Pointspreads in sports betting are pretty commonplace these days. When a team is favored by +9.5, it almost always means that it’s a bit of a mismatch. How big of a mismatch is +9.5? Depending on the sport, this can be a very challenging game for the underdog to pull off.
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What Does 9.5 Spread Mean?
A 9.5-point spread means that one team is getting +9.5, and the other is getting -9.5. The team getting +9.5 wins the bet if they win the game, or they lose by nine points or less. On the other side, the team with -9.5 only has a chance to win the bet if they win by 10 points or more.
When a person places a bet on a particular team or athlete, the sportsbook will set a spread to even the sides out. This is the number of points that they believe the chosen team will win or lose by. To win the bet, the team picked must cover the spread.
If the Celtics are playing the Knicks and the sportsbook believes that the Celtics will win by 10 points or more, they may set the spread at Celtics -9.5. This means that for bettors to win, the Celtics must not only win the game, but they must also win by more than 9.5 points. They are the favorite, so that’s why their spread is negative. If they only win by 9 points or fewer, the winner of the bet is Knicks +9.5. The Knicks still win a person the bet even if they don’t win the game.
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Conversely, when betting on the Knicks, they must either win the game outright or lose by no more than nine points for the bet to be a winner.
The spread is meant to create an even betting field and encourage people to bet on both sides of a matchup. Unless it’s a truly even match, the favorite will always give points while the underdog gets points.
What Sports Have a -9.5 Pointspread?
There are only two major team sports that have a pointspread this high. Football at the college or NFL level can get to this extreme, and so can college or professional basketball. Basketball is the highest-scoring game, which means that a 9.5-pointspread will not always equate to a huge blowout like it would in football.
Having a pointspread of 9.5 is particularly large for the NFL. With teams usually keeping each other under 30 points, a 9.5-pointspread means that the winning team has to win by at least two scores to cover.
When to Bet on a 9.5 Pointspread
It’s tricky to break down a 9.5 pointspread because of all the different variables. While most would agree the favorite should win, can the underdog stag close enough to win the bet?
People not wanting to take the risk can always look at a moneyline bet instead. For example, a -9.5-point favorite in the NBA usually equates to a -450 to -500 favorite with the moneyline. Cashing out only requires the favorite to win. However, instead of getting close to even odds, a -500 bet would win someone $2 on a $10 bet. Meanwhile, with the pointspread, the winnings would be around $9.09 on that same $10 bet.