Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/18/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, the Butler Bulldogs kick off first-round action of the 72nd annual event this afternoon against the Miners of Texas-El Paso at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
The good news for the Bulldogs is that they have all five starters back from last year's team which fell in the first round of the tourney against LSU, 75-71. Butler is playing in the event for the 10th time overall and is hoping to at least even its record in the tourney because as it stands now the squad is 8-9 since making its first appearance back in 1962.
The fifth-seeded Bulldogs ripped through the Horizon League yet again this season with a perfect record of 18-0 and are enjoying the longest win streak in the nation at a staggering 20 games. The most recent loss for the squad came back on December 22nd against UAB, another Conference USA program, by a score of 67-57 on the road.
As for the 12th-seeded Miners, the 1966 NCAA Champions back when they were known as Texas Western, they too are trying to even their record in the tourney (14-15) in this, their 17th appearance. UTEP won its first outright conference title in 23 years during 2009-10 as it finished an impressive 15-1 in Conference USA action and set a school record for the most wins in league play as a result.
The winner of this first-ever meeting will head to the second round of the tourney to face the winner of the Murray State/Vanderbilt contest on Saturday.
Under the direction of Tony Barbee, the 2010 C-USA Coach of the Year, the Miners not only put together one of the best offenses in the league, they also took care of opponents with a stingy defense that allowed foes to shoot just 39 percent from the field and tally 64.2 ppg. Randy Culpepper, the Conference USA Player of the Year who is now fourth on the school's all-time scoring list, knocked down a school-best 80 three-pointers on his way to posting 18.0 ppg. Derrick Caracter, an All-C-USA Second-Team selection, handled the action on the inside for the group with his 8.0 rpg and 13.8 ppg, shooting an impressive 55.6 percent from the floor when he wasn't sitting on the bench because of foul trouble. Jeremy Williams and Arnett Moultrie accounted for 10.1 ppg each, combining for better than 11 rebounds per contest, while Julyan Stone (6.1 ppg) sacrificed his own offense to set up teammates with his 173 assists in 32 starts.
Like the Miners, Butler is also big on defense, having limited opponents to just 60.0 ppg on 41.4 percent shooting from the floor and 30.9 percent beyond the arc this season. The squad is permitting just over 10 assists per contest, which means foes have had to create a lot of one-on-one play in order to get quality looks at the basket. Gordon Hayward is one of four players scoring in double figures with his 15.4 ppg, adding a team-best 8.5 rpg for a team that has managed to top the opposition on the glass by more than three rebounds per game this season. Shelvin Mack (13.9 ppg), Matt Howard (12.3 ppg) and Willie Veasley (10.3 ppg) have all been crucial pieces to a Butler puzzle that has generated 70.1 ppg. Hayward, a finalist for the Wooden Award this year, and Mack could have some inside information on one of the key players for the Miners, seeing as how they both played with Moultrie on the USA Men's Team at the FIBA U-19 World Championships last summer, but that also goes both ways because Moultrie can also use that relationship to his advantage as well.
<< Bears and Bearkats collide in South Regional action
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Playing in their second NCAA Tournament in
the last three seasons, the Baylor Bears will tangle with the Sam Houston
State Bearkats in first round action of the South Region at New Orleans Arena
this afternoon
<< Second-seeded Villanova takes on Robert Morris in first-round action
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-seeded Robert Morris Colonials will
have a tough task this afternoon in the South Region, as they take on the
second-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at
the Dunkin' D
<< Washington and Marquette meet in first round of 2010 NCAA Tournament
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles and
the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies will meet in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament's East Region.
Up next for the winner of this contest is a second-round clash
<< Wake Forest and Texas do battle in 2010 NCAA Tournament
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East Region of the 2010 NCAA Tournament
features a first-round matchup between the eighth-seeded Texas Longhorns and
the ninth-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a sec
Slumping Sharks try to bounce back against Canucks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the San Jose Sharks are coming off their most
lopsided defeat of the season, the Vancouver Canucks are dealing with the loss
of one of their biggest weapons.
San Jose will try to halt a three-game slide this evening
Battered Blackhawks pay a visit to Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When you are one of the top teams in the NHL, you tend to
have a target on your back. That term has taken a literal meaning for the
Chicago Blackhawks as of late.
Chicago will try to snap a three-game losing streak and rec
Reynolds, Fisher held out of Villanova starting lineup >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villanova guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey
Fisher were not in the starting lineup for Thursday's NCAA Tournament opener
against Robert Morris.
CBS Sports reported that head coach Jay Wright called it a
Crew bounced from Champions League >>
Toluca, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew were bounced out of the
CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday night after a 3-2 loss in Mexico vs.
Toluca.
Toluca, which advances with a 5-4 aggregate score, faces fellow Mexican s
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting