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02/01/2012 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Connecticut Huskies have made their way to the nation's capital for tonight's Big East Conference showdown with the 14th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
UConn is hoping to put the brakes on a three-game slide as the team fell to 14-6 overall and an even 4-4 in conference after suffering a 50-48 setback at home to Notre Dame on Sunday. It was team's lowest scoring output of the campaign, and it will try to even its record in true road games this season to 3-3 with a win tonight.
Georgetown is coming off a loss of its own, as the team stumbled at Pittsburgh last Saturday in a 72-60 final. Still, the Hoyas are 16-4 on the year, and they have won six of their first nine league tilts. GU is 10-1 at home this season, which includes a 3-1 mark against Big East foes.
Georgetown owns a 33-27 advantage in all-time series with UConn, but the Huskies won both meetings last season, including a 79-62 victory in the second round of the 2011 Big East Conference Tournament.
Jeremy Lamb scored 16 points and Andre Drummond logged a double-double consisting of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but those efforts went for naught as Connecticut lost a defensive battle to visiting Notre Dame by a scant two points. The Huskies shot 40.4 percent from the field, while the Fighting Irish were just 36.2 percent accurate. However, UND nailed seven three-pointers to UConn's three, and the Irish scored 26 points in the paint compared to a mere 10 for the home team. Lamb (17.9 ppg) continues to pace the Huskies in scoring thanks to his ultra-efficient 50.2 percent shooting effort, and he has a club- best 44 three-pointers as well. Shabazz Napier (14.3 ppg, 6.1 apg) and Drummond (10.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) round out the double-digit scorers for coach Jim Calhoun's club, which puts up 69.8 ppg in hitting 47.0 percent of its total shots, while limiting the opposition to 62.2 ppg on 36.9 percent field goal accuracy. The Huskies are +5.5 in rebounding margin, but suffer from a turnover differential of -2.4.
Georgetown's starting five accounted for only 35 points in the recent loss to Pittsburgh, as the team shot 42.1 percent from the field, despite missing 12 of its 17 three-point attempts. Otto Porter came off the bench to score a club-best 14 points, while Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. No Hoya grabbed more than six rebounds (Porter), as they were out-muscled on the glass to the tune of a 35-23 deficit. Pitt went a dismal 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, but shot an impressive 52.1 percent from the field overall, and the Panthers claimed a 19-7 edge in points from the foul line and cruised to the double-digit victory despite committing 17 turnovers. After 20 games, Jason Clark (15.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg) leads the club in scoring on the strength of his 49.5 percent shooting effort, while Thompson (13.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Sims (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) have been productive contributors as well for coach John Thompson III's team, which averages 71.4 ppg on 47.1 percent field goal accuracy, which includes a 36.1 percent effort from long range, while defensively holding the opposition to 60.0 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 39.9 percent overall and 29.0 percent from beyond the arc.
<< Feathers are sure to fly in clash between Redbirds and Bluejays
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Creighton Bluejays continue one
of their most memorable seasons ever, as they play host to the Illinois State
Redbirds tonight in Omaha in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Illinois State is 14-8
<< Georgia Tech hits road to tangle with No. 21 Florida State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the ACC
standings meet in Tallahassee tonight, as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
challenge the 21st-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Georgia Tech's first season under head coac
<< Jayhawks host Sooners in Big 12 affair
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first Big 12 loss of the
season, the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks return to the friendly confines of
the Allen Fieldhouse for a league bout with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Bill Self's Jayhawks had
<< Sixth-ranked Bears battle Aggies in Big 12 action
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue
their quest for a Big 12 title, as they invade College Station this evening
for a conference matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena.
Scott Drew's Bear
Rams and Rebels duke it out in Sin City >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start since the 1991-92
campaign, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels find themselves ranked 11th in the nation
and tied for the top spot in the Mountain West Conference as they prepare for
the arrival of
Nets pick up G Bogans >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeking to bolster its defensive
performance, the New Jersey Nets signed 6-foot-5 free agent guard Keith Bogans
on Wednesday.
Per team policy, contract terms were not disclosed.
"Keith will
Hannover's Pogatetz hit with three-match ban >>
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover defender Emanuel Pogatetz has
been handed a three-match ban by the German Football Federation (DFB) for
punching Nurnberg's Philipp Wollscheid.
The incident occurred in last Friday's 1-
No arguing with Patriots' (tight) end results >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots reached the
Super Bowl on the strength of an extraordinarily explosive offense that
contained a record-setting quarterback, a wide receiver with over 100 catches
and another wi
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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