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03/07/2009 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Butler Bulldogs will finally take the floor in the 2009 Horizon League Tournament, when they host the Wright State Raiders in semifinal-round action at the Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Raiders find themselves in the semis after defeating UW-Milwaukee, 80-70, in quarterfinal play on Friday. Wright State, which finished 12-6 in conference, earning the fourth-seed, opened the tournament with a 68-56 victory over Valparaiso.
As for the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs, they earned the top seed in this event and a bye into this round with a 15-3 conference ledger. It was the seventh Horizon League regular season championship for Butler, which is participating in the semifinals for the 11th time in 13 seasons and will be trying to repeat as conference tournament champion. The Bulldogs will have a clear advantage playing at home where the team is 14-1 this season, and 124-16 since 1999-2000.
The Bulldogs defeated Wright State twice this season, and that included a convincing 64-48 decision over the Raiders at Hinkle Fieldhouse back in January. With the two victories over Wright State this season, the Bulldogs now own a 19-15 mark in the all-time series.
The Raiders opened the second half against UW-Milwaukee with a 15-2 run, and never looked back as the team went on to defeat the Panthers in an 80-70 final. Wright State shot a sizzling 53.2 percent from the floor in the win, and that included an even more impressive 12-of-18 showing from behind the arc. Cory Cooperwood's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds led the way, while Cooper Land tallied 13 points off the bench. N'Gai Evans added 12 points and five assists in the win, and Scott Grote chipped in 10 points. It was without question a surprising performance by WSU, which is averaging just 60.6 ppg. The team's leading scorer, Todd Brown (11.8 ppg), was not even a factor in the win over UWM, as the guard finished with just eight points. Although the Raiders were offensive-oriented in their recent win, the team still relies on its tenacious defensive play, which has held opponents to just 57.3 ppg on the season.
Butler's success this year also stems from the its outstanding defensive play. The Bulldogs allow a mere 57.4 ppg, and just a 37.9 percent shooting from the field. Butler is also forcing 13.6 turnovers per matchup, and as a team the Bulldogs are outrebounding the competition by 3.2 rpg. The Bulldogs were at it again in the regular-season finale against Cleveland State, as Butler held the Vikings to 56 points on a 40.4 percent shooting from the floor. Butler forced 14 turnovers. Offensively, the team was paced by Willie Veasley who scored 16 points and also collected seven rebounds. Matt Howard contributed 12 points, while Ronald Nored tallied 11. The HL's Newcomer of the Year, Gordon Hayward, chipped in with nine points and six boards for Butler. Hayward, who was also selected to the All-Horizon First Team, is contributing 13.8 ppg on the season, but the main scoring threat has been Howard who is averaging 14.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Shelvin Mac has been a terrific floor general for Butler, handing out 103 assists, to go with his 11.7 ppg.
<< Huskies visit Panthers in clash of Big East titans
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what could prove to be one of the best
games of the college basketball season, the top-ranked Connecticut Huskies
invade the Steel City for a Big East Conference showdown with the third-ranked
Pittsburgh Pan
<< 'Hawks host 'Horns in pivotal Big 12 showdown
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out
their regular season at home this afternoon, as they welcome the Texas
Longhorns to Lawrence for a Big 12 showdown from the Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks are coming
<< Germany leads Austria 2-1 in Davis Cup first-rounder
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Germans got
a doubles victory from Nicolas Kiefer and Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday to
grab a 2-1 lead over Austria in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup tie.
Kiefe
<< Golden Bears visit Sun Devils in Pac-10 action
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils will try
to break out of their slump today, as they entertain the California Golden
Bears in Pac-10 Conference action at Wells-Fargo Arena in Tempe.
The Sun Devils were on
OVC title up for grabs in clash between Eagles and Governors >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The championship game of the Ohio Valley
Conference Tournament pits the second-seeded Austin Peay Governors against the
fourth-seeded Morehead State Eagles. The winner of this game will earn an
automatic bid to
Memphis takes aim at third straight perfect C-USA slate >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers will attempt to
clinch their third consecutive perfect Conference USA regular season in
today's finale against the Tulane Green Wave.
After going 16-0 in C-USA play in both 2006-
Huskies sniffing around first outright league title since 1953 >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Washington Huskies will try to
wrap up the outright Pac-10 Conference regular season title today, as they
host bitter rival Washington State at Bank of America Arena in Seattle.
With a win over
Xavier can clinch outright A-10 title with win at Richmond >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the top-seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10
Tournament already locked up, the 17th-ranked Xavier Musketeers take aim at
the outright regular season crown as they tangle with the Richmond Spiders at
the Robins C
LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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Is 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.
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