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Kings hope Martin will return in PhillyBasketball Betting Lines01/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings are expected to get their leading scorer back in the lineup when the team starts up a six-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents with tonight's matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Kings have been without Kevin Martin since the season's fifth game due to a fractured left wrist that forced the sharp-shooting guard to undergo surgery on November 9. The sixth-year pro was medically cleared to play on Tuesday and has practiced without any restrictions in the days leading up to tonight's game. Martin, who averaged a career-best 24.6 points during a 2008-09 campaign in which he also battled injuries, had gotten this season off to an excellent start. The 26-year-old averaged 30.2 points and 5.4 rebounds while making nearly 45 percent of his three-point attempts prior to getting hurt. Sacramento actually hasn't fared all that badly in Martin's absence, with the club recording a 14-18 record in the 32 games he's missed. The emergence of Rookie of the Year candidate Tyreke Evans, a Philadelphia-area native who's averaged 20.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season, has helped the Kings offset that loss. The team has dropped six of its last seven games, however, following Tuesday's 109-88 setback to visiting Orlando. Sacramento had a two-point lead on the Southeast Division-leading Magic after three quarters but was outscored by a lopsided 33-10 margin in the fourth. "That fourth quarter put a damper on a game where we did so many good things against another top team in basketball," Kings head coach Paul Westphal remarked. Evans led Sacramento with 18 points and Beno Udrih scored 15 in the loss. Rookie forward Omri Casspi recorded a double-double for the Kings, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Kings will also visit Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando and Miami on this lengthy trek. The team has gone 6-6 against the East so far this season, but is a subpar 3-13 on the road. Philadelphia will try to bounce back from a tough one-point loss to rival New York Wednesday at the Wachovia Center, with the Knicks coming away with a 93-92 decision on David Lee's tip-in with 14.9 seconds left. The 76ers had a 90-86 lead after Rodney Carney's three-pointer with 1:30 to go, but New York answered with five straight points and moved in front on Lee's jumper with 43.9 ticks remaining. Marreese Speights responded with a basket that put Philadelphia back ahead with 26.9 seconds on the clock, but Lee's basket on the ensuing possession gave the Knicks a one-point edge once again. Philadelphia had one final shot for the win, but Carney misfired on a three- point try as time expired. "Seems like we did everything right until down the stretch," said Allen Iverson, who led the Sixers with 16 points. "We were right in the game (and) had every opportunity in the world to win the basketball game -- we just didn't do enough. And that's been the case most of this year." Sixers center Samuel Dalembert, playing with the devastating earthquake in his native Haiti fresh in his mind, brought down a season-best 21 rebounds to go with 12 points. Philadelphia had been vying for its first three-game winning streak of the season and was coming off a 96-92 victory over New Orleans on Monday in the opener of a homestand that concludes tonight. The 76ers have won four straight meetings in this series, including a 116-106 triumph in Sacramento on December 30.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals will aim for their fifth victory in six games when they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's encounter at Verizon Center. The Southeast Division-leading Capitals have won four of their last
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Pacers aim to snap road skid vs. hapless Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will be out to halt a string of nine straight road losses in tonight's clash with a hapless New Jersey Nets team trying to break out of a six-game losing streak. Indiana hasn't won in an opposing venue s
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTINGNCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.) "To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good." Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida. Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October. USC Trojans - 10.5 wins A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention. Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2 "There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach." Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1 The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines. Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1 If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
College Football Betting Tips From a ProWhile the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly. Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules. The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers. What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by. These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end. College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well. Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football. Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play. Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration. I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key. Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season. It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage. As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital. Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. |
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