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 - Davidson, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated Bracketbuster game on the docket takes place in the Tar Heel State this weekend, as the 21st-ranked Butler Bulldogs invade Belk Arena and attempt to get past the always dangerous Davidson Wildcats.
The Bulldogs had been cruising along through their Horizon League schedule, but things have gotten much tighter of late, as Butler has dropped two straight games, with upset losses to Loyola-Chicago (71-67) and most recently, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (63-60). With the setbacks, the team has fallen to 13-3 in league play and 22-4 overall.
The Wildcats are one of the top teams in the Southern Conference, holding a two-game lead in the South Division standings. However, it could have been a four-game lead were it not for a surprising home loss to the Citadel this week, 64-46. With the loss to the Bulldogs, Davidson is now 22-5 overall and 15-2 in-conference.
This game is the first-ever meeting between these two mid-major powers.
The Bulldogs are known for their defensive prowess, as evidenced by the fact that the team is limiting foes to a mere 57.3 ppg this year and well under 40 percent shooting overall (.377). Unfortunately, the team's lack of offensive punch has proved to be problematic of late and could be a real concern going up against Davidson. Matt Howard is the team's best option and comes into the contest leading the Bulldogs in both scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Gordon Hayward is a close second in both categories (13.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and is the team's top sharpshooter (.453 from behind the arc, 58 treys). Shelvin Mack (12.2 ppg) adds to the perimeter assault with 50 three-pointers to his credit. Wisconin-Milwaukee seemed to catch a break with the clock towards the end of the game and escaped with a three-point win over Butler. The setback ruined a solid performance by Howard, who finished just shy of a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds. Mack and Ronald Nored chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, but the team shot a mere .412 from the floor overall, including a dreadful .296 in the first half. UWM's bench played an important role in the decision, as the Panthers' reserves outscored Butler's bench 21-6.
The Citadel put on a defensive clinic and held the hometown Wildcats to an ugly .254 shooting, including just .130 from behind the arc (3-of-23) and taking a lopsided decision at Belk Arena as a result. Davidson's lack of offensive punch was certainly caused by the fact that All-American Stephen Curry was not on the floor. The veteran sharpshooter missed his first career game after suffering a sprained ankle last weekend. Andrew Lovedale and Brenan McKillop tried to fill the void with 16 and 15 points, respectively, but without Curry on the floor, the Bulldogs were able to keep the pressure on all game long. When the Wildcats are at full strength, there are few in the SoCon that can stay with them. The team is averaging a robust 78.8 ppg this year, with a good portion of that coming from Curry, who leads the nation in scoring at 29.0 ppg. Curry, who already has 102 three-pointers to his credit this season, is also the team's primary distributor, doling out 152 assists thus far. Lovedale feeds off Curry's perimeter success and is a perfect complement in the low post, averaging 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per outing.
<< 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
<< Thunder pay a visit to Golden State
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to stop a six-game road
losing streak Saturday when they close out a short trek against the Golden
State Warriors at ORACLE Arena.
The Thunder opened the two-game road swing with a
Tigers hope to claw way past Miners in C-USA action >>
El Paso, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers hit the road
this weekend, as they invade the Don Haskins Center for a Conference-USA
battle against the Texas-El Paso Miners.
John Calipari's Tigers have run roughshod over the
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
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.
Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.
If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.
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