Friday’s Olympics Picks
The 2018 Winter Olympics are winding down, with just two more days of action remaining. Here’s our picks to consider for Friday night/Saturday morning.
Men’s Curling: United States vs. Sweden
The United States will make history no matter what, but can pull off a big upset by winning gold later tonight against Sweden. According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Sweden is the favorite tonight, as it is getting odds of -210 to win. The United States is listed with a money line of +165. The USA was able to really shock the world in these Olympics. After a poor start they now find themselves playing for gold after beating Canada in the semifinal 5-3. Sweden has clearly been the best team in these games, going 7-2 in group play with a +19 point differential. Sweden rolled to a 9-3 in the semifinal over Switzerland. It also dominated the US earlier in group play, 10-4. The USA has been a great story, but I think it takes silver, not gold. MEN’S CURLING PREDICTION: SWEDEN -210
Men’s Big Air
Snowboarding wraps up its Olympics action with Big Air later tonight. Oddsmakers have a pair of Canadiens as the favorite with Maxence Parrot listed at +150 and Mark McMorris at +285. Parrot had the top run of his heat of 92.50 while McMorris posted a 95.75. However, Carlos Garcia Knight had the top score of anyone at 97.50. He is listed with +600 odds to win gold. Parrot has already won silver in Slopestyle and he is a four-time Big Air winner at the X Games. I expect him to be able to bring out his best in the finals and ride his way to gold. MEN’S BIG AIR PREDICTION: MAXENCE PARROT +150
Men’s Mass Start Speed Skating
American Joey Mantia is a top contender in this event, listed with +450 odds. Korea’s Seung-Hoon Lee is favored in the event with -115 odds while Sven Kramer of the Netherlands has +700 odds. Mantia is the 2017 world champ in the mass start, but most of his career has been an inline skater. Lee won the mass start at the 2016 World Championships and he claimed gold at the 2010 Olympics in the 10,000m. I think Mantia is worth wagering on. As the current world champ, those are good odds for a race that seems like it should be competitive. Hoon Lee’s best was years ago. He will have the crowd behind him, but I think Mantia can best him. MEN’S MASS START PREDICTION: JOEY MANTIA +450