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
02/21/2009 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two defensive teams in the Atlantic 10 collide at Chaifetz Arena this evening, as the 25th-ranked Dayton Flyers come calling on the Saint Louis Billikens.
Dayton has won two straight games and nine of its last 10 to move to 23-3 on the season, including a 9-2 mark in-conference. The last time the Flyers were on the floor, they posted a 69-63 win over Richmond. With the team's recent success and Xavier's problems of late, Dayton has taken a half-game lead atop the A-10 standings.
The Billikens are in the middle of the pack at 7-5 in league play. Saint Louis has also played well of late, with wins in five of its last six games, including a hard-fought 73-71 decision against Saint Joseph's this week.
Dayton has won five straight meetings to take a 23-18 lead in the series with Saint Louis. These two teams met on January 29th in Dayton, with the Flyers posting a 47-46 victory.
The Flyers are sitting atop the conference standings thanks to stellar play at the defensive end of the floor. The team is limiting foes this year to a mere 59.1 ppg, while opponents have converted a miserable .384 from the field (leads the conference in both categories). The offensive stars are few and far between on the roster, with only Chris Wright and Marcus Johnson making consistent contributions. Wright is the team's top scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Johnson is a close second in the scoring column at 11.6 ppg, but that is where the scoring pool dries up, as the next closest player nets a mere 7.5 ppg. The Flyers were able to limit the Spiders to just 40 percent shooting last weekend and earned a tough win. Wright once again led the charge with a double-double consisting of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard London Warren added 10 points in support, while dishing out six assists.
The Billikens got a balanced scoring effort, with four players finishing in double figures, as they were able to edge out the Hawks this week at Chaifetz Arena. Freshman point guard Kwamain Mitchell hit a career-high five three- pointers and led the team with 17 points. Kevin Lisch added 15 points and six assists to the cause, while Barry Eberhardt and Willie Reed came off the bench to chip in 14 and 11 points, respectively. The Billikens are also known for their defensive tenacity, holding opponents to a mere 60.0 ppg. The offense has been lacking at times in 2008-09, with Saint Louis shooting a bland .431 from the floor, for just 62.5 ppg. Three players are currently averaging double figures, led by Lisch's 14.0 ppg. Tommie Liddell III is next at 12.2 ppg and is the team's top rebounder (5.9 rpg). Mitchell has made an immediate impact this year, with the youngster averaging 10.0 ppg, while pacing the Billikens in assists (94).
<< Panthers hope to exorcise Blue Demons
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers put
their perfect home record on the line tonight, as the DePaul Blue Demons pull
into the Steel City for a Big East Conference clash.
The Blue Demons can't be all that
<< State bragging rights on line as Hoosiers visit Boilermakers
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Intrastate rivals collide in West
Lafayette today, as the Indiana Hoosiers challenge the 19th-ranked Purdue
Boilermakers in Big Ten Conference action.
The Hoosiers are in the midst of one of their worst
<< Cardinals soar into Cincinnati to take on Bearcats
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time rivals, now members of the Big
East Conference, meet in the Queen City today, as the seventh-ranked
Louisville Cardinals come calling on the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Rick Pitino has Louisville once aga
<< LSU hosts Auburn in pivotal SEC contest
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked LSU Tigers are set to host
SEC foe Auburn, which enters this contest riding a four-game win streak.
The recent success has lifted Auburn to 17-9 overall and 6-5 in conference.
Auburn knocked
Golden Eagles fly into D.C. to tangle with Hoyas >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Georgetown Hoyas begin a crucial two-
game homestand today, as they entertain the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden
Eagles in a Big East tilt at the Verizon Center.
The Hoyas were ranked in the Top 25 for a
11th-ranked Tigers in Boulder to take on Buffaloes >>
Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big 12 Conference foes collide in Boulder
today, as the 11th-ranked Missouri Tigers pay a visit to the Colorado
Buffaloes. This is the second meeting of the season between these two, and
Missouri had very little t
Jayhawks seek season sweep of Cornhuskers >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out a
two-game homestand this afternoon, as they welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to
Lawrence for a Big 12 showdown from the Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks are still in th
Big 12 showdown pits Sooners against Longhorns >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the top spot in the national polls within
reach, the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners head to Austin this weekend, to
battle the Texas Longhorns in Big 12 action from the Frank Erwin Center.
Jeff Capel's Soon
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts 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