The public absolutely cleaned up in the United States Men’s Basketball team’s 110-84 win over Serbia to open Olympic play.
Unfortunately, they were utterly crushed in the USA’s 103-86 win over South Sudan.
It’s not often a team loses by 17 and still covers, but that’s exactly what happened as South Sudan finished as a 28.5-point underdog. It was a blow for betters as 53% of the money backed Team USA laying the points.
However, the bleeding didn’t stop there for the public.
An already high total skyrocketed in the hour leading up to tip-off, going from 190.5 to 194.5 according to BetMGM. The movement didn’t deter the public, though, as 66% of tickets backed the over. It turned out to be a massive mistake as 189 points were scored, falling short of the initial number.
Player props were equally disastrous. The public went 5-for-5 on their most popular props in the United States’ win over Serbia, but it was polar opposite against South Sudan.
LeBron James’ 12-point effort was especially disastrous as an insane 99%of bets backed him going over 15.5 points. LeBron easily cleared that number in the United States’ exhibition games as well as the Olympic opener in which he scored 21.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant also failed the public. Curry scoring over 12.5 points was the second-most popular bet, but he didn’t come close, finishing with just three. He shot 1-for-9 from the field and was 0-6 from behind-the-arc. Meanwhile, Durant finished with 14 points one game after scoring 23 in the USA’s win over Serbia, falling just short of the 15.5-point set line.
Joel Embiid’s performance was especially painful for the public. That’s because he didn’t sniff the court as he rode pine the entire game. Embiid scoring over 10.5-points was the fourth-most popular bet and had the same exact -145 vig as LeBron.
The fifth-most popular bet was Anthony Davis scoring 7.5 rebounds, which also had significant juice at -165. This one ended in heartbreak as he finished with only seven boards.
Team USA’s victory over South Sudan clinched a spot in quarterfinals. They next hit the court Sunday against Puerto Rico with a win handing them the Group C crown.
