The Aces are in an 0-1 hole after suffering an 89-73 upset loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday in their WNBA semifinal playoff series.

The Aces are still -250 favorites at the Westgate SuperBook to win the best-of-five series after entering as prohibitive -1,100 favorites. But SuperBook WNBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said they can’t afford to lose Game 2 on Tuesday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“You can pretty much say this is a must win for the Aces,” he said. “To go down 0-2 on their home court and have to go to Indiana for two (games) would be a difficult task.

“I’d expect them to be a little bit more focused and get a win here, but I’m not saying they’re going to cover the number.”

The Aces, who have lost two of their past three playoff games (0-3 against the spread) following a franchise-record 17-game winning streak, are 9½-point favorites after the line opened at 8½. The total is 164½.

Indiana, which pays 4-1 on the money line, upset the Atlanta Dream in the first round without star Caitlin Clark. She has been sidelined since suffering a groin injury July 15 and was ruled out for the rest of the season Sept. 4.

“They still have some talented pieces there in Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard,” Sherman said.

Mitchell, who finished fifth in MVP voting, led all scorers with 34 points Sunday. Aces center A’ja Wilson, who became the first WNBA player to win four MVP awards, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Mitchell’s Game 2 points prop is 20½. Wilson’s points prop is 25½, and her rebounds prop is 10½.

The Aces’ title odds shot up from +190 to the +350 second choice behind the Minnesota Lynx, the -300 favorites.

UNR bad beat

UNR bettors were dealt a brutal bad beat in Saturday’s 31-16 loss at Western Kentucky. The Wolf Pack, who closed as 8½-point underdogs at Circa Sports, settled for a 22-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal with 29 seconds left to cut their deficit to 24-16 for what appeared to be a back-door cover. But it still wasn’t over.

As expected, UNR attempted an onside kick. But, unexpectedly, the Hilltoppers’ Matthew Henry snatched the ball out of the air in stride and scored on a 48-yard kickoff return with 23 seconds left to hand Wolf Pack backers what appeared to be a bad beat for the ages.

But it might not have even been the worst beat of the weekend after the Eagles dealt Rams bettors an epic bad beat Sunday when they returned a blocked field goal 61 yards for a touchdown on the final play to cover the spread.

Veteran oddsmaker dies

Genuine. Generous. Kind. Positive. A bright light. An amazing person. Everyone’s best friend. A proud father. A family man. Universally beloved.

Those descriptions were part of an outpouring of love on X for veteran Las Vegas oddsmaker Dave Sharapan, aka Sportsbook Consigliere (@SportsbkConsig), who died Saturday at age 55 after a bout with cancer.

Sharapan, a Pittsburgh native and Penn State graduate, helped launch an offshore sportsbook in Curacao before moving to Las Vegas. He worked at the Golden Nugget and CG Technology sportsbooks before becoming a sports betting analyst in recent years and co-host of the podcast “The Bostonian vs. The Book” with Matt Perrault.

Sharapan is survived by his wife, Jessica, and their three daughters. He affectionately referred to them as Mrs. Consig, Big Consig, Middle Consig and Little Consig.

“My husband, our dad, our best friend, Dave, passed away last night,” Jessica Sharapan posted Sunday on X. “Dave was more than someone behind the counter. He was a constant, a voice you trusted, the guy who knew the line before the books did, the one sharing stories from the book, the guy who could make you laugh even when the game was a bad beat. But to us, he was our everything.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.

WNBA championship odds

At Westgate SuperBook

Lynx -300

Aces +325

Mercury 18-1

Fever 25-1