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02/22/2009 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten rivals collide in Columbus today, as the Ohio State Buckeyes play host to the 18th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber is hoping his team puts forth a much better offensive showing than it did in a recent loss to Penn State, as the Illini scored a mere 33 points, by far their worst effort of the season. Despite the setback, Illinois is still having a sensational campaign, going 21-6, which includes a 9-5 mark in conference. The Illini, who haven't lost consecutive games this year, are an even 4-4 in true road games, winning two in a row outside of Champaign. Consistency is the key to UI's success as the team has run out the same starting five in 25 straight games.
Ohio State will try to put the brakes on a two-game slide, and the team should be confident coming in as it sports a 13-2 home record to this point in the season. At 17-7 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play, coach Thad Matta's club can significantly improve its chances of securing an NCAA Tournament bid with a win over the Illini this afternoon. The Buckeyes are 5-4 against ranked foes this season, and have won two in a row over such opponents. Going back a bit further, OSU has won seven of its last 11 against teams in the Top-25.
These two teams met in Champaign back on January 20th, with the Illini taking a 67-49 decision. As a result, Illinois' lead in the all-time series stands at 101-64. Ohio State owns a 40-39 advantage in games played in Columbus over the years, and the Buckeyes have won three straight versus the Illini at Value City Arena.
Balance on offense and one of the stingiest defenses in the country are the reasons Illinois is in position to challenge for the Big Ten regular-season title as well as a favorable seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Demetri McCamey leads the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) while ranking second to Chester Frazier in assists (130). Frazier has dished out 144 helpers and has come up with a club-best 37 steals. Mike Tisdale (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Mike Davis (10.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Trent Meacham (10.0 ppg) round out the unit's double-digit scorers, demonstrating the total team concept rather than relying on one or two star players. The Illini are allowing just 55.7 ppg and the team ranks second in the conference and 28th nationally in FG percentage defense (.392) while sitting atop the league and placing eighth in the country in three-point FG percentage defense (.286). The Illini certainly did the job defensively in the recent loss to Penn State, holding the Nittany Lions to 28.3 percent shooting from the floor and only 38 points. Unfortunately, Illinois couldn't find open shots, and missed the majority of the ones it did, netting 33 points (UI's lowest point total in more than 60 years) on only 30 percent FG efficiency.
Ohio State's Evan Turner is one of the more productive players in the Big Ten, averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game to lead his team in all three categories. William Buford (11.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and Jon Diebler (11.3 ppg, 3.3 ppg) are both netting double digits for the Buckeyes, who put up 67.8 ppg while permitting 61.3 ppg. The team is knocking down its field goals at a 48.3 percent clip while allowing the opposition a 40.3 percent success rate. Diebler went off in OSU's recent 72-69 loss at Northwestern, scoring 28 points on the strength of eight three-pointers, the team as a whole converting 52.6 percent from out on the perimeter. Turner added 14 points, six assists and five boards in the setback, while B.J. Mullens came off the bench to log a double-double with 11 points and the same number of rebounds. The Buckeyes led by double digits in the second half, but the Wildcats rallied to put an end to OSU's 11-game win streak in the series.
<< Rangers return home to take on Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York's recent road woes have attributed to its fall in
the Eastern Conference standings. The Rangers hope a return to Madison Square
Garden can get them back on track, as they play host tonight to the Toronto
Maple Leafs.
<< Blackhawks try to extend win streak to five in test with Wild
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to stretch their winning
streak to five games tonight in a battle with the Minnesota Wild at the United
Center.
The Blackhawks visited the Dallas Stars last night and left town with a 3-1
v
<< Sliding Bruins close out road trip in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will bring to a close this evening what
has been a very disappointing road trip, as they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning
and St. Pete Times Forum.
The Bruins kicked off this five-game trek with a 1-0 loss i
<< Avs hope to continue turnaround and extend dominance over 'Canes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 2008-09 season has been an up-and-down one for the
Colorado Avalanche, but the club has been doing its best to turn things around
as of late.
Colorado aims for its first four-game winning streak since October when it
Wake Forest visits Duke in pivotal ACC showdown >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle of ACC heavyweights takes place in
Durham tonight, as the ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils host the eighth-ranked
Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
With back-to-back victories, Wake Forest has silenced some criti
No. 13 Clemson in Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are underdogs
on their home court as the 13th-ranked Clemson Tigers are in town for an ACC
clash.
Clemson has won two of its last three games to improve to 21-4 overall and 7-4
Wildcats challenge Orange at Carrier Dome >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Syracuse Orange will go for
win number 20 today, as they host the 12th-ranked Villanova Wildcats in Big
East play at the Carrier Dome.
Under legendary head coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse has poste
State bragging rights on line as Sun Devils host Wildcats >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils will try
to cap a perfect three-game homestand tonight, as they host the Arizona
Wildcats in key Pac-10 matchup at Wells-Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils own a 10-2 record on t
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.
Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.
Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.
Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6
For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com
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