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No. 1 seed Kentucky opens NCAA Tournament against 16th-seeded ETSUNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/18/2010 - 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 on either eighth-seeded Texas or ninth- seeded Wake Forest in the second round. ETSU enters this event on a major roll, as it has won its last six games and recently captured the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship. The Bucs, who are 20-14 overall, are making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. They own a 2-9 record in the "Big Dance", and while no 16 seed has ever beaten a top seed, ETSU came as close as anyone has in 1989, losing to Oklahoma by one point. As for Kentucky, it is making its record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing its 26th SEC Tournament title with a dramatic win over Mississippi State. The Wildcats, who are 32-2 overall, are led by many newcomers to the program, including first-year head coach John Calipari and a tremendous trio of freshmen. The No. 1 seed is the 10th in school history for Kentucky, and the squad has its 12th 30-win campaign. The 'Cats are 98-44 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and happy to be back in the "Big Dance" after appearing in the NIT a year ago. Kentucky beat East Tennessee State in both previous meetings between the two programs, the most recent of which took place in 1985. While ETSU is averaging 69.2 ppg this season, the team is limiting its opponents to 66.5 ppg on 41.5 percent shooting from the field. There are three double-digit scorers in the fold, and Tommy Hubbard leads the way with 14.1 ppg. In addition to his offensive ability, Hubbard also paces the squad with 8.3 rpg and 54 steals. Micah Williams checks in with 12.5 ppg, and Justin Tubbs provides 12.0 ppg. Tubbs scored 18 points to lead the way for his team in the A-Sun title game against Mercer, a contest that resulted in a six-point win. Prior to that tilt, Williams had led his team in scoring in three straight outings. The last time Hubbard paced the squad in scoring was 10 games ago, and he is the only player on the roster that has started all 34 games. There is a wealth of offensive talent in the fold for Kentucky, which is averaging 79.2 ppg on 47.9 percent shooting from the floor. Fortunately, the team also excels at the defensive end, limiting foes to 65.3 ppg on 38.1 percent shooting. Point guard John Wall recently became just the second freshman in SEC history to earn that league's Playe of the Year award. He is averaging 16.9 ppg and has dished out 210 assists in the 33 games that he has played. Wall also has 60 steals to his credit and may only get one shot to win the national title if he answers the early call from the NBA. The same can be said of DeMarcus Cousins, a prototype power forward who provides 15.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Cousins, the 2009-10 SEC Freshman of the Year, has also blocked 62 shots for the Wildcats, and he gets help inside from junior Patrick Patterson, who brings 14.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg to the floor. Eric Bledsoe, the third standout freshman, adds 10.8 ppg to the mix.
<< No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City
<< Hoyas and Bobcats clash in Midwest Regional
<< Irish and Monarchs open tournament play in New Orleans
<< Coyotes shoot for historic win in Florida
<< Flyers vie to end 13-year winless drought in Dallas
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 >>
Cougars and Gators collide in West Regional action >>
Upset-minded Racers open tournament play against Commodores >>
Midwest Regional affair pits Panthers against Rebels >>
Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit CardsMichael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football. As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL. The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago. Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996). But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side. Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show. Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East: Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1 Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2 New York Giants - 9 - 2 Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1). Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship. So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume. And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top. They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy. Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday. But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division. Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS. Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS. Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162. Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense? Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS. In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS. Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division. Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do. The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20. The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550. Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Betting the NFL preseasonRule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games." When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night. The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine. “I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.” The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark. “We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.” The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long. “It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.” Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play. “You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt." So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps? “Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says. Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins. Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet. Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter. “If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says. Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider. The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason. “We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003. Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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