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02/01/2012 - 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 on the year, and the Redbirds sit a game over .500 in conference play at 6-5. They have won their last two tilts, the most recent of which being a 60-40 shellacking of Southern Illinois at home on Saturday. ISU is just 2-5 in true road games this season, and the team has dropped its last three outside of Normal.
Creighton has won 20 of its first 22 games, and is a 10-1 in MVC play. The Bluejays have won 10 straight, and they are 11-1 at home this year. A 73-59 triumph over Bradley was the team's most recent, and following this bout, it will hit the road for a pair before playing three of its final five regular- season games in Omaha.
Illinois State owns a 40-27 advantage in the all-time series, but Creighton has won the last three meetings, including an 87-78 decision in Normal on January 13 of this year.
Illinois State is averaging 68.8 ppg behind typical shooting outputs of 44.4 percent overall and 36.5 percent from three-point range. The team has two players netting double figures on a consistent basis, as Jackie Carmichael (13.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and Tyler Brown (12.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) have done their best to keep the Redbirds competitive. Defensively, the team yields 62.5 ppg as foes are hitting just 40.8 percent of their total shots, which includes a 33.4 percent showing from beyond the arc. The Redbirds are +2.8 in rebounding margin, but they are -0.7 in turnover differential. Both Carmichael and John Wilkins logged double-doubles in the recent rout of Southern Illinois, with the former tallying 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the latter 10 points and 11 boards. As a team, ISU shot 44.4 percent from the floor, while limiting the Salukis to 30.0 percent. A 15-6 edge in points from the foul line also played an important role, as did a 40-29 rebounding advantage.
Creighton is one of the highest scoring teams in the country, averaging 80.9 ppg behind highly-efficient shooting percentages of .514 overall and .449 from three-point range. The Bluejays are led by MVC Player of the Year shoe-in, Doug McDermott (23.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg), and the team's only other double-digit scorer at the moment is Antoine Young (11.2 ppg, 4.4 apg). When it comes to playing with their backs to the basket, the 'Jays are giving up 67.8 ppg with foes shooting 42.4 percent from the field. Creighton routinely wins the battle on the board by 5.5 rpg, but is guilty of 13 turnovers per outing, compared to just 11.5 for the opposition. McDermott was on his season average in the recent win over Bradley, hitting 10-of-14 field goal attempts for 24 points, while Gregory Echenique and Josh Jones chipped in with 14 points apiece, the former also grabbing 10 boards as well. The Bluejays shot 54.5 percent from the field, while the Braves were just 39.0 percent accurate. A 17-7 edge in points from the charity stripe helped, but there was a negative in the game as Creighton committed 19 turnovers.
<< 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
<< Streaking Heat take on Bucks at Bradley Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James and the streaking Miami Heat will take a five-
game winning streak on the road to Milwaukee tonight.
The Heat weren't all that impressive on Monday but James finished two assists
shy of a triple-double with 22
<< Suns and Hornets tangle in the Big Easy
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will hit the road to the Big Easy tonight
for a showdown with the New Orleans Hornets.
The Suns have lost four of five games and are coming off Mondays 122-99 loss
to the Dallas Mavericks. Marcin Gortat le
Huskies and Hoyas square off Big East action >>
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
Broncos battle 17th-ranked Aztecs >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to win their first conference game as
a member of the Mountain West, the Boise State Broncos face one of their
toughest tests yet as they tangle with 17th-ranked San Diego State at Viejas
Arena tonight.
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
It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
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.
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