Tuesday’s Olympics Picks
Some big events get under way within the next 24 hours. Here’s a look at our picks for the top Winter Olympics events on the horizon.
Women’s Figure Skating
The short program starts tonight, and according to oddsmakers at YouWager, Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia is the favorite to win gold, as she has -135 odds. Other short odds to win are Alina Zagitova of Russia (+150) and Katelyn Osmond of Canada (+900). Medvedeva is the two-time defending world champion and she already earned a silver medal in these Olympics as part of the team event. Zagitova just beat her in the European Championship but has not claimed a world championship in figure skating. The competition seems to be between these two. I give the edge to Medvedeva, who is a little more experienced and should be able to handle the pressure a little better. WOMEN’S FIGURE SKATING PREDICTION: EVGENIA MEDVEDEVA -135
Women’s Downhill
Lindsay Vonn comes into tonight’s downhill event as a -170 favorite while Italy’s Sofia Goggia has +325 odds. The next shortest odds from there at +1600. Vonn won her only gold medal in this event back in 2010 and wasn’t able to defend her title in the 2014 games due to injury. This is her best chance at gold in these games. She has yet to win a world championship since the 2010 games, finishing third in 2017. Goggia hasn’t claimed a title in the downhill either, placing fourth at the 2017 worlds. This is her first Olympic games and she didn’t crack the top 10 in giant slalom or Super-G. With this being Vonn’s last run at gold, I will side with her, but I think the odds are a little too lopsided than they should be. WOMEN’S DOWNHILL PREDICTION: LINDSAY VONN -170
Men’s Hockey: USA vs. Czech Republic
After a 5-1 win over Slovakia, the United State tries to keep its chance at a medal alive when it faces the Czech Republic late tonight. The Czech Republic owns wins over Switzerland, South Korea and Canada in prelim play, scoring nine goals while allowing just four. The United States went just 1-1-1 in group play and was easily handled by Russia in a 4-0 loss. Oddsmakers have the US as just a +145 underdog today to the -180 favorite of the Czech Republic. I think the line should be greater. The Czech Republic looks like a legit contender for gold in this tournament and I don’t see the United States having the scoring or goaltending to win this one. MEN’S HOCKEY PREDICTION: CZECH REPUBLIC -180