It’s July, and that means the WNBA is making preparations for its All-Star break, which players are probably eyeing with anticipation as for many, it will be a chance to get some real rest. That’s neither here nor there for Friday night’s games, though.
Two teams look like they might be interesting wagers on the spreads for tonight’s games. Additionally, the opening totals for all three contests on Friday might be worth jumping on before they move.
How to watch, the lines, and schedule for Friday
All times below are Eastern Daylight Savings. The lines are from BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse and are valid as of 7 a.m. EDT on Friday.
- Los Angeles Sparks at Dallas Wings (-4.5), 8 p.m., CBS Sports Network (total of 164.5)
- Las Vegas Aces (-4.5) at Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m., NBA TV (total of 173.5)
- Indiana Fever at Seattle Storm (-12), 10 p.m., Facebook (total of 159.5)
One game has some injury news to watch Friday but otherwise, bettors shouldn’t expect to see a lot of movement in these lines as the day goes on. All three contests have a common thread today.
Look at the over for Dallas-Los Angeles
Dallas returns to the scene of its earlier victory against Los Angeles this season, a 92-82 win in which it covered the four-point spread favoring it on June 19. These two teams have played in LA once as well, a 93-91 victory for the Sparks in which the Wings were favored by 1.5 points on May 31.
Friday marks the fifth time this season that Dallas has been a home favorite of 4.5 points or more. In the previous four games, the Wings have failed to cover twice, played to a push, and recorded a win against the spread.
Tonight is also the fifth time in 2022 that Los Angeles has been a road underdog at this margin or greater. The Sparks have split their previous four results ATS. The results in this series have been more consistent on the point totals.
In both of these teams’ previous meetings in 2022, the totals went over. In both games, those totals ended up at 169.5. When considering Friday’s lower total, bettors should note that Jordin Canada is questionable for the road team.
Regardless, the data slightly suggests the over at this number. In a combined 21 games these teams have taken part in this season for which the pre-game totals were 164.5 or lower, the over has cashed 13 times.
Consider the over on Las Vegas-Minnesota as well
Despite Minnesota’s rough 2022, Friday marks just the fourth time that the Lynx have been an underdog of 4.5 points or more at home this season. What’s more, they’ve covered in two of the three prior games.
In fact, Minnesota nearly scored a road win the last time they faced Las Vegas. On June 19, the Aces barely held their opponent off 96-95, failing to cover a spread that favored them by 15 points.
The other previous meeting of these teams this season also took place at the Michelob ULTRA Arena on May 19. The home team also failed to cover a 10-point spread but won outright 93-87.
In fact, in six prior instances in which Las Vegas was a road favorite by 4.5 points or more, the Aces have split those results ATS. Again, though, that isn’t the case for these teams’ prior meetings on the totals.
On May 19, the total was 169.5. For June 19, that went two points higher. Thus, the overs cashed in both instances. Bettors should note, however, that this is the highest pre-game total yet for a Lynx game in 2022.
With that in mind, the over has cashed 19 times in 32 combined contests in which the pre-game totals were 173.5 or lower.
Make it a trifecta for the over on Indiana-Seattle
Indiana is another team that despite its struggles to win games outright this season, has fared respectably ATS in similar situations to what it faces Friday. Tonight marks the fourth occasion this season the Fever have been a road underdog by 12 or more points. So far, they are 2-1 ATS in those games.
This is the largest margin by which Seattle has been a home favorite so far in 2022. In 12 home games so far this season, the Storm have split those results ATS. Despite this being the first day of July, Friday night will be the first meeting of these teams on the season.
In a combined 17 games between these teams when the totals were 159.5 or lower, the over cashed in 11 of them. That completes the trifecta of overs for Friday night, with a couple of interesting spreads to look at as well.
