Mizzou a playoff contender? Believe it

I’m not big into sports betting, which means approximately 97% of all advertising is lost on me. I can hardly pick up my phone, turn on my TV, or walk out the door without being bombarded by sports gambling ads and betting lines.

Avid gamblers are hungry for “hot tips” that might position them for a winning wager. Given my profession, I get asked for wagering advice. In truth, I don’t possess many “hot tips.” You’ll want to text a former Alabama baseball coach for those.

Nevertheless, during a visit to my hometown last summer, two gambling enthusiasts wanted suggestions for betting SEC over/under win totals.

My investing advice would have been to pump money into Emerson Electric and reinvest the dividends, but these fellas are more into the sports ticker than the NYSE ticker.

So, I offered three suggestions: Take the under on Auburn (line was 61⁄2 wins), the under on Florida (line of 5 wins) and the over on Vanderbilt (line of 31⁄2 wins).

The final verdict: Auburn finished the regular season at 6-6, Florida went 5-7 and Vanderbilt finished 2-10.

That’s not perfection, but don’t blame me. Blame Vanderbilt. Anyway, two out of three ain’t bad.

If I’ve learned anything from the sports betters I know, you never cash out, and you never take a draw, because your next big win awaits.

With that in mind, let’s examine FanDuel’s over/under win total lines for SEC teams for 2024 and grab my Magic 8 Ball. Lines are for win totals through the end of the regular season, before the SEC Championship Game or other postseason games.

Alabama

Over/under: Topp’s Tip: UNDER.

Arkansas Auburn Florida Georgia Kentucky South Carolina

Over/under: Topp’s Tip: UNDER.