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12/31/2008 - Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils get a three- game homestand started today, as they welcome the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a non-conference affair.
The Blue Devils, who have won 65 straight games in Durham against non- conference foes, have been idle for well over a week now, most recently defeating Xavier 82-64 back on December 20th. The win was the second in a row, giving Duke a 10-1 start for 18th time and the 12th under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Winners of two straight, the Blue Devils now head back to Cameron Indoor Stadium, where they have gone a perfect 6-0 on the season.
As for Loyola, it was in action just this past Monday, dropping a heart- breaking 62-60 decision at NC State. The loss brought the team's modest two- game win streak to a close and marked its second loss to an ACC opponent this season. The Greyhounds, who are in the midst of playing five straight games away from home, have won just once in five true outings thus far.
Loyola and Duke have met just one time previously, with the Blue Devils notching a 92-68 victory all the way back in 1984.
Down by one on its final possession, Jamal Barney had a chance to give Loyola the lead, but his baseline jumper was short and the Greyhounds were defeated by NC State on Monday. It was a tough finish for Loyola, which used a late 14-1 pull back in the game after trailing by as many as 16 points in the second stanza. Barney finished the game with 20 points and three steals, while Marquis Sullivan posted 21 points on 5-of-9 three-pointers. On the year, Barney heads the club in scoring with 14.8 ppg and he ranks second with 5.3 rpg. Brett Harvey chips in with 13.8 ppg, and Sullivan nets 11.8 ppg on 42.4 percent shooting from the long range. Loyola, as a team, isn't shooting particularly well from three-point range (.322) and that has hindered its scoring average of 68.6 ppg.
Duke has thrived in just about every facet of the game and is currently scoring a hardy 83.3 ppg, in addition to outrebounding its foes by 9.9 rpg. Kyle Singler is both the squad's top scorer (15.9 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg) and he is even handing out a team-best 3.5 apg. Jon Scheyer give Duke another scoring option at 14.2 ppg and he is also a factor on defense, recording a team-high 22 steals. Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson each chip in 11.5 ppg to round out the double-digit scorers. In the team's last game, Scheyer tallied 23 points and Henderson had 19, as Duke handled Xavier. The Blue Devils shot an efficient 52.5 percent from the floor in the contest and also went a solid 9-of-19 from long distance.
<< Bulldogs battle Utes in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will
try to get back on track tonight, as they close out 2008 with a non-conference
bout against the Utah Runnin' Utes at the Huntsman Center.
The Bulldogs have been idle
<< Toothless Tigers take on ferocious Bears
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Baylor Bears welcome the lowly
Jackson State Tigers to Waco for a non-conference clash.
Jackson State is a huge underdog heading into this contest, as the club has
lost its last five outings and ow
<< Bruins place Bergeron on IR
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have placed center Patrice
Bergeron on injured reserve.
Bergeron, who played in only 10 games with Boston last season after suffering
a concussion in a contest against Philadelphia on Oct
<< Pistons shoot for 5th straight win vs. Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons will shoot for their fifth straight win
this afternoon when they resume a three-game homestand versus the New Jersey
Nets at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit has won four in a row overall and opened
Irish open Big East slate against Blue Demons >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish
invade Allstate Arena tonight, as they tussle with the DePaul Blue Demons in
the Big East opener for both teams.
The Irish return from their lengthy break and are s
Top-ranked Tar Heels bring act to Reno for clash with Wolf Pack >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nevada Wolf Pack have the privilege of hosting
the nation's top-ranked team, as the North Carolina Tar Heels arrive in Reno
for tonight's non-conference clash.
North Carolina has won its first 12 games to open
Pitt puts perfect mark on line in Big East opener against Rutgers >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the nation's few remaining undefeated
teams will take the court in Piscataway, New Jersey today, as the third-ranked
Pittsburgh Panthers open Big East Conference play against the Rutgers Scarlet
Knights.
Xavier hopes to stop slide in bout with Robert Morris >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Xavier Musketeers are
heavily favored in this evening's clash with the Robert Morris Colonials.
Robert Morris is a member of the Northeast Conference and owns a 6-6 overall
record, which incl
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.
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