Red-hot Mavericks try to extend winning streak against Hawks
Basketball Betting Lines
02/26/2007 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA-best Dallas Mavericks go for their 12th straight
victory when they welcome the Atlanta Hawks tonight to American Airlines
Center.
All-Star Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished
out eight assists as Dallas knocked off the Denver Nuggets, 115-95, on
Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Josh Howard added 27 points for the red-hot Mavericks, who won their 11th
straight game and for the 19th consecutive time on their home floor. Jerry
Stackhouse chipped in 16 points and six assists off the bench in the victory.
Dallas is an amazing 26-3 at home this season. The Mavericks are scheduled to
visit Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at the Target
Center.
The Hawks try to get back on the winning track as they begin a three-game road
trip. Amare Stoudemire poured in a season-high 43 points and grabbed 16
rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns over Atlanta, 115-106, on Sunday at Philips
Arena.
Joe Johnson finished with 28 points and Marvin Williams added 23 points and 10
rebounds in the loss to Phoenix for the Hawks, who have lost three of their
last four games overall. Anthony Johnson scored 17 points in his Hawks debut
and Josh Smith scored 14 for Atlanta, which finished 1-2 on its three-game
homestand.
Atlanta is 12-17 on the road this season. The Hawks will also visit the
Hornets and Washington Wizards on the current swing.
This is the first of two meetings this season between the squads. Atlanta is
scheduled to host the Mavericks on March 25th at Philips Arena.
Atlanta has lost two straight and seven of its last eight at Dallas. The
Mavericks have won two in a row in the series.
<< Kobe, Lakers visit Northwest Division-leading Utah
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the top teams in the Western Conference meet when
the Utah Jazz welcome the Los Angeles Lakers tonight to EnergySolutions Arena.
This is the third and final meeting of the regular season between the clubs.
The teams
<< SuperSonics host Northwest Division-rival Portland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northwest Division rivals battle when the Portland Trail
Blazers visit the Seattle SuperSonics tonight at KeyArena.
This is the second of four meetings between the squads this campaign. On
November 1st, Zach Randolph scor
<< Sharks and Ducks tangle in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An important Pacific Division battle takes place tonight
in San Jose, as the Sharks welcome the first-place Anaheim Ducks to HP
Pavilion.
The Ducks are first in the Pacific and second in the Western Conference with
82 po
<< Hoyas can earn share of Big East title with win at Syracuse
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas have won their
last 11 games, and they will battle the Syracuse Orange today in a key Big East
Conference matchup.
On Saturday, Georgetown took over sole possession of first p
<< Flames welcome Coyotes to town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames will continue their push for the
postseason tonight, when they welcome the Phoenix Coyotes to the Pengrowth
Saddledome.
The Flames have 73 points and are currently clinging to the eighth and final
posts
Celtics wrap up road trip in Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics nightmarish season continues tonight, as
they visit the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
Boston plays the finale of a five-game road trip and has dropped all four
contests on the swing. Derek Fisher
Bobcats begin long swing vs. Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats begin a season-long six-game road
trip when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at the Staples Center.
This is the first of two meetings between the squads this season. The Bobcats
are schedul
Northern Iowa extends Jacobson >>
Cedar Falls, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northern Iowa extended the contract of
head men's basketball coach Ben Jacobson on Monday.
The new deal will keep Jacobson, who was promoted to head coach in March 2006
after Greg McDermott left the
Rockets continue strong play without Yao >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets (35-20) are a distant 11 games behind
the first place Dallas Mavericks in the Southwest Division. However, they are
the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoff race, four games ahead of the
sixth-s
Reds confirm Voronin summer signing >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool confirmed on Monday that
striker Andriy Voronin will join the team this summer on a free transfer from
German club Bayer Leverkusen.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian has tallied six goals in 1
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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