Wade returns as Heat down Knicks
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade sparkled in his return to the lineup, scoring 28 points, and the Heat withstood a bevy of three-pointers from New York to earn a 99-89 victory over the short-handed Knicks.
LeBron James totaled 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who have won three in a row and six of their last seven games.
Wade, who came back following a six-game absence due to a sprained right ankle, made 11 of his 19 field goal attempts and all six of his foul shots. He also came up with five steals and even blocked a pair of shots.
With Carmelo Anthony sidelined because of thumb, wrist and ankle issues, the Knicks tried to beat the Heat with the long distance shot. They were on target, going 18-of-43 from beyond the arc, but were just 12-of-41 on two- point attempts.
Bill Walker was the offensive catalyst, going 7-of-10 from long distance for a 21-point night, but the Knicks suffered their eighth loss in nine games. New York was outscored 42-14 in the paint.
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose was in MVP form on Friday, as he poured in a season-high 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center. Carlos Boozer contributed 20 points and
<< Hornets beat Magic to snap 9-game skid
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carl Landry netted a team-high 17 points
and the New Orleans Hornets rolled over the Orlando Magic, 93-67, on Friday to
snap a nine-game losing streak.
Marco Belinelli had 15 points, Jason Smith scored 1
<< USA tops Costa Rica to seal Olympic berth
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. women's national team punched its
ticket for the 2012 Summer Olympics on Friday with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica
in the semifinals of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying.
After outscoring its three oppone
<< Broncos tab former Jags coach Del Rio as DC
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with
former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio to become their new defensive
coordinator.
The Broncos made the announcement via Twitter on Friday night. They n
<< Sixers hand Bobcats 7th straight loss
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bobcats coach Paul Silas wasn't on the
court Friday night to see his team lose a season-high seventh straight game.
Ejected during a timeout, he missed the last 2 1/2 quarters of another bleak
loss.
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson scored 30 points, including a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-101 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons. Marvin W
Short-handed Mavericks down Jazz >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rodrigue Beaubois scored a season-high 22 points
to power the short-handed Mavericks to a 116-101 win over Utah.
Lamar Odom added a season-best 19 points and Jason Terry scored 18 off the
bench for Dallas,
Nets hold off Cavs >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Deron Williams recorded a double-double with
27 points and 10 assists as the Nets held off the Cavaliers 99-96 at Quicken
Loans Arena.
Kris Humphries, who left Friday's shootaround with an illness, fought
Rockets soar past Wizards >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With leading scorer Kevin Martin out due to
plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Rockets still didn't have a problem
handling the lowly Wizards on Friday night.
Chase Budinger returned from a three
Love, T'Wolves top Spurs >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suddenly, Kevin Love and the Minnesota
Timberwolves have the San Antonio Spurs' number.
Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds Friday night and the Timberwolves scored
the final 10 points of the game
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
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.