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03/06/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Xavier Musketeers carry an 11-game win streak into tonight's Atlantic 10 Conference clash with the struggling Saint Joseph's Hawks.
The Musketeers are coming off a 66-56 victory over George Washington on Saturday, and they have already wrapped up the A-10 regular-season title and top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Xavier is 13-1 in league play, and no other team in the conference has fewer than five league losses.
Saint Joseph's owns an 8-6 league record, good for a four-way tie for third place. The Hawks, who are 17-10 overall, have lost two straight and five of their last seven, and they now appear to be on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble. On Sunday, they dropped a heartbreaking 57-56 decision to rival Temple.
Xavier beat Saint Joseph's by a 76-72 final on February 10th, but the Hawks still hold a 19-15 edge in the all-time series.
Through 29 outings, Xavier is scoring 76.1 ppg while limiting the opposition to 62.0 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting from the floor. The Musketeers are outrebounding opponents by 5.6 rpg, a key to their success. It is hard to find many teams as balanced offensively as Xavier, as the team has five double-digit scorers in the lineup. Josh Duncan leads the pack with 11.7 ppg, while Drew Lavender is scoring 10.8 ppg to go along with 127 assists against 50 turnovers. B.J. Raymond and Derrick Brown are both scoring 10.7 ppg, while C.J. Anderson checks in with 10.6 ppg. Stanley Burrell's average has fallen to 9.9 ppg, as the team has had six double-digit scorers for much of the season. In the most recent win over George Washington, Anderson tallied 15 points, while Jason Love added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Musketeers connected on 55 percent of their field goal attempts, key to the victory.
So what caused the most recent loss to Temple for Saint Joseph's? Well, it certainly didn't help matters that the Hawks connected on only 38.5 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 2-of-16 showing from three-point range. They earned a narrow rebounding advantage and shot the ball well from the foul line, but the shaky showing from the floor caused the setback. Pat Calathes posted 14 points and nine rebounds for Saint Joseph's, but the A-10 Player of the Year candidate only shot 3-of-14 from the field. Ahmad Nivins added 11 points in 34 minutes of action. Calathes is generating 17.9 ppg on 41.3 percent shooting from behind the arc, and he also adds 7.7 rpg and 75 assists to the mix. He has blocked 35 shots and recorded 36 steals, proof of his tremendous versatility. As for Nivins, he is scoring 14.2 ppg but hasn't been quite as productive as expected this season. Rob Ferguson (11.7 ppg), Tasheed Carr (10.8 ppg) and Darrin Govens (10.7 ppg) add balance to the lineup.
<< Bruins seek Pac-10 title against Cardinal in Top-10 matchup
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle of Pac-10 heavyweights is on the
docket tonight in Los Angeles, as the third-ranked UCLA Bruins entertain the
seventh-ranked Stanford Cardinal.
If UCLA wins this contest, it will clinch the league'
<< Spartans battle Illini in Champaign
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 17th-ranked Michigan State Spartans are
set to do battle with the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten clash from
Champaign.
Michigan State is 23-6 overall and 11-5 in conference, and while the goal of
<< Streaking Tigers take on Yellow Jackets in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back in the Top-25, the 24th-ranked Clemson
Tigers invade Alexander Memorial Coliseum to face off against the Georgia Tech
Yellow Jackets in an ACC affair tonight.
The Tigers have played well down the stretch,
<< War Pass and Pyro top second Kentucky Derby Future Pool
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eclipse Award winner War Pass is the 5-2
morning-line favorite for the second of three Kentucky Derby Future Wagers.
Pyro, winner of the Risen Star Stakes, is the 6-1 second choice in the field
of 24.
Texas Two-Step: Hot Rockets visit rival Mavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southwest Division rivals battle tonight, as the Dallas
Mavericks welcome the scorching Houston Rockets to American Airlines Center.
The Rockets are currently the hottest team in the NBA. Tracy McGrady scored 25
points
Isles and Rangers cap home-and-home at the Coliseum >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers may be ahead of their crosstown rivals
in the Atlantic Division standings, but the Islanders have usually had the
upper hand when the two teams have faced off this season.
The Isles will shoot for a ho
Bruins aim to rebound against Maple Leafs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins hope to shake off a pair of discouraging
recent losses when the playoff hopefuls continue a homestand tonight with a
matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One night after being dealt their most lopside
Habs battle Coyotes in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens are fighting for the top spot in the
Eastern Conference. The Phoenix Coyotes are just trying to get to the
postseason. Those two clubs square off tonight at Phoenix's Jobing.com Arena.
The Canadiens
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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