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Wofford and Wisconsin square off in first round of NCAA TournamentNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/19/2010 - Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - East Region action of the 2010 NCAA Tournament features a first-round matchup between the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers and the 13th-seeded Wofford Terriers. Up next for the winner of this tilt is a second-round battle with either fifth-seeded Temple or 12th-seeded Cornell on Sunday. Wofford is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the fact that the squad received a 13 seed is actually a sign of respect. The Terriers are 26-8 overall and won the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the "Big Dance" by winning that league's tournament title. They carry a 13- game win streak into this event and are led by head coach Mike Young. As for Wisconsin, it is making its 16th appearance in this event and owns a 20-14 record. The program advanced to the Final Four in 1941 and 2000 and won its only national title in '41. The Badgers have been to the NCAA Tournament in each of head coach Bo Ryan's nine seasons with the team and in 12 straight years overall. They are 23-8 this season and failed to win a game in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, having been bounced by Illinois last Friday in a 58-54 final. Wisconsin beat Wofford by 27 points in the only previous meeting between the two teams in 2007. The Terriers are led by Noah Dahlman, who was recently named the Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Dahlman has started all 34 games for his squad and is averaging 16.8 ppg on 58 percent shooting from the field. Dahlman is also second on the team in rebounding with 6.3 rpg. There is not another double-digit scorer on the roster, as Jamar Diggs (9.4 ppg) is closest to joining Dahlman. Still, Wofford is generating a respectable 69.4 ppg while limiting opponents to 61.2 ppg on 41.8 percent field goal efficiency. The Terriers have been solid on the boards, grabbing nearly three rebounds per game more than the opposition. Wofford is 5-1 in neutral-site games this season, a positive sign heading into today's clash in Jacksonville. In the SoCon Tournament title tilt, the Terriers held Appalachian State to 28.8 percent shooting from the floor, and strong defense is the key to the team's success. Like Wofford, Wisconsin is a defensive-minded club that is only yielding 56.2 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting. One of the most impressive stats boasted by the Badgers is that they have only committed 275 turnovers in 31 games, proof that they take tremendous care of the ball. There are four double-digit scorers in the fold for the club, and Trevon Hughes paces the balanced attack with 15.4 ppg. More than just a scorer, Hughes has racked up 83 assists and 54 steals for a Wisconsin team that is generating 67.5 ppg. Jon Leuer, who has returned from a wrist injury, provides 14.8 ppg on 51.6 percent field goal efficiency, and Jason Bohannon nets 11.8 ppg. As for Jordan Taylor, who rounds out the foursome, he brings 10.2 ppg and 112 assists to the floor.
<< Spartans square off with Aggies in Midwest Region's first round
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-seeded Michigan State Spartans gear up for what they hope will be another long run in the NCAA Tournament, as they take on the 12th-seeded New Mexico State Aggies in the first round at Spokane Memorial A
<< Buckeyes battle Gauchos in first-round action in Milwaukee
<< Utah State and Texas A&M meet in South Regional action
<< Upset-minded Saints set sights on Boilermakers
<< Top-seeded Duke opens tourney play against Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Jazz, Suns jockey for playoff position at Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders jockey for playoff position in the desert Friday when the Phoenix Suns play host to the Utah Jazz. Utah is currently the fourth seed in the West, two games ahead of the Suns
Blazers seek fifth straight win with matchup vs. Wizards >>
Lakers aim to continue mastery of Timberwolves >>
Bucks try to get back on track in Sacramento >>
Roberts out at St. John's >>
Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 millionIn the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree. And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so. Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal. So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them. Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.) The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money. As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached. The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs. In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season. Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done. And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting. So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year. There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve. So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal. And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million. There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.) Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft. Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey. Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year. So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. |
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