With the WNBA regular season ending hitting the home stretch, some separation has taken place between the top five seeds and the teams fighting for the final three spots. Tonight’s two-game WNBA slate is headlined by a clash between two of the teams fighting for one of those final three seeds, as the Seattle Storm (20-18) visit the Indiana Fever (19-18). The Storm vs. Fever matchup is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, and it will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
At one point, Indiana was in the mix for one of the top four seeds, but a recent slide has seen the Fever fall to the eighth and final playoff spot, just one game ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks (17-18). However, a win tonight would elevate the Fever into the sixth seed that is currently held by Seattle, who has surged into that spot with three consecutive victories.
With so little separating the Storm, Valkyries (19-18), Fever, and Sparks, this game could be significant for how the playoff picture plays out.
Who will take the win tonight in Indianapolis? Read on for our Storm vs. Fever prediction and best bets and get the best value odds from BetOnline and other top online sportsbooks.
Storm vs. Fever Betting Trends
- Seattle is 12-8 SU and 11-9 ATS on the road this season, including 8-6 SU and 6-8 ATS as a road favorite.
- The Storm are an abysmal 2-10 SU and ATS this season when favored by five or fewer points.
- In Seattle’s last seven games, the over has hit five times.
- The Fever are 2-6 SU and ATS in their last eight games.
- Indiana is 6-8 SU and 7-7 ATS as an underdog this season and enters tonight having lost and failed to cover in three consecutive games as an underdog.
- However, they are 5-1 ATS and 4-2 SU as a home underdog this season, with the lone failed cover coming as a four-point underdog in last Friday’s 95-90 loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
- The over has hit in each of Indiana’s last four games.
Storm vs. Fever Prediction and Best Bets
With the double dip against the Lynx out of the way, this game marks the start of an absolutely massive stretch for the Fever, who hit the road for a Western road trip after tonight’s matchup vs. the Storm.
Remaining Schedule for the Indiana Fever
- Tuesday, August 26: vs. Seattle Storm
- Friday, August 29: at Los Angeles Sparks
- Sunday, August 31: at Golden State Valkyries
- Tuesday, September 2: at Phoenix Mercury
- Friday, September 5: vs. Chicago Sky
- Sunday, September 7: at Washington Mystics
- Tuesday, September 9: vs. Minnesota Lynx
How many wins does Indiana need to lock up a playoff spot? Both Golden State and Los Angeles have tough closing stretches, but five of the Valkyries’ last seven games are at home, where they have been better (10-7 at home vs. 9-11 on the road), and the Sparks are 11-4 in their last 15 games.
Plus, Golden State (2-0) and Los Angeles (3-0) have swept Indiana to this point, which means they can’t afford to end up in a tie with either team.
The Fever do at least own a tiebreaker advantage vs. the Storm, having beaten them in Seattle on June 24 and again at Climate Pledge Arena on August 3.
Aliyah Boston came up big for the Fever in both of those games, tallying 31 points and eight rebounds in the first game and 16 points and 12 rebounds in the second game.
The team could certainly benefit from another big game by Boston (15.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.6 APG) tonight. She ended July and began August on a double-double streak that spanned six games, but during Indiana’s current skid, she has just one double-double in eight games. She is shooting 54.1% from the field this month but is averaging only 13.9 PPG in August, her lowest average for any month this season.
Month-by-Month Averages for Aliyah Boston
- May: 16.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.5 APG
- June: 15.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.6 APG
- July: 15.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.1 APG
- August: 13.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.1 APG
One player who has really come up big for the Fever is Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell is third in the WNBA in scoring at 20.7 PPG and has 21 20-point games this season. In 14 games since the All-Star break, Mitchell has averaged 23.3 PPG and has made three or more threes nine times.
Slowing down Mitchell, who has 38, 27, and 26 points in her last three games, will be key for Seattle winning a fifth consecutive road game.
So will a solid night for Skylar Diggins, who has tallied six or more assists five times in her last six road games and 12 times in 19 road games this season. On Sunday, she dished out 11 dimes in the Storm’s 84-82 win at Washington.
It is difficult to have much faith in the Fever tonight, even if they won the last head-to-head meeting vs. the Storm sans Caitlin Clark and with Mitchell being held to single digits, which almost certainly will not happen tonight.
That said, Seattle has been absolutely awful when favored by five or fewer points, whereas Indiana has played rather well as a home underdog. That presents a good opportunity to back the home underdog here to both cover and win outright.
Storm vs. Fever Prediction: Fever to win
Storm vs. Fever Best Bets: 1) Fever +4 (-112 at BetOnline) 2) Fever ML (+160 at Everygame) 3) Fever/Storm over 168.5 (-108 at Lucky Rebel) 4) Kelsey Mitchell over 2.5 made threes (+120 at Bovada)
Other WNBA Betting Content
Betting News extensively covers the WNBA, providing best bets and WNBA picks daily for the league’s top matchups, analysis of key storylines from a betting perspective, and more.
Are you new to betting on the WNBA? Check out our updated WNBA betting guide. It covers a lot of basic information about the league, how to bet on it, and betting tools and resources that can enhance your chances of a successful season betting on the WNBA.
Several of our sports betting guides are also handy resources for WNBA bettors. This includes our guide to futures bets, our breakdowns of line movement and line shopping, and our comparison of moneyline and spread betting.
Also, check out our streams and social media channels for even more WNBA betting insight.