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03/12/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The quarterfinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament pits the Ole Miss Rebels against the Tennessee Volunteers, the nation's 15th-ranked team.
The winner of this game will take on either Kentucky or Alabama in Saturday's semifinal round.
Tennessee is the SEC East Division's third seed and is coming off a 59-49 victory over a weak LSU squad in yesterday's first round. The Vols have won the SEC Tournament four times, but it has been 31 years since their last title. Last season, Tennessee reached the championship game, only to fall to Mississippi State in a 64-61 final. The 2009-10 Vols are 24-7 overall, and they closed the regular season with three consecutive wins.
Ole Miss, the West Division's second seed, won its only SEC championship in 1981, and the team's 23-46 conference tournament record is far from impressive. The Rebels are 21-9 overall this season, including 9-7 versus league foes, and because the West Division is considerably weaker than the East, they were able to earn a first-round bye in this tournament. Give the team credit, however, as it did win its final four regular-season contests.
Tennessee edged Ole Miss by a 71-69 final in overtime back in January, and the Vols own a 66-38 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams.
Tennessee struggled at the offensive end in yesterday's win over LSU, as the team shot just 37.7 percent from the floor, including a woeful 4-of-23 effort from three-point range. The Vols also committed 17 turnovers in the affair. Fortunately, they did earn a 17-6 edge in points from the foul line and a 41-34 rebounding advantage. Wayne Chism scored 17 points and ripped down 11 rebounds to lead the way for Tennessee. J.P. Prince added 11 points, and Brian Williams secured 14 boards. The Vols owned the second-best scoring margin in the SEC (+9.8 ppg) heading into this tournament, surprising considering the fact that it doesn't possess a single player ranked in the top 20 in the league in scoring. Scotty Hopson paces the team 12.7 ppg, and Chism checks in with 12.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg.
Rebels' standout guard Chris Warren ranked third in the SEC in scoring with 17.2 ppg and ninth in assists (3.4 apg) at the close of the regular season. Ole Miss is second in the league in scoring with 78.4 ppg, and the team shoots the ball efficiently from three-point range. The Rebels are second best in assist/turnover ratio and have the talent in place to make a run in this event. In addition to Warren, the club relies on Terrico White, who is generating 14.4 ppg. Also, Murphy Holloway brings an even 10.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg to the mix. Eniel Polynice (9.8 ppg) is known more for his passing ability than scoring prowess, as he has 119 assists to his credit. Defensively, the Rebels are limiting foes to 69.9 ppg on 41 percent shooting from the floor.
<< UNLV battles BYU in MWC Tournament semifinals
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In search of revenge for a devastating loss
in the last meeting between the two programs, the 14th-ranked BYU Cougars
clash with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels tonight in the semifinals of the 11th
annual Mountain West
<< Aztecs and Lobos mix it up in Mountain West semis
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Continuing to build on one of the best
seasons in program history, the eighth-ranked New Mexico Lobos find themselves
in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament tonight and will
be facing the a
<< Bears and Wildcats meet in Big 12 Tournament semifinals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats and
the 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are slated to collide in the semifinal round of
the 2010 Big 12 Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
Awaiting the winner
<< Alabama challenges Kentucky in SEC Tournament quarterfinals
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats begin
play in the 2010 SEC Tournament with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the
Alabama Crimson Tide.
The winner of this game will move on to Saturday's semifinals to
Buckeye State rivals meet in A-10 Tournament >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals clash for the third time
this season as the 24th-ranked Xavier Musketeers and the Dayton Flyers take
part in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at
Boardwalk Hall
Big Ten quarterfinal-round action pits Illini against Badgers >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterfinal action in the Big Ten
Tournament will take place this afternoon when the fifth-seeded Illinois
Fighting Illini take on the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers at Conseco
Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Wolverines battle hated Buckeyes in Big Ten tourney >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten regular season champion Ohio
State Buckeyes will open tournament play in a quarterfinal showdown against
the eighth-seeded Michigan Wolverines this afternoon in Indianapolis.
The Wolverines mov
Gophers and Spatans tee it up in Big Ten Tournament tilt >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michigan State will begin play in the Big
Ten Conference Tournament when the third-seeded Spartans battle the sixth-
seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers in the quarterfinal round at Conseco
Fieldhouse.
The Go
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
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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