Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as he led the Massachusetts Minutemen to a 59-56 win over the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Harris finished the night shooting 5-of-13 from the field and 11-of-12 at the free-throw line for 11th-seeded UMass (12-19).

The sixth-seeded 49ers (19-12) were paced by An'Juan Wilderness who tallied 11 points, followed by Ian Andersen with 10 off the bench. Derrio Green and Dijuan Harris combined to make just 3-of-15 shots from the field and missed all nine chances beyond the arc in the setback.

The Minutemen shot a mere 31.3 percent from the field in the first half, yet the squad led by as many as seven points in the period and held a 31-29 advantage at the break.

In the second half UMass again had trouble finding the mark from the floor, converting a woeful 33.3 percent and 1-of-11 behind the three-point line, but with 13-of-16 shooting at the free-throw line the visitors were able to secure the three-point win.

The difference in the game came at the charity stripe where Charlotte, which made just 5-of-26 beyond the arc, was outscored 18-5.

With the victory the Minutemen move on to the quarterfinal round on Friday and will face off against the third-seeded Richmond Spiders in Atlantic City.

Final Score: St. Bonaventure 83, Duquesne 71

St. Bonaventure, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Matthews converted 6-of-8 behind the three-point line and finished with a game-high 28 points as he led St. Bonaventure to an 83-71 win over the Duquesne Dukes in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Also scoring in double figures for the eighth-seeded Bonnies (15-15) were Andrew Nicholson and Jonathan Hall with 25 and 10 points, respectively, with each clearing seven rebounds as well.

The ninth-seeded Dukes (16-15) were paced by Damian Saunders who registered a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the losing cause. B.J. Monteiro contributed 13 points and five boards off the bench and Jason Duty accounted for 11 points.

Duquesne suffered just 1-of-12 shooting behind the three-point line in the first half, taking the squad down to 40.6 percent from the floor overall, en route to a 34-30 deficit at the break.

In the second half the Bonnies not only made 53.8 percent from the floor, but also 6-of-8 beyond the arc and 15-of-18 at the charity stripe, cruising to the 12-point home win.

St. Bonaventure won the game at the free-throw line where it outscored the Dukes by a margin of 24-8.

With the win the Bonnies now head to Atlantic City and the quarterfinals of the tourney where they will face off against top-seeded Temple on Friday afternoon.

Final Score: Dayton 70, George Washington 60

Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Johnson scored 16 points, leading four players in double figures, as the Dayton Flyers posted a 70-60 win over the George Washington Colonials in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Also scoring in double figures for the seventh-seeded Flyers (20-11) were Rob Lowery and Chris Johnson with 11 points apiece and Paul Williams 10 points as he made 7-of-8 at the free-throw line.

The 10th-seeded Colonials (16-14) were paced by Damian Hollis who dropped in a game-high 19 points. The starting five for George Washington combined to make just 9-of-26 from the floor in the setback.

The Colonials ran out to a quick nine-point advantage in the first half, but the home team fought back, hit on 6-of-14 behind the three-point line in the period and registered a 37-33 lead at the break.

In the second half the Flyers pushed their lead as high as 13 points, securing the 10-point victory with 17-of-21 shooting at the free-throw line.

Dayton, which will now take on second-seeded Xavier in the quarterfinals on Friday evening in Atlantic City, outscored the visitors at the free-throw line by a 26-10 margin.

Wwwlakings NCAA Basketball Betting News


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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.


Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Why Sports Betting is so much fun?

Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)

Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.

Future Bets

Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.

Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)

Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:

Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.

Round Robin Betting

Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.