Each week, several of the major sports websites, and some of the general news websites, publish power rankings for the major professional sports leagues. Generally (but not always), these rankings move from top to bottom in terms of win-loss record, although recent swings are taken into account, particularly for teams who may have started out really well but have fallen off lately – or for teams that started in the basement but have been climbing steadily since. Take a look at some ways to glean sports betting insights from the power rankings.
Using Power Rankings to Handicap Your Sports Betting
Go Beyond The Division Standings
It can be difficult to get a sense of how one team stacks up against another, particularly if those teams do not meet, or if they do not meet often. In the NBA, for example, teams in different conferences only meet twice a season. In the NFL, there are 32 teams, but the teams only play 17 games, and in some cases, teams can go as long as four seasons without playing one another. If you’re wondering how teams who don’t meet frequently will do when they do play one another, power rankings give you a sense of who has a leg up on the rest of the competition. The best power rankings lists are based on statistical averages, a sense of trends in play at the skill positions, and an awareness of the teams’ prior schedules.
See Through Misleading Win-Loss Records
The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers were both 3-0 teams at one point in time. However, neither of those teams has come close to maintaining that sort of dominance in any stretch since. A closer look at their schedules showed that both teams started with particularly easy portions of their schedules. Once they started to hit tougher competition, those records started to come back down to earth. The Broncos aren’t awful – after all, they have a tough defense and a grinding running game. Their key flaw is a propensity to throw interceptions at just the wrong time. The Carolina Panthers have seen their quarterback play just fall apart and their starting tailback go down for the season, putting way too much pressure on a rebuilding defense. Understanding that those 3-0 teams did not belong at the top of the power rankings even though they had perfect s to the season helped many a sports bettor avoid putting too much faith of them in Week 4.
Understand Longer-Term Trends Despite Week-To-Week Circumstances
The Arizona Cardinals have emerged as one of the best surprises in this NFL season, roaring out to a 10-2 record despite not having their starting quarterback and top wide receiver for multiple games. The simple fact is that the Cardinals have a defense that can overwhelm O-lines with their front seven and a secondary that is stout enough to keep from getting burned. On offense, Colt McCoy was good enough as a starting quarterback to keep the ship going in the right direction while Murray recovered from his injury. Many people thought the Rams would win the NFC West, suspicious of the Cardinals’ defense, but Kliff Kingsbury has shown that he can put together an elite defense, and on Monday night, the Cardinals have a chance to take an even bigger lead in their division as they host the Rams.
Watch enough game action yourself to get a sense of the rankings
Remember that, just like the College Football Playoff rankings, there are some assumptions that go into the rankings that may not be reflected in actual team play. There is greater parity in the NFL, and you don’t get misleading assumptions like the claim that the ACC, the Pac-12 and the Big 12 are substantially, in terms of quality of football, than what one sees in the AAC. Even so, you will see teams like Green Bay, Pittsburgh and even Dallas ranked more highly than what they often deserve. Teams that have big fan bases often have sports betting fans who throw away money betting on those teams because they want them to win instead of because they have done the research for the win to be probable. Once you get a sense of the teams, you can determine where imbalances appear in power rankings – and in point spreads.
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