops up in your betslip:

Compare this to bookmakers like DraftKings, FanDuel, or ESPNBet, that include hurdles/additional steps to unlock and apply promotions.

In a world where every sportsbook seems to add extra clicks, confusing fine print, or last-second opt-ins, Bally Bet’s simplicity stands out.

It's not flashy. It’s not the most user-friendly or feature-packed app on the market.

And while Bally Bet may not be your everyday go-to, it earns its spot in my betting rotation.

Not only for making boosts & promos feel effortless, it earns bonus points for being a solid line-shopping addition as well.

Slip of the Week

Pass this issue on to a fellow bettor 👇