11/28/2008 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a shockingly lopsided defeat, the fifth-ranked Michigan State Spartans continue play at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando against Oklahoma State today.
The Spartans played a Thanksgiving game against Maryland, and the result of that tilt was an 80-62 setback. They carried a 2-0 record in to that showdown, but both victories came over inferior competition. Clearly, Tom Izzo's Michigan State squad will drop in the rankings, although an impressive victory over the Cowboys today would shorten the fall.
Oklahoma State won its first four games of the season, all at home and all by double figures. Unfortunately, the winning streak came to an end yesterday as the Cowboys were outplayed by an outstanding Gonzaga team in an 83-71 loss. Back-to-back games against ranked teams this early in the season is a bit unusual, but Travis Ford will learn alot about his team in a span of 24 hours.
Oklahoma State has won two of its three all-time meetings with Michigan State.
The fact that Michigan State missed 15 of the 27 free throws that it attempted yesterday speaks to the fact that the team just never got into a groove against Maryland. The Spartans had five more turnovers than their counterparts and hit seven fewer shots from three-point range. Maryland led by just three points at intermission before outscoring Michigan State by 15 points over the final 20 minutes. Travis Walton played well in defeat for the Spartans, as he hit 8-of-10 shots from the field en route to 16 points. The only other double- digit scorer was Durrell Summers, as he contributed 10 points off the bench. Through three games, MSU is averaging 77.3 ppg while allowing 67.0 ppg. Raymar Morgan, who struggled yesterday, still leads the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg despite averaging under 22 minutes of action per contest. Kalin Lucas checks in with 12.0 ppg and 5.3 apg.
Against Gonzaga last night, Oklahoma State turned the ball over 19 times and shot just 37.3 percent from the floor, the two most obvious reasons that the team fell short. Also, a 9-of-17 showing from the foul line didn't help matters. Terrel Harris led the Cowboys in defeat with 17 points on the strength of a 3-of-3 effort from three-point range. Obi Muonelo came through with 16 points and 15 boards, and James Anderson rounded out a trio of double- digit scorers with 14 points. Through five outings, Anderson is generating 18.4 ppg on 53.6 percent efficiency from three-point range. He is pulling down 6.6 rpg as well. Harris, a 50 percent shooter from behind the arc, adds 17.8 ppg to the OSU lineup, while Byron Eaton posts 15.0 ppg to go with team-highs of 30 assists and 15 steals.
<< Oklahoma and Purdue meet for NIT Season Tip-Off title
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NIT Season Tip-Off title is on the line at
Madison Square Garden today, as the 11th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners tangle with
the 10th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in one of the premier matchups of the
young season.
<< Blue Devils put win streak on the line against Dukes
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two undefeated teams collide in Durham this
afternoon, as the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils play host to the Duquesne
Dukes in non-conference action from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils a
<< No. 22 Kansas hosts Coppin State
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are heavily
favored in tonight's non-conference home clash with the Coppin State Eagles.
Coppin State opened the season with a 94-73 decision over Wilmington and hoped
to carry
<< Blackhawks place D Johnson on IR
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman
Aaron Johnson on injured reserve with an arm injury.
Johnson has already matched a career high with three goals this season and has
added four assists for seven p
Golden Eagles try to soar past Panthers in Chicago Invitational >>
Hoffman Estates, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles
begin play at the Chicago Invitational against the Northern Iowa Panthers this
evening. The 2008 Chicago Invitational is an eight-team event that features
its first
Battle of unbeatens pits Panthers against Red Raiders >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers of the Big
East Conference will do battle with the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12
on first-day action of the Legends Classic in Newark, New Jersey.
For the ninth conse
Miners seek upset of 19th-ranked Demon Deacons >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-round action of the 76 Classic at the
Anaheim Convention Center continues this afternoon, as the UTEP Miners face
off against the 19th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Demon Deacons remained undefea
20th-ranked Wildcats take on Tigers in Philly >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Villanova Wildcats put
their unblemished record on the line tonight, as they tangle with the Towson
Tigers as part of the Philly Hoop Group Classic at The Palestra.
The Wildcats have come r
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 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.
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
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