LITTLE ROCK — Other than the silly — the color of the liquid thrown on the winning coach, yes or no on Al Michaels and sidekick Cris Collinsworth saying “GOAT,” Justin Timberlake’s first song at halftime and the like — most Super Bowl proposition bets involve numbers.
That includes the over-under on in-game tweets by the president and the number of commercials in which Peyton Manning will appear during the broadcast.
If the pros in Nevada can dabble in such frivolity, an amateur has the green light to concoct prop bets linking Arkansas’ darned near must-win situation at LSU on Saturday, and Sunday’s big game in Minnesota.
For example, choose:
-Pass completions by New England’s Tom Brady or field goals made by Arkansas.
Brady completed 26 in the AFC Championship Game. The Razorbacks made only 19 of 57 shots when they lost to LSU by 21 in Fayetteville. The Tigers connected on 29 of 55 in that game, many of them enabled by point guard Lemont Waters.
—Receptions by New England’s Danny Amendola vs. assists by Waters.
Targeted 22 times in the Patriots’ two playoff games, Amendola caught 18 and will be a focus of the Eagles’ coverage. By the same token, Arkansas must slow Waters, who handed out eight assists at Arkansas and is averaging almost six per game.
—Number of New England players with pass receptions vs. number of LSU players with eight or more points.
Eight Patriots caught passes in the 24-20 victory over Jacksonville and six Tigers scored eight or more against Arkansas.
—Nick Foles’ completions vs. Jaylen Barford’s points.
Foles completed 23 in his first playoff game and 26 in his second. Barford scored 24, 6, and 19 in his last three games.
—Receptions by Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz vs. 3s made by Daryl Macon.
Ertz caught three in the Eagles’ first playoff game and eight in the NFC championship game. Macon made five 3s at Georgia, four vs. Oklahoma State, and three at Texas A&M.
—Total turnovers vs. Razorbacks in double figures.
The Super Bowl teams have had a total of three turnovers during the playoffs. Barford was the only Razorback in double figures vs. LSU last month, but he and Macon and Darius Hall scored 13 or more on Tuesday night.
How about an over-under approach to Arkansas-LSU:
—7.5, SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and others have been touting eight SEC teams for weeks and conference standings are cluttered with Arkansas among the six teams tied for sixth at 4-5. Four teams are 6-3 heading into the second half of conference play.
—2.5, SEC road wins by Arkansas.
The Razorbacks are 1-4 in SEC road games and LSU is one of four remaining opponents games from Walton Arena. Unlikely to sweep Kentucky and Auburn in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks need to win at Baton Rouge and at least one other road game to reach 10-8 in league play and feel comfortable about an NCAA Tournament bid.
—.5, number of Razorbacks on the Coaches’ First Team All-SEC.
Although Barford is the team’s leading scorer, Macon has hit more big shots in league play.
—1.5, seasons Daniel Gafford will be a Razorback.
His production has tailed off dramatically in the last three games and he can’t be found in the first round of most NBA mock drafts. But, he could test the draft waters to see if some NBA team is willing to take a chance on him with 2020 and beyond in mind.
—8.5, Macon’s 3-point attempts on Saturday.
He has tried 34 in the last four games.
All of the above is for fun with a few relevant in-game points about a contest with a serious effect on the Razorbacks’ NCAA Tournament hopes.