Bad beats: Sun lose big lead to Liberty, topping the worst betting turns of the last week
From a blown 20-point lead to more late Lionel Messi magic, here's a look at the worst betting beats from the last week in sports.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/OG6X4XTP7BA5RK6QNIG5IEI7K4.jpg)
The NFL preseason calendar is officially over, but college football returns as the MLB enters its final month of the regular season and the WNBA is just weeks away from the start of the playoffs.
Plenty of betting action took place this weekend, with a jam-packed schedule that included seven college football games along with a full schedule of baseball, the Men’s FIBA World Championship in basketball, and a half-dozen WNBA games.
While no brutal beats emerged from the college football landscape, a 20-point third-quarter blown lead in a marquee WNBA matchup stands atop the worst betting beats of the last week in sports.
» READ MORE: Penn State, Temple open season as favorites in home openers ahead of Week 1 college football slate
Bad beat No. 1: Sun’s late lead disappears
A big third quarter by Connecticut, a six-point underdog against the New York Liberty on Thursday, gave the Sun a commanding lead that grew as big as 20. The Liberty, led by Breanna Stewart, kept chipping away at the lead and cut it to four points with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Sun led by 81-75 with 37 seconds left before they fell apart at the free-throw line and defensively. A Sabrina Ionescu three-pointer cut the lead to three, then when Sun guard Rebecca Allen missed one of two free throws, Stewart quickly answered with a jumper to cut the lead to 82-80 with four seconds left.
On the ensuing inbounds pass, DeWanna Bonner lost the handle and Ionescu was fouled on a three-point attempt, where she made the first two free throws to tie the game but missed the third, sending the game to overtime. Then the Liberty pulled away and won, 95-90, missing out on the betting-line cover (N.Y. -6), and missing out on the under point total (166) with a wild fourth quarter.
» READ MORE: Lionel Messi has transformed last-place Inter Miami into an MLS Cup betting favorite
Bad beat No. 2: FC Cincinnati encounters Messi Magic
Lionel Messi continues to make magic for Inter Miami, and it was no different in the semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup, when FC Cincinnati jumped out to a 2-0 lead by halftime on Wednesday. After going scoreless through the first 67 minutes of the game, Inter Miami, who entered the game as small favorites at +140, finally got on the board thanks to a Messi cross to Leonardo Campana, who headed in their first goal.
The duo struck again in stoppage time, in the 97th minute, with another beautiful cross from Messi to Campana, who tied the score at 2, sending the game into extra time. Each team scored a goal in the extra periods, sending the game to penalties, as Inter Miami won, 5-4, to advance to the U.S. Open Cup final.
Messi and Miami will face the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 27 for the championship.