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02/08/2010 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottie Reynolds scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, as No. 4 Villanova handed fifth-ranked West Virginia an 82-75 defeat in a Big East showdown at WVU Coliseum.
The Wildcats (21-2, 10-1 Big East) rebounded from a 103-90 drubbing at Georgetown on Saturday -- their first setback in conference play -- by shooting 56.9 percent from the floor and 19-of-22 from the foul line.
Reynolds made all 10 of his free throw attempts and handed out five assists for Villanova, which received a 17-point effort from Corey Fisher.
Antonio Pena chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds in helping to snap West Virginia's (19-4, 8-3) six-game win streak.
Darryl Bryant netted 15 points, while Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks each scored 13 for the Mountaineers, though Butler had just one point in the second half.
Trailing by 11 past the midway point of the second half, the Mountaineers made it a one-possession game thanks to a 12-4 spurt, as Ebanks' uncontested dunk in transition capped the run for a 62-59 game with eight minutes left.
Stokes stopped the rally with a pair of free throws, and after trading buckets, Reynolds hit a deep, step-back jumper for a seven-point advantage.
It was still a seven-point difference before Reggie Redding's bucket gave 'Nova a 74-65 lead with under 2 1/2 minutes to play.
Casey Mitchell gave the hosts one last chance by converting a rare four-point play, but Stokes' driving basket and two Reynolds free throws on the next two possessions sealed the Wildcats' biggest road win of the year.
Fisher's three-pointer at the 15-minute mark of the first half started a 15-3 burst for the visitors that ended on a Maalik Wayns bucket for a 21-10 lead.
Villanova connected on 63.3 percent from the field in the first half, but West Virginia was able to get to the free throw line frequently, hitting 11-of-16 from the stripe in the opening 20 minutes to stay within 44-33 at the break.
The Wildcats came out of the locker room cold, failing to hit a field goal for the first six-plus minutes of the second stanza. Nevertheless, the Mountaineers only pulled as close as five, 45-40, during the stretch.
Reynolds snapped Villanova out of its shooting funk with a make from behind the arc and three-point play around a Kevin Jones putback, pushing the margin to 53-43 with a little over 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
Game Notes
West Virginia, which had won four of the previous five meeting against 'Nova, fell to is 9-2 at home this season...Mitchell had 12 points and Jones 11 and eight rebounds for the Mountaineers, who ended up making just 18-of-32 from the foul line...West Virginia is next in action on Friday against rival Pittsburgh, while Villanova hosts Providence on Saturday.
<< Danica, have at it and have a good time
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR officials originally set the theme
for this year's Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway last month when
they told Sprint Cup Series drivers, "boys, have at it and have a good time."
Officials s
<< Cardinals avoid arbitration with Schumaker
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals avoided salary
arbitration with Skip Schumaker, agreeing to terms with the second baseman on
a two-year contract.
The 30-year-old Schumaker became the first Cardinal since
<< Montanes eases into second round at Brasil Open
Costa do Sauipe, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Albert Montanes was a
first-round winner at the $500,000 Brasil Open on Monday.
The Spaniard needed just under 1 1/2 hours to dispose of German Simon Greul
6-2, 7-6 (7-2) on the red
<< Devils D Salmela leaves game on stretcher
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela
left Monday's game against Philadelphia on a stretcher early in the second
period.
Salmela, who rejoined the Devils from the Thrashers in the Ilya Kovalchuk d
Sharks use Clowe's third period goal to beat Leafs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryane Clowe's goal in the third period lifted
the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada
Centre.
Dan Boyle and Joe Pavelski each had a goal for the Sharks, who have won f
Richards caps Flyers' comeback win over Devils >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Richards tallied the game-deciding
power-play goal late in the third period, as Philadelphia recovered from a
two-goal deficit to top New Jersey, 3-2, at Wachovia Center.
James van Riemsdyk a
Duke uses balanced attack to dismantle UNC >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keturah Jackson and Bridgette Mitchell each
scored 12 points in a balanced attack for eighth-ranked Duke, which crushed
18th-ranked North Carolina, 79-51 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Krystal Thomas added
No. 25 Pitt breezes past Robert Morris >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ashton Gibbs scored a game-high 20 points,
and 25th-ranked Pittsburgh crushed non-conference foe Robert Morris, 77-53, at
Petersen Events Center.
Jermaine Dixon added 18 points for the Panthers (18-6), w
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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