sports betting:

Vegas Play of the Day: Utah at Butler

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L.E. Baskow

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels forward Brandon McCoy (44) defends the basket from Utah Runnin’ Utes forward David Collette (13) during their MGM Main Event basketball game at the T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, Nov 22, 2017.

Tue, Dec 5, 2017 (1:38 p.m.)

We’re entering the fourth season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won back-to-back titles in the 2015-2016 and 2016-17 seasons, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015.

Utah basketball plus-7.5 vs. Butler, $660 to win $600: The teams are virtually even in the Kenpom rankings, with Butler at No. 55 and Utah at No. 57. The home-floor advantage is always worth a few points in college basketball, but not seven points.

That’s especially true considering Utah should have the best two players on the court in Sedrick Barefield and David Collette. Butler will have no answers on the inside for the 6-foot-10 Collette, who is averaging 14.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. And Barefield in the backcourt is a capable scorer and passer.

Butler struggles to score because of weak guard play. It ranks 261st out of about 340 teams in offense at 71 points per game, and is even worse in assists at 12 per game.

Current Standings: Granger (10-9, $11,975), Brewer (17-15, $9,890), Keefer (15-15-1, $9,881), Grimala (8-8, $8,755)

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

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