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West Virginia and Kentucky fight for right to move to Final FourNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/27/2010 - Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A berth in the "Final Four" is on the line tonight in Syracuse, New York, as the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and the second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers do battle in the 2010 NCAA Tournament East Regional Final. The winner of this game will take on either Duke or Baylor next Saturday in Indianapolis. West Virginia has won its last nine games to improve to 30-6 overall, and its most recent triumph was Thursday's 69-56 decision over Washington. The Mountaineers, who won the Big East Conference Tournament, crushed 15th-seeded Morgan State in the first round of this event before knocking off 10th-seeded Missouri by nine points in the second round. WVU is now 23-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers finished sixth in the final regular-season AP Poll, their best finish since placing fifth in 1960. As for Kentucky, it took down "Cinderella" Cornell by a final of 62-45 on Thursday, thanks to one of the best defensive efforts that we have seen by any team in "Sweet 16" action over the last quarter century. The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach John Calipari and are one of only two No. 1 seeds remaining in this tournament (Duke). Three UK starters are freshmen, and while youth can be a detriment, Calipari's squad has been dominant, winning its first and second round games by 29 and 30 points, respectively, prior to the triumph over Cornell. The Wildcats are making their record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance and own a 101-44 record in the event all-time. They are 35-2 overall this season and won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles. The Wildcats own a 13-4 series advantage over the Mountaineers, which includes seven straight wins over WVU. Prior to the "Sweet 16" matchup with Washington, West Virginia starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant broke his foot in practice, knocking him out of the tournament. Many wondered how the loss would affect the Mountaineers, and early on the team did struggle at times offensively against the Huskies. Fortunately, WVU played tremendous defense, limiting Washington to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor while forcing 21 turnovers. Rebounding was a huge key to the Mountaineers as well, as they finished with a 49-29 edge on the boards. Kevin Jones led three double-digit scorers with 18 points, and he ripped down eight rebounds as well. Da'Sean Butler added 14 points, and Devin Ebanks finished with a dozen. Butler is the team's leading scorer through 36 games with 17.4 ppg, while Jones (13.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Ebanks (12.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg) are solid contributors as well. WVU is generating 72.8 ppg while limiting foes to 63.1 ppg. Kentucky has advanced to the Regional Finals for the 31st time in program history, and there are a few obvious reasons for the 17-point win over Cornell. Above all, it was a sensational defensive effort that saw the Wildcats limit the Big Red to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, including a 5-of-21 effort from three-point range, 20 percent below the club's average efficiency from behind the arc. Rebounding was also key to the victory, as Kentucky earned a 41-28 edge on the boards. DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 points, while fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe added 12 points. Patrick Patterson ripped down 12 rebounds, and John Wall dished out eight assists. Wall has racked up 236 assists this season, and he has 62 steals as well to go along with 16.6 ppg. Cousins provides 15.1 ppg and 9.9 rpg, while Patterson posts 14.5 ppg. Bledsoe is netting 11.4 ppg for Kentucky, which is scoring 79.6 ppg while permitting just 64.7 ppg on 37.8 percent shooting by opponents.
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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. Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet). For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win. TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures. Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs. |
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