BYU can clinch share of MWC title with win

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/24/2007 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked BYU Cougars take the best record in the Mountain West Conference on the road this afternoon as they tangle with the San Diego State Aztecs at Cox Arena.

On Wednesday night, the Cougars extended their home court win streak to 30 games, tied for the longest active streak in the nation, with a 76-67 victory against the Colorado State Rams. The win moved BYU to 11-2 in MWC play and put the squad in a position to grab at least a share of the regular season title with a victory today, not to mention giving the team its longest overall win streak (eight games) in three seasons.

As for the Aztecs, they had to go to overtime on Tuesday night to squeeze out an 81-74 triumph against New Mexico on the road. The victory was the sixth in the last seven games for the program and gave them an 8-5 mark in league play, good enough for fourth place heading into the weekend.

Earlier this season the Aztecs were just another notch in BYU's lengthy home win streak as the Cougars captured an 80-58 victory at the Marriott Center, pushing their advantage in the all-time series to a commanding 40-19.

While Trent Plaisted was shooting just 3-of-12 from the field at the center position, Keena Young was again picking up the slack with his team-high 24 points in the win over Colorado State three nights ago. Lee Cummard made good on all 10 of his free-throw attempts to finish with 20 points, while Austin Ainge tallied 13 points and handed out a team-best eight assists for a squad that converted just 2-of-17 behind the three-point line. The struggles out on the perimeter for the Cougars were offset by their 24-11 scoring advantage at the charity stripe. Young continues his quest for all-conference recognition with his 17.4 ppg and 6.3 rpg this season, shooting not only 56 percent from the field but also 80.5 percent at the free-throw line. Plaisted (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) may be the top man on the glass, but as he showed against the Rams he's not always the most reliable option for BYU, especially at the free-throw line where he is currently only 68-of-144 (.472). Aside from Young, the most important player on the squad is probably Ainge (7.1 ppg) with him handing out a team-high 116 assists and also playing the duel threat as a 48.1 percent shooter behind the three-point line for a team making a shade over 40 percent out on the perimeter through 27 games.

Brandon Heath registered a game-high 30 points, hitting the double-digit mark for the 52nd straight time as the Aztecs slipped by New Mexico on Tuesday night in overtime. Heath also established a new program mark by beating the first and only player to have scored at least 30 points in a game in all four seasons. Not to be outdone, Lorrenzo Wade came up just shy of recording the first-ever triple-double for San Diego State with his 16 points, nine rebounds and career- high eight assists. As the team, SDSU overcame a double-digit deficit for just the second time this season with Jerome Habel playing a large part in that move as he posted his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 12 boards. While Heath is clearly the heart and soul of this group with his 19.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 96 assists, Habel is probably the biggest surprise now that he's up to 11.0 ppg and a team-high 6.3 rpg. Perhaps the emergence of Habel will take some of the pressure off Mohamed Abukar (15.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Wade (11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) on the inside.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.