SOURCE: Las Vegas Sun

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3. Look for letdowns off huge efforts.

This maxim prompted Boston to bet against Loyola-Chicago of the Horizon League on Jan. 5, two days after the Ramblers “played their hearts out” at Cleveland State.

When a weak team puts its guts and soul into a game and comes up short or even ekes out a grueling victory it’s often due for a “clinker” next time out, Boston said, especially if it doesn’t have much time to recover.

Loyola-Chicago was never in the Jan. 5 game against Youngstown State, losing by 10 as a 3-point underdog.

“It played out that way,” Boston said on the conference call. “Whether it was for the reasons I stated, who knows? That’s what we’re here for, to try to figure that out ... Each game is a puzzle. Hopefully I can throw a few thoughts out there that get people thinking.”

4. The beginning of conference play equals a clean slate.

This concept yielded three consecutive winning tickets on Georgia State of the Colonial Athletic Association, which looked unexceptional in early nonconference play but covered three in a row as a double-digit underdog on the league schedule.

It didn’t work out so well for Boston when he backed Dartmouth as a 9-point underdog against Harvard, which won 82-56. Still, “underachieving preconference teams playing in conference ... this type of game has made me money over the years,” Boston said.

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