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03/18/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-seeded Ohio University Bobcats are out to continue their magical run tonight, as they lock up with the third- seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The victor of this Midwest Regional matchup will move on to the second round versus either Tennessee or San Diego State on Saturday.
As the ninth-seed, Ohio wasn't given much of a chance to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament, but the team defied all odds and won four straight games to claim its first title since 2005. It was a remarkable feat considering the Bobcats had gone just 7-9 in conference play during the regular season. The program is now set for its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where it has gone 4-12 all-time.
The Hoyas meanwhile, didn't need to win the Big East Tournament to move on to the Big Dance, but a deep run in the league championship event certainly helped in the seeding. Georgetown had lost four of its final five games of the regular season and was probably eyeing up a sixth or seventh seed before a run to the Big East Tournament title game moved it to the third seed for this event. The Hoyas are making their 26th trip to the Big Dance and they are 45-24 all-time, including a national championship in 1984.
Tonight's contest represents the first-ever meeting between Georgetown and Ohio on the hardwood.
The Bobcats are paced by Armon Bassett, a transfer that played in two NCAA Tournaments while at Indiana. Bassett showed his experience and talent in the recent MAC Tournament, where he averaged 29.0 ppg and 3.8 apg en route to MVP honors. It was an incredible run for Bassett, who averages 16.9 ppg and 3.5 apg for the season. D.J. Cooper is another intriguing option for Ohio, as the MAC Freshman of the Year turns in 13.1 ppg and 5.4 rpg, to go with team highs of 5.9 apg and 88 steals. DeVaughn Washington and Tommy Freeman are two other players that can make things happen and they chip in with 11.2 and 10.1 ppg, respectively.
The Hoyas have little depth, but their top four producers are as good as any around. Austin Freeman leads the club with an average of 16.7 ppg and the 45.0 percent three-point shooter has scored at least 15 points in 19 games this season. A 6-11 center, Greg Monroe is one of the top players in the nation at his position and he nearly averages a double-double with 16.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Monroe is also a terrific passer for a big man, dishing off 3.7 apg. Chris Wright adds 14.8 ppg and a team-best 4.1 apg to the mix, while Jason Clark rounds out the group with 10.6 ppg.
<< Coyotes shoot for historic win in Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes set their sights on a history-making
win when the surprising playoff contenders skate into the BankAtlantic Center
this evening to take on the Florida Panthers.
One of the NHL's great success stories of
<< Flyers vie to end 13-year winless drought in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers have goaltender Michael Leighton to
thank for keeping them alive in the postseason race. However, the team will be
without its waiver-wire gem when it goes for its first win at Dallas in over
13 years
<< Road-weary Sabres make a stop in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An inability to win on the road has plagued the Buffalo
Sabres as of late. The Northeast Division leaders will attempt to reverse that
negative trend when the team visits a venue it's had great success in during
recent years
<< Surging Wild head to Nashville for key late-season clash
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Both the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators are riding
three-game winning streaks, but only one club is in the playoff picture.
The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena
versus the
No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSU >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats begin play
in the 2010 NCAA Tournament with first-round clash against the 16th-seeded
East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the East Region.
The winner of this clash will take
Grizzlies battle Lobos in first round of 2010 NCAA Tournament >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament's
East Region features a matchup between the third-seeded New Mexico Lobos and
the 14th-seeded Montana Grizzlies.
The winner of this tilt will battle either sixth-se
Top-seeded Kansas opens tournament play against Lehigh >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks begin
their quest for a national title tonight, as they take on the 16th-seeded
Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Midwest
Regional at the Ford C
Cougars and Gators collide in West Regional action >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back in the NCAA Tournament after a two-
year absence, the Florida Gators open first-round play of the 72nd annual
event this afternoon as they tangle with the BYU Cougars in the West Regional
at the Ford Ce
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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