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02/14/2012 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will try bounce back from their poorest outing of the season as they head to Williams Arena to take on Tubby Smith's Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten Conference matchup.
This is the only scheduled contest between Ohio State and Minnesota this season. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 80-49 and they currently hold a four-game winning streak over the Golden Gophers.
Thad Matta's team lost sole possession of first place in the Big Ten's standings on Saturday as it fell 58-48 to the Michigan State Spartans, who the Buckeyes are now tied with atop the conference. Ohio State submitted season-lows in points (48), field goal percentage (26.4), and three-point percentage (13.3) in the losing effort. The defeat snapped a six-game winning streak. The Buckeyes have not lost consecutive games yet this season. Ohio State cannot afford to lose tonight as it still has to play three ranked opponents in addition to Illinois, which knocked off OSU earlier this season.
All-American Jared Sullinger leads the charge for Ohio State with averages of 17.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg. The star sophomore recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds versus Michigan State. Sullinger has now recorded 11 double-doubles this season. William Buford and Deshaun Thomas are both quality players for the Buckeyes as they each have scoring averages near 15 ppg. Aaron Craft leads the Buckeyes in both assists (4.6) and steals (2.2).
Tubby Smith has seen an improvement in his team's play as it comes in with a 17-8 overall record. The Golden Gophers lost 68-61 to the nationally ranked Wisconsin Badgers in overtime their last time out, which dropped their league record to 5-7. Despite the loss, Minnesota shot 41.8 percent from the field against the Badgers' stifling defense. Wisconsin shot only 35.8 percent from the floor in the same contest. Minnesota is four games out of first place in the Big Ten standings coming into today's bout. The Golden Gophers have outscored their opponents by an average of 5.4 ppg this season, which ranks in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.
Since losing its leading scorer Trevor Mbakwe for the season after just seven games, Minnesota has relied on its depth to power past opponents. 10 different players are playing more than 10 minutes per game. Rodney Williams is pacing the team with 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Julian Welch is second on the team in scoring with 10.1 ppg. In their recent loss to Wisconsin, Andre Hollins came up big off the bench with 20 points as he knocked down 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.
<< Nets waive Bogans; sign Andre Emmett
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have waived guard
Keith Bogans, just a day after he underwent surgery that will keep him
sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Bogans had a torn deltoid ligament re
<< Sliding Leafs shoot for rare win in Calgary
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Given that Toronto hasn't won in Calgary in over nine
years, the club didn't pick the best time to go on a three-game losing streak.
The Maple Leafs hope to avoid posting their longest skid of the season this
evening and s
<< Blackhawks try to end lengthy slide in Nashville
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks didn't look like a team ready to
break out of their longest slump in four years the last time they hit the ice.
Doing so against the Nashville Predators may prove difficult as well.
The Blackhawks ho
<< Surging Ducks visit Minnesota
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks continue to dig themselves out of an
early-season hole that has made reaching the playoffs a difficult task.
They'll try to pick up their latest victory over a Minnesota Wild team that
continues to move sout
Rebels and Horned Frogs square off in MWC matchup >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Locked in a three-way tie for first place in
the Mountain West Conference standings entering the week, the 11th-ranked UNLV
Runnin' Rebels try to give themselves some breathing room as they take on the
TCU Horn
Morehead State to host six, but face tough road schedule >>
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as
part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
Rounding Third: A's take a big chance on Cespedes >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There was one last major order of business
before some baseball teams open camp on Sunday and that was to find a home for
Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
Well, that has been taken care of, albeit by a te
Sabres coach Ruff set to return >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff will
return to his normal spot behind the bench on Tuesday night against the New
Jersey Devils.
Ruff had been watching his team from the press box since suffe
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.
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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