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03/09/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After an amazing, down to the wire finish to the regular season, the 30th Annual Mid-American Conference Tournament will begin Tuesday at the Quicken Loans Arena. The winner of this event will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Heading into this weekend there were four teams from the East Division all tied for the top spot in the division and more importantly, the number one seed. Bowling Green came into its season-finale matchup only needing a win to collect the top seed and the MAC crowd, and the team did just that, dominating Ohio, 75-41. Bowling Green finished 11-5 in league play, tied with Buffalo which will play as the third seed in the tournament since the team was swept by BGSU on the season. Miami-Ohio and Akron were the other two teams caught up in the four-way tie, but the RedHawks fell to Buffalo in overtime and the Zips were narrowly defeated by Kent State, leaving the RedHawks, Zips and Golden Flashes all tied at 10-6 at the end of regular-season play. Miami-Ohio captured the last of the four first-round byes due to tiebreakers, and although the Golden Flashes beat Akron in the season-finale, Kent State will play as the six seed, while Akron will don the fifth spot.
Although often overlooked, the West Division also saw a race come down to the wire, as Ball State and Western Michigan were trying to claim the division title and the second seed in the tournament. Both schools came into this weekend tied for first, but with only a 7-8 mark in conference action. Neither Ball State or Western Michigan could get the job done, as both teams fell to 7-9, placing them in a tie with Central Michigan, which defeated the Broncos on Sunday. With tiebreakers coming into play the Cardinals were named West Division champs and grabbed the second seed in this event. Because Central Michigan defeated WMU, the Chippewas earned the seventh spot, while the Broncos fell all the way to the eight slot. The final four seeds belong to Ohio, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Toledo.
After a crazy and wild end to the regular season, expect even more fireworks once the tournament opens on Tuesday.
Opening round action will begin Tuesday afternoon when the Eastern Michigan Eagles collide with the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Eagles opened their season in terrible fashion, losing 21 of their first 24 contests. However, the Eagles are now soaring at the right time, closing out their regular season with four consecutive wins, earning the 10th-seed in the tournament. Eastern Michigan will not last long in this event however, if the team does not produce offensively, which is definitely a concern since the Eagles finished last in league play with 57.6 ppg. As for their counterpart, the Chippewas of Central Michigan, they are had trouble offensively, averaging just 62.2 ppg. The Chippewas also head into this game on a high note, winning four of their last six matchups, including two in a row. For Central Michigan to grab its third straight win the team must defeat an Eastern Michigan squad that defeated the Chippewas twice this year.
Another contest in the opening round of play will pit the sixth-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes against the 11th-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies. The Huskies did not enjoy much success this season, finishing the year with a meager 5-11 mark in conference play. NIU is averaging just 66.3 ppg on the season, and has relied mainly on the play of Darion Anderson, who is leading the team with 16.9 ppg and 5.4 rpg. The Flashes closed out their regular season with a 67-63 victory over Akron. It was the 10th win in the last 12 matchups for KSU, which captured the MAC title this past season. Since the turn of the century, the Golden Flashes have been the top team in the Mid- American Conference, playing in six title games, while winning on four different occasions.
The Ohio Bobcats and Western Michigan Broncos will get into the mix on Tuesday, as the eighth-seeded Broncos will collide with the ninth-seeded Bobcats in opening round action. The Bobcats enter this event on a downward spiral, losing five of their last six games, including three in a row. Ohio won its fourth MAC title in 2005 and currently owns a 27-23 ledger in this event. As for the Broncos, they came into their season finale with a chance to claim the West Division title, and the second seed in the tourney, but instead the team gave up a late lead to Central Michigan and fell to the eighth spot. Western Michigan close out its regular-season with nine losses in its last 12 games, and it is unlikely the team will return to the title game for the first time since 2004.
The final matchup on Tuesday will have the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets take on the fifth-seeded Akron Zips. Toledo might have closed out its regular season with a win over Northern Illinois (74-69), but the team did not enjoy much success this year, posting a terrible 5-11 mark in league action. The Rockets have been terrible at the offensive end of the floor and come into the postseason netting just 58.1 ppg, which is only good enough for 10th in the MAC. As for the Zips, they have been on the wrong end of the last two title games, falling to Kent State and Miami-Ohio. This season Akron will try to return to the title game of this event, but it will be a tough journey for the Zips, especially since the team closed out its regular season with four losses in its last seven games.
It was not easy, but Bowling Green was able to find its way to the top of the MAC after a crazy final day of action. The Falcons, who are just 16-26 in this event all-time, finished the regular season with 10 wins in their last 13 matchups, while clinching the top spot with an 11-5 mark. Bowling Green's approach on the court is defense first, followed by timely scoring. The Falcons are holding opponents to just 60.8 ppg, but at the other end of the court the team is averaging just 64.2 ppg. The majority of the damage has been caused by Nate Miller, who is leading the team in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg) and steals (2.1 spg).
Grabbing the second seed solely on the fact they won the West Division are the Cardinals of Ball State. The Cardinals finished just 7-9 in conference play, and come into this event on a down note, having lost three consecutive matchups. Ball State is 11th in the MAC in scoring offense, posting just 57.9 ppg, and if the team plans on collecting its eighth championship and first since 2000, Ball State will have to improve drastically in that area. Ball State holds the best record in this event amongst teams currently in the conference (35-20), but the school has not participated in the title game since winning it all in 2000.
For the majority of the season the Buffalo Bulls had a commanding lead in the MAC, but by mid February the team's advantage began to slip away, and by the end of the regular season, Buffalo was sitting as the third seed in this event. The Bulls opened conference action on fire, and although the team with a stellar 19-10 overall record, the squad dropped five of its last seven matchups. The Bulls don't have much experience in this tournament, posting just a 5-9 all-time mark. Like most MAC teams, the Bulls were not overwhelming offensively and come into this matchup averaging just 65.5 ppg. Rodney Pierce is the lone player posting double figures (14.7 ppg) and he will need to step up his level of play substantially if the Bulls have any chance of grabbing their first-ever MAC title.
The final opening round bye belongs to the always dangerous Miami-Ohio RedHawks. Miami-Ohio has also captured 35 wins in this event, and has hoisted the trophy on four different occasions with the most recent championship run coming in 2007. The RedHawks finished the season with a 10-6 conference ledger, but stumbled down the stretch, losing four of their last six contests. Miami-Ohio's success usually stems from its tenacious defensive play, and once again that is true, as the RedHawks are limiting opponents to a league-best 58.4 ppg.
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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.
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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