Heels bounce back with solid effort against Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller had 25 points and No. 5 North Carolina got a bounce-back, 70-52 win over 19th-ranked Virginia on Saturday.

The Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half, wiping away the taste of Wednesday's last-second loss to Austin Rivers and Duke, which snapped their 31-game home winning streak.

Zeller added nine rebounds to lead North Carolina against Virginia, while Harrison Barnes scored 14 points with 11 boards. John Henson also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Mike Scott led Virginia (19-5, 6-4) with 18 points and Jontel Evans had 12.

Reggie Bullock scored all five of his points during a 12-2 North Carolina run in the second half, which gave the Tar Heels a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Zeller had four points during the spurt, but Bullock led the way, knocking down a three that made it a 13-point game. Moments later, Kendall Marshall's jumper gave North Carolina a 61-46 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left and the Cavaliers were never within single digits afterward.

Earlier, though, it was a different story.

Virginia missed its first five shots of the game, but made its next seven to take a 16-9 lead. Scott hit back-to-back jumpers after two straight Tar Heels turnovers, capping a 9-0 run and forcing North Carolina to call a timeout.

The Tar Heels then scored the next nine points, holding Virginia scoreless for around five minutes while they took an 18-16 lead. Zeller's 14 points in the first half helped North Carolina lead 35-32 at the break. Scott and Evans had 10 points apiece for the Cavaliers in the first half.

Game Notes

North Carolina has won seven of its last eight games against Virginia and leads the all-time series 126-49, including a 64-6 mark in Chapel Hill (22-3 at Smith Center). The teams will meet again on February 25 at Virginia.

Wgrouplotto NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Betting Football

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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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