Hoyas and Mountaineers square off for Big East crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament title is up for grabs this evening, as the 22nd-ranked Georgetown Hoyas take on the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at famed Madison Square Garden.

The Hoyas were thought to be a regular-season contender in the Big East, but the team faltered in the second half of the season and finished with a rather pedestrian 10-8 mark in-conference. However, Georgetown has certainly made believers out of skeptics with their play in this tournament, as the team has navigated the field out of the eight-seed, with impressive wins over the likes of South Florida (69-49), top-seeded Syracuse (91-84) and most recently, Marquette (80-57) in yesterday's semifinal action. The Hoyas are the most decorated team in Big East Tournament history, with seven tournament titles. The team is making its third appearance in the finals in the last four years, winning the whole thing in 2007.

Standing in Georgetown's way is West Virginia. The Mountaineers earned the three-seed and a double-bye to the quarterfinals with an impressive 13-5 league ledger. In this event, West Virginia has had its hands full, but has come out on top with thrilling victories over both Cincinnati (54-51) in the quarterfinals and Notre Dame (53-51) in the semifinals. There are seven conference members that have never won this event and West Virginia is one of them. The team did however, appear in the championship game in 2005, falling to Syracuse.

These two teams met just once this season, with West Virginia posting an 81-68 victory in Morgantown on March 1st.

The Hoyas are a physical team and have certainly displayed that in this event, running all over the opposition thus far. Center Greg Monroe is a big reason for that and he had another huge game in the win over Marquette, abusing the Golden Eagles for his 13th double-double of the season and third straight, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Three other Hoyas joined Monroe in double-figure scoring, with Chris Wright and Jason Clark pouring in 15 points apiece and Austin Freeman tacking on 12 points. Georgetown made light work of Marquette by shooting 53.6 percent from the floor, including a scorching 60 percent in the decisive second half. The Hoyas are averaging a modest 73.7 ppg on the year, but possess more than enough weapons to run the score up. Freeman currently paces the team with 16.8 ppg, but it is Monroe's presence in the middle that sets everything else up. The sophomore center is converting over 52 percent from the floor and is netting 16.2 ppg, while grabbing 9.7 rpg. Wright (14.7 ppg) and Clark (10.8 ppg) provide more than enough offensive support.

For the second straight game, West Virginia pulled off a victory in the waning moments. After a Da'Sean Butler's three-pointer with under two seconds to play decided the game against Cincinnati two days ago, it was a missed attempt by Notre Dame late that proved to be the difference in a two-point victory yesterday for WVU. Butler was once again instrumental in the win over Notre Dame, as he finished 9-of-15 from the floor for a game-high 24 points. Kevin Jones added 10 points, as West Virginia shot a solid .488 from the field, despite racking up just 53 points. The team did the rest at the defensive end, holding the streaking Irish to a mere .344 shooting effort, while outrebounding them 37-22. Much like Georgetown, West Virginia is averaging a modest 73.4 ppg on the year, despite having solid scoring depth. Butler leads four Mountaineers in double figures with 17.3 ppg. Jones (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Devin Ebanks (12.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) are a solid frontcourt duo, while Darryl Bryant (10.0 ppg) helps Butler from the perimeter.

Www1luckygambler NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Rams and Owls square off in A-10 semifinals
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 17th-ranked Temple Owls continue their run for a third straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title today, as they clash with the fifth-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the semifinals at Boardwalk Hal

<< Cougars and Miners duke it out for C-USA crown
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two programs trying to claim their first Conference USA Tournament titles come together at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso Miners clash with the seventh- seeded Houston Couga

<< Commodores and Bulldogs do battle is SEC Tournament semifinals
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the 20th- ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are set to collide in the semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament. Tomorrow, the winner of this contest will take on either Kentuck

<< SEC Tournament showdown pits Volunteers against Wildcats
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Up next for the winner of this game is a trip to tomorrow's championship

<< Top-seeded Duke faces upstart Miami in ACC semifinals
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils are the top seed in the 2010 ACC Tournament, and they are set to clash with the 12th- seeded Miami-Florida Hurricanes in the semifinal round this afternoon. The winner of t

Huskies and Coyotes square off for first-ever Great West title >>
Orem, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An automatic bid to the Collegeinsider.com Tournament is on the line tonight as the Huskies of Houston Baptist challenge the South Dakota Coyotes in the first-annual Great West Conference Tournament Championship Game

Jayhawks and Wildcats collide for Big 12 title >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter rivals meet in this evening's Big 12 Tournament Championship game, as the second-seeded and ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats take aim at the top-seeded and No.1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks at the Sprint Ce

Big Ten semifinals feature Buckeyes against Illini >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Semifinal round action in the Big Ten Conference Tournament will begin this afternoon when the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes battle the fifth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Fi

Bobcats battle Zips for Mid-American Conference crown >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Looking to claim their second consecutive Mid-American Conference Tournament title, the third-seeded Akron Zips will take the floor this evening against the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats at the Quicken Lo

Bears set sights on Bulldogs in MEAC title game >>
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back in the title game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament for the third straight year, the Morgan State Bears try to repeat as champions this afternoon as they tangle with South Carolina State

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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

Super Bowl XLIII Betting - Super Bowl 2009

Super Bowl 2009, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.

MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.

Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.

Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.

After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.

Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.

Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.

If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.

Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards