Memorial Day weekend betting guide

May 27, 2022

Betting Analysts

Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with parades, picnics and plenty of action from the wide world of sports. You can find everything you need to know about Memorial Day weekend and what you can wager on.

Saturday’s French Open will be open for all early risers. In the afternoon, the UEFA Champions League final pitting Liverpool against Real Madrid. There will also be some WNBA action on ABC. The Big Apple is next on our radar. In Game 6 of their NHL playoff series, the Hurricanes and Rangers will battle it out at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, over at Barclays Center it will be Gervonta vs. Rolando Romaro in a WBA lightweight bout.

Sunday morning, it’s more tennis from Roland Garros in Paris, as the French Open moves to fourth-round matches before a trio of auto racing’s most prestigious races run back-to-back-to-back. Have breakfast with Formula One and the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by brunch and the Indianapolis 500, and then an afternoon snack of NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600. We’ve got some Sunday Night Baseball action and some NBA playoffs drama. The Mets host the Phillies in a NL East clash. The Heat and Celtics series will need a seventh game to determine who will face the Warriors at the Finals.

Got it? Good. Here are the top picks for this weekend’s betting and watching.

Saturday’s schedule

Sunday’s schedule

French Open third round
5 a.m. ET, Stade Roland Garros, Paris

Men’s favorites: Novak Djokovic ( 175); Carlos Alcaraz ( 275); Rafael Nadal ( 330); Stefanos Tsitsipas ( 450)
Women’s favorites: Iga Swiatek (-250); Amanda Anisimova ( 1000), Cori Gauff ( 1200); Paula Badosa ( 1400)

Andre Snellings: Tsitsipas has the fourth-best odds to win the tournament, but in many ways this is the best opportunity he’s ever had to win a major. Tsitsipas, still only 23 years old, has made at least the semifinals of a major five times in his career. Clay is his best surface, and in the past two years, he made the French Open semis in 2020, then the finals in 2021, when he had a two-set-to-love lead over Novak Djokovic before ultimately losing in five. He has already won the Monte Carlo Masters clay event, and he reached the semifinals and final at the Madrid Open. Tsitsipas is also on the opposite side of the draw from the three favorites, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, meaning that he would only potentially have to go through one of them to win and he wouldn’t face any until the final at the earliest.

Men’s pick: Tsitsipas to win ( 450)

Iga Swiatek is playing tennis on a level that no other woman in the world is currently approaching, and she’s playing on her best surface. She won the French Open in 2020, and has won 85% of her matches on clay in her career. She has won 30 matches in a row, the longest streak since Serena Williams won 34 straight in 2013. She’s not only winning, she’s also dominating. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, she has already won 15 sets this season with a bagel (6-0), only 10 behind Serena Williams’ 25 for the entire 2013 season for the most since 2000. If the -250 to win isn’t enough juice for you, there’s a very reasonable chance she runs the table without dropping a set.

Women’s pick: Swiatek to win (-250); Swiatek to win without dropping a set ( 220)

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League Final, 3 p.m. ET, Stade de France, Paris

To win the championship: Liverpool (-175), Real Madrid ( 135)
90 minutes: Liverpool ( 100), Tie ( 270), Real Madrid ( 255)
Over/under: 2.5 goals (-135/ 105)

Paul Carr: Each of these teams has scored in all but one of its Champions League games this season, and both teams have scored in Real Madrid’s past five UCL matches. Both teams scored at least one goal in each of the five games.

Pick: Both teams to score (-145)

Las Vegas Aces @ Chicago Sky
3 p.m. ET, Wintrust Arena, Chicago, ABC

Line: Aces (-2.5)
Over/under 168.5.

Eric Moody: Through their first eight games of the season, the Aces have scored 746 points (93.3 points per game). This is the most points scored by any WNBA team through eight games. Through six games of the season, the Sky have scored 504 points (84 PPG), which is tied for the third-most points through six games in franchise history. It will be a high-scoring game with Kahleah Copper back in the fold for the Sky.

Pick: Over 168.5 (-110)

Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Rangers
8 p.m. ET, Madison Square Garden, New York, ESPN
Carolina leads 3-2

Line: Pick (-110)
Puck line: Hurricanes 1.5 (-280), Rangers -1.5 ( 230)
Over/under: 5.5 ( 125/-145)

Greg Wyshynski: The Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Hurricanes — undefeated at home, only defeated on the road — has been well documented. I think there’s a chance they could buck the trend and end this series in six games, but I’m far more confident from a wagering perspective that Mika Zibanejad will top this shot total for the Rangers. New York will have the last line change, meaning he’ll escape Jordan Staal‘s shutdown line in Game 6. This total was beat in the Rangers’ two home games and in five of six playoffs home games. It’s difficult to believe that he won’t accept his chance at elimination.

Pick: Zibanejad over 2.5 shots (-135)

Gervonta Davis vs. Rolando Romero
WBA lightweight `bout, 11 p.m. ET, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

Bout betting two-way: Davis (-800), Romero ( 550)
Result: KO, TKO or DQ: Davis (-400), Romero ( 1200)
Decision: Davis (-430), Romero ( 1200); Draw ( 2500)
Rounds: 6.5 Rounds (O 100, U -130)

Both of these exciting fighters carry tremendous knockout power, and with this being a rivalry fight, I do not expect this fight to go all 12 rounds, so I like Davis to win this fight by TKO. As you can see in past fights, Davis is extremely calculated and his power is incredible. Romero’s unpredictable and wild style has been a problem for opponents in the past. However, against a fighter like Davis, this wild style will ultimately cost him. He is more likely to be hit by someone. You should give “Tank” Davis an opportunity. He will take it and most likely leave you on the floor.

Pick: Davis to win via TKO (-400)

French Open fourth round
5 a.m. ET, Stade Roland Garros, Paris

Check back Sunday for more picks.

Formula One: Monaco Grand Prix
8: 55 a.m. ET, Monaco, ESPN

Race favorites: Charles Leclerc (-120), Max Verstappen ( 175)
Podium finish: Leclerc (-275), Verstappen (-250), Carlos Sainz ( 100), Sergio Perez ( 175), George Russell ( 300), Lewis Hamilton ( 300)
Play: Formula 1 Racing Pick’em

Mike Clay: The last time I made an F1 pick in this column, I told you to pick Verstappen at even money after pointing out that he’s won every single race he’s finished this season. That streak is still alive three weeks later. Verstappen won five of the possible seven races, including the sprint in Italy. He was also in contention to win the two races in which he had car problems and had to retire early. Verstappen won the race last year, but he was unable to win due to a prerace car problem that saw him lose pole sitter LeClerc. LeClerc is the favorite at 105 this week, but landing Verstappen at solid plus money is an easy bet.

Pick: Verstappen to win ( 175).

Ryan McGee: Yes, Mercedes is way off pace, but Monaco has a way of leveling the playing field. Lewis Hamilton is still a great driver and this place rewards him. It also punishes it.

Pick: Hamilton to win ( 300).

Indianapolis 500
11 a.m. ET, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NBC

Race favorites: Scott Dixon ( 400), Alex Palou ( 450)
More: Qualifying Grid

Ryan McGee: Scott Dixon is without question the greatest Indy Car driver of his generation and has a pretty good argument for best all time. But he has “only” one Indy 500 victory and that was 10 years ago this week. His incredible speed is not something I believe in, but it does feel foolish to pick against him.

Pick: Dixon to win ( 400)

NASCAR Coca-Cola 600
6 p.m. ET, Charlotte Motor Speedway,

Race favorites: Kyle Larson ( 450), Kyle Busch ( 650), Chase Elliott ( 750), Martin Truex Jr. ( 900)
Winning manufacturer: Chevy ( 110), Toyota ( 160), Ford ( 375)

Mike Clay: We’re going with somewhat of a long shot here, as Joey Logano has the 12th-longest odds to win. It doesn’t make a ton of sense considering Logano owns a 12.4 average finish at this track, which is fourth best among active drivers. That includes a win in 2015, and he also won the All-Star Race here in 2016. Speaking of the All-Star Race, the three Team Penske cars dominated last week’s event at Texas (also a 1.5-mile speedway), with Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney earning the win (Logano finished fourth). Logano looks like the best value, but other intriguing plays include Tyler Reddick ( 1400), Ryan Blaney ( 1000), Martin Truex Jr. ( 900) and Chase Elliott ( 750).

Pick: Joey Logano to win ( 1800)

Ryan McGee: In a season of parity, it feels like we have spent a lot of time this spring looking at the championship standings and asking, “Well, that guy is ranked really high. He is going to win a race when? We did that with Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch. Now it feels like Truex’s turn, since 2014 he has finished outside the top 10 on the Charlotte oval only twice and he has also won this race twice. This is quite impressive.

Pick: Martin Truex Jr. ( 900)

Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Mets
7 p.m. ET, Citi Field, New York, ESPN2

Line: Check back Sunday for odds and picks

Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat
Game 7, 8: 30 p.m. ET, FTX Arena, Miami, ESPN

Line: Celtics (-2.5)
Moneyline: Celtics (-135), Heat ( 115)
Over/Under: 198.0

Trend: The Celtics have lost 5 straight games with a chance to go to the Finals, dating back to 2012, tied for the 2nd-longest streak all-time. —ESPN Stats & Information

Anita Marks: The Heat surprised the world with an unbelievable performance in Game 6 – to win back home court and momentum heading into Game 7 on Sunday night. I don’t expect Jimmy Butler to have another 47 points performance, which was needed for the Heat to win by 8 points. Let’s take a moment to think about that. The Celtics underestimated the Heat’s injury-prone team on the road, according to me. Game 6 was a wakeup call. Bostons usually follow a loss with victory. Al Horford was a disaster, going 1 for 6 from deep, Smart went 1 for 9 from deep and Tatum had 7 turnovers. Brown had 4 turnovers. I don’t think we will see that again. I am also playing the Over here, where the total is way too low considering that the over has reached 4 of the 6 games. I respect the defense but this court has way too much firepower.

Pick: Celtics -2.5

Alejandro Noren

The author of 5 books, 3 of which are New York Times bestsellers. I’ve been published in more than 100 newspapers and magazines and am a frequent commentator on NPR.