UConn seeks to ride wave of momentum against Pepperdine
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
12/20/2006 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The undefeated and 14th-ranked Connecticut Huskies have been much better than expected in the early part of this season, and they will attempt to score another non-league victory over the Pepperdine Waves tonight.
Pepperdine put forth its best offensive effort on the season on Saturday in a 101-86 victory over Northern Arizona. That victory snapped a three-game losing skid for the Waves, who are 3-9 and have yet to post back-to-back wins this season. They certainly aren't expected to accomplish that feat tonight, as they are 1-5 on the road and facing an unbeaten opponent.
UConn moved to 9-0 on Sunday with an 89-73 decision over St. Mary's, thus giving head coach Jim Calhoun his 742nd career victory, good for 13th on the all-time NCAA list. The Huskies have surpassed the 80-point mark in five straight outings, and while the team has yet to face top-notch competition, the Big East schedule will present many challenges for this young and rather inexperienced team.
Connecticut has won all three of its previous meetings with Pepperdine, including a 75-56 decision over the Waves last year.
Pepperdine can certainly take pride in that fact that it is scoring 82.1 ppg this season, but the team can't feel good about the 85.4 ppg that it is surrendering. The Waves have been crushed on the boards, as they are being outrebounded by 12.2 rpg. Marvin Lea is the leading scorer for Pepperdine, as he is netting 18.8 ppg despite his lackluster 38.4 percent shooting from the field. Lea is also tops with 5.3 rpg and 3.5 apg, proof of his versatility. Chase Griffin is posting 14.6 ppg, and Kingsley Costain rounds out the double- digit scorers with 13.5 ppg. Lea paced five double-digit performers in the win over Northern Arizona with his 22 points, but his 6-of-19 shooting effort from the field was poor once again. Griffin pitched in 18 points for the Waves, who connected on 54.7 percent of their field goal attempts despite Lea's lackluster showing. They were able to overcome a 36-23 rebounding disadvantage by forcing a staggering total of 28 turnovers.
UConn connected on 51.6 percent of its field goal attempts in the 16-point win over St. Mary's last time out. The Huskies got the job done at the defensive end as well, limiting the Gaels to 37.1 percent shooting, including 4-of-14 from three-point range. A 23-17 edge in points from the foul line and a 44-37 rebounding advantage also helped the cause. Jerome Dyson scored 19 points to pace UConn, and Jeff Adrien pitched in 15 points. UConn has not shot at least 50 percent from the field in seven of nine games, and it has held all nine opponents under 40 percent shooting. Dyson is just a freshman, but he is scoring a team-high 14.2 ppg. Adrien adds 13.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg to the mix, and A.J. Price is contributing 13.3 ppg. Keep an eye on freshman center Hasheem Thabeet, as he has already blocked 44 shots, helping UConn to its tremendous total of 97 rejections in nine games.
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 battle will take place in the desert this evening, as the ninth-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the 18th- ranked Memphis Tigers in the 22nd-annual Fiesta Bowl Classic from Tucson. Lute
<< Top-25 teams meet in Pacific Northwest
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 matchup takes place in the Pacific
Northwest, as the 17th-ranked Washington Huskies play host to the 12th-
ranked LSU Tigers from Bank of America Arena in Seattle.
The Tigers went to the F
<< Tide rolls into Raleigh
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the
SEC and the NC State Wolfpack of the ACC will collide in Raleigh tonight.
Alabama is 9-1 and has posted back-to-back wins since its only loss of the
season
<< Twins re-sign White to one-year deal
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins have re-signed veteran
outfielder Rondell White to a one-year contract that includes a vesting option
for 2008.
The St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports that the deal, which will become off
<< Iverson is not the answer for the Nuggets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets made a blockbuster move when they
acquired All-Star guard Allen Iverson and reserve Ivan McFarlin from the
Philadelphia 76ers for a pair of 2007 first-round draft picks, point guard
Andre M
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Florida Gators finally returns home, as the team plays host to the Stetson Hatters in non-conference action from the O'Connell Center this evening. Billy Donovan's Gators have not
Flyers acquire York from Isles >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Flyers acquired
forward Mike York from the New York Islanders on Wednesday in exchange for
forward Randy Robitaille and a fifth-round pick in the 2008 draft.
The 28-year-old
A sour celebration for Saints >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints clinched their first division title
in six years on Sunday, but the newly-crowned NFC South champions were hardly
in a jubilant mood.
The Saints sewed up a playoff home game despite a 16-10 loss to t
Rams winners for second time in 10 weeks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though it came against the AFC doormat -- the NFL's? -- a
shutout is still a shutout.
And so the St. Louis Rams' 20-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday
allows those who write about the team to try something novel
Jackets and Red Wings wrap up home-and-home >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets aim for a home-and-home sweep
of the Detroit Red Wings tonight, when the clubs meet for the finale at Joe
Louis Arena.
The Blue Jackets snapped a two-game losing streak Monday evening with a 4-3
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.