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03/13/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long Beach State tries to raise its total of Big West Conference Tournament titles to a record five, as the 49ers clash with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the championship round of the 35th-annual event at Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
LBSU, the third seed in this year's tourney, is currently tied with Pacific for the most tournament crowns with four, the most recent of those coming in 2007 with a 94-83 victory over Cal Poly. This time around LBSU had to work through the quarterfinals with a 79-69 victory over the sixth-seeded Mustangs and then take a 68-61 win versus second-seeded Pacific on Friday night.
As for the top-seeded Gauchos, a team that is well below .500 in this tournament over the years and has just a single crown (2002) to show for its efforts, they jumped right into the semifinals last night and used the opportunity to dismiss fourth-seeded UC Davis in a 76-62 decision that wasn't quite as close as the final score may have indicated.
The teams split the two regular season meetings, with each winning at home. While Long Beach State was able to log a lopsided 67-47 rout in its building back in the middle of January, the Gauchos were lucky to come away with their 64-62 win at the Thunderdome a month later. Due to the split, Long Beach State now owns a slim 53-52 advantage in the all-time series.
Casper Ware lit up the scoreboard for a career-high 22 points, shooting 6- of-16 from the field and 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, in the win over Pacific last night. Also scoring in double figures for the victors were Larry Anderson and Stephan Gilling with 14 and 12 points, respectively, as the squad shot an impressive 7-of-15 behind the three-point line, compared to just 5- of-22 out on the perimeter for the Tigers. Although he failed to reach double figures, T.J. Robinson is still the top scorer for the program with his 15.4 ppg overall this season and 14.9 ppg versus Big West foes, accounting for 10.1 rpg on the season as well. Anderson, who is just a 23.7 percent shooter behind the three-point line, is responsible for 11.8 ppg and Ware is now up to 11.7 ppg on the campaign, even though he too has had his share of issues shooting the ball from the floor at a meager 36.8 percent accuracy.
UC Davis was completely overwhelmed last night as the Aggies made just a single field goal through the first 12 minutes of the contest and trailed by a 16-4 score with barely seven and a half minutes remaining in the first half. The UCSB defense eased up in the second half, but the offense for the Gauchos knocked down 63.6 percent form the floor in order to keep plenty of distance between themselves and the opposition. James Powell tallied 22 points off the bench, James Nunnally 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, followed by Orlando Johnson with 14 points. Averaging more than 31 minutes per game, Johnson leads the squad in scoring with his 17.9 ppg and is also second on the unit in rebounding (5.4 rpg) and assists (63) over 28 appearances. Nunnally chips in with 14.9 ppg and while he also leads the unit with his 5.7 rpg, he's found time and opportunity to make good on 45.7 percent of his three-point tries as well.
<< Tigers and Golden Lions collide for SWAC crown
Bossier City, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwestern Athletic Conference
Tournament Championship game will take place this evening at the CenturyTel
Center, when the second-seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions battle the
fifth-seeded Texas S
<< Spiders attempt to snare Musketeers in A-10 semifinals
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded and 24th-ranked Xavier
Musketeers do battle with the third-seeded Richmond Spiders in the semifinal
round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament today at Boardwalk Hall. The winner of
this game will
<< Pac-10 title up for grabs in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pac-10 Tournament title is up for grabs
this evening, as the top-seeded California Golden Bears face off against the
third-seeded Washington Huskies in the finals at the Staples Center.
California, whic
<< Rebels and Aztecs seek MWC crown in Sin City
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shooting for their third championship in the
last four years and the fourth overall, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels are into the
title game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament today and will face the
San Diego S
Maple Leafs host Oilers in matchup of last place clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle between the bottom two teams in the NHL is on tap
tonight in Toronto, pitting the Maple Leafs against the Edmonton Oilers at Air
Canada Centre.
Despite having won two straight and three of their last four, the Map
Rockets kick off homestand vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Houston Rockets making the playoffs seem
to fade by the day. Tonight they'll have to get past the woeful New Jersey
Nets at the Toyota Center in the opener of a four-game homestand and hope for
some help ar
Berkman sidelined 2-4 weeks after knee surgery >>
Kissimmee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman
underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Saturday morning.
The Astros said the procedure involved removing loose cartilage debris from
the knee. There w
Bobcats sign Larry Hughes >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats have signed guard Larry
Hughes.
Hughes appeared in 31 games for the Knicks this season, then was dealt to
Sacramento at the trading deadline and subsequently waived without playin
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.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.
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