Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
01/28/2012 - Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Syracuse Orange return home to defend their top spot in the conference standings, as they welcome in the West Virginia Mountaineers for a Big East showdown at the Carrier Dome.
Jim Boeheim's Orange suffered their first loss of the season last weekend at Notre Dame, but were able to quickly gain some distance from the setback with a solid 60-53 win at Cincinnati this week. With the victory, Boeheim passed Adolph Rupp for fourth place on the all-time wins list with 877. The win also pushed Syracuse to 8-1 in league play, a full two games up in the conference standings.
Bob Huggins is certainly not stranger to winning games either, with 706 career victories. Huggins was unable to add to his win total earlier this week, as West Virginia saw a three-game win streak come to a close with a humbling 78-62 loss to St. Johns. The loss dropped the Mountaineers to 5-3 in- conference and just 1-4 on the road.
This is the 50th meeting between these two teams, with Syracuse holding a 33-16 edge all-time, thanks to wins in 12 of the last 13 meetings. WVU's last win came in 2008 in the first-ever meeting between Boeheim and Huggins.
West Virginia struggled with St. John's zone defense, shooting a miserable .354 from the floor, including a mere 5-of-22 showing from behind the arc. Standout forward Kevin Jones continued his torrid pace however, posting his sixth straight game with 20 points or more, recording his 14th double-double of the season with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Darryl Bryant tacked on 16 points as well, but the pair got little offensive support elsewhere. A potent one-two punch this season, Jones and Bryant give the team a balanced attack. Jones has been unstoppable in the low post, leading the conference in both scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.6 rpg). Bryant fills it up from the perimeter to the tune of 17.4 ppg (sixth in the Big East). Forward Deniz Kilicli (10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) provides the team with a third option. Jones and Kilicli are both shooting over 50 percent from the floor this year, helping the team convert a steady 46 percent overall, leading to a healthy 75.0 ppg.
The Orange have lost their inside presence with center Fab Melo missing time due to academics. However, that didn't prevent the team from getting back in the win column this week against the Bearcats. Forward Kris Joseph led the way in the win with 17 points. Guards Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche tacked on 13 and 11 points, respectively. Jardine doled out six assists and had no turnovers in 30 minutes of action. The Orange were able to hold Cincinnati to a mere .344 shooting effort in the game. Syracuse is averaging an impressive 78.0 ppg this season to lead the Big East, despite lacking a prolific scoring threat. Joseph paces the team in that department with 13.7 ppg. Dion Waiters is a valuable asset off the bench with 12.5 ppg, while Triche (9.9 ppg), Jardine (8.5 ppg) and C.J. Fair (8.4 ppg) provide scoring depth. Melo isn't much of a scorer (7.2 ppg), but his defensive presence in the paint is his greatest strength. The 7-0 sophomore is averaging a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game, while he ranks second in the Big East in blocked shots (60).
<< Gaels and Cougars meet in WCC tussle
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 21st in the nation this week, the Saint
Mary's-CA Gaels continue to battle through the rest of the West Coast
Conference as the team clashes with the BYU Cougars at the Marriott Center in
Provo tonight.
O
<< Colorado State entertains No. 13 San Diego State
Fort Collins, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last of the unbeatens in the Mountain
West Conference, the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs hit the road this
afternoon to challenge the Colorado State Rams at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
Not only ar
<< Panthers hope to make it two in a row in clash with Hoyas
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first win in more than
month, the Pittsburgh Panthers will try to make it two in row as they play
host to the ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East Conference bout this
afternoon at the P
<< Sooners set sights on Wildcats in Big 12 affair
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma Sooners will play their second
straight ranked opponent, as they invade Manhattan this afternoon for a Big 12
showdown with the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.
Lon Kruger's Sooners are in the
Sixth-ranked Bears welcome Longhorns to Waco >>
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue their quest
towards the top spot in the Big 12, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to
Waco for a conference showdown at the Ferrell Center.
Scott Drew's Bears are 5-2 in-con
No.2 Tigers tangle with Red Raiders >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Missouri Tigers set their
sights on getting back on track, as they welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to
Columbia this afternoon, for a Big 12 matchup at Mizzou Arena.
Frank Haith's Tigers ar
Cavs and Pack square off Raleigh >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams continuing to jockey for position
within the ACC meet in Raleigh tonight, as the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers
take on the NC State Wolfpack.
Virginia is an impressive 16-3 this season, but the team
Columbus to host 2013 NHL All-Star game >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus and the Blue Jackets will host the
NHL's All-Star festivities in 2013, the league announced Saturday.
The showcase, which includes the skills competition and All-Star game, will
take place on th
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting