11/23/2008 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaquille O'Neal registered 19 points with a game-high 17 rebounds as Phoenix topped Portland, 102-92, at US Airways Center.
Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and nine boards for the Suns, who snapped a two-game slide and bested Portland for the 11th consecutive time. Steve Nash added 16 points and dished out seven assists.
Brandon Roy led all players with 26 points for the Blazers, who had won three of four coming in. Steve Blake contributed 22 points and five assists while LaMarcus Aldridge picked up 14 points in the loss.
After failing to make up much ground for most of the contest, Portland crept within 49-47 on a rare four-point play from Blake with 8:58 to play in the third quarter, then assumed a 56-54 advantage with six minutes remaining on another Blake three-pointer.
However, two straight from beyond the arc by Raja Bell touched off a 15-3 run ending on an O'Neal free throw with under three minutes left in the period for a 69-59 Phoenix advantage. The Suns maintained that 10-point edge heading to the fourth.
An early burst put the home team up 78-63 after a Stoudemire lay-in, but the Blazers rebounded with nine in a row to come within four with 7:27 to play.
One final run, this time 12-4, pushed the Suns in front by a comfortable margin as Bell finished the spurt with a layup. Portland never threatened the rest of the way.
Thanks to seven points from Stoudemire, the Suns led 21-17 after one, then led by as much as nine in the second quarter before taking a 41-36 edge at halftime.
Game Notes
Phoenix has also won 17 of the last 19 matchups...Grant Hill scored 15 points off the bench for Phoenix, while Bell had 14 points...Portland's Greg Oden scored five points and recorded just one rebound in less than 14 minutes of play.
<< Rockets continue success in Orlando
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming recorded 22 points and 13 rebounds and
Houston once again went to Orlando and left with a victory in a 100-95
decision over the Magic.
Tracy McGrady scored 17 points against his former team
<< Hayward, Matthews lead Marquette over Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazar Hayward finished with 25 points and 10
rebounds to lead 15th-ranked Marquette to a 100-80 win over Wisconsin-
Milwaukee.
Wesley Matthews also had 25 points and grabbed seven boards for the
<< New coach, same result: Thunder lose to Paul, Hornets
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul recorded a triple-double with 29
points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists, carrying the New Orleans Hornets to a
109-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and new head coach Scott Brooks.
Earlier
<< Utah BCS bound after thrashing BYU
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Johnson completed 30 of 36 passes
for 303 yards and four touchdowns as the eighth-ranked Utah Utes beat No.16
BYU. 48-24, to win the Mountain West Conference championship and secure a spot
in a BC
Blair leads Pitt to blowout of IUP >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeJuan Blair dropped a game-high 27 points
on 13-of-14 shooting and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds in just 21 minutes of
floor time as the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers cruised to an 86-60 win
over In
Hard check forces Colorado D Foote to depart early >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado's Adam Foote left Saturday's
game against the Los Angeles Kings after a scary check left the defenseman
momentarily motionless on the ice.
Late in the second period, Foote skated into the right co
Bolland completes comeback as Chicago downs Toronto in OT >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dave Bolland netted the game-winner 49 seconds
into overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks over the Toronto Maple Leafs,
5-4, at Air Canada Centre.
Patrick Sharp tallied two goals while Duncan Keith and
CFL Previews - Grey Cup Championship (November 23rd) >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's only fitting that the best team in the
East Division takes on the first-place team in the West Division to decide the
'08 Grey Cup champion.
Montreal finished first in the East, then defeated the Edmo
While 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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