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02/21/2009 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Abrams had 23 points and scored 16 straight for Texas down the stretch, as the Longhorns notched a signature 73-68 victory over second-ranked Oklahoma in a heavyweight Big 12 tussle.
Abrams buried five three-pointers with four of them coming over the final eight minutes as the senior guard took over the game with 18 second-half points.
Damion James had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Dogus Balbay logged 10 points, a game-best nine assists and eight boards for Texas (18-8, 7-5 Big 12), which had lost four of six and was coming off a thorough 81-66 dismantling at the hands of Texas A&M.
Ranked as high as seventh early in the season, the Longhorns fell on hard times since starting their Big 12 slate at 4-1, enduring a three-game losing streak that precipitated a tumble from the Top 25. However, Saturday's performance will make it hard for NCAA committee members to keep Texas out of the big dance come Selection Sunday.
Texas has now won six straight home games against top-five teams.
Freshman Willie Warren connected for six three-pointers en route to 27 points and helped fill the huge void left by an injury to standout sophomore Blake Griffin.
Griffin was struck over the bridge of his nose by Texas' Dexter Pittman with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Visibly woozy and his nose bloodied, Griffin remained on the bench following a timeout a short time later at the insistence of OU trainers. At halftime it was decided he would not return due to a suspected concussion. He had to be helped to the locker room by trainers at the break.
Tony Crocker netted 14 points with seven rebounds and Taylor Griffin, Blake's brother, scored nine with eight boards for the Sooners (25-2, 11-1), who saw their 13-game win streak come to an end at the most inopportune of times.
Oklahoma's recent dominance coupled with No. 1 UConn's loss to Pitt earlier this week had the Sooners positioned to take over the top spot in the polls next week. OU's lone defeat coming in was to Arkansas back on December 30.
Blake Griffin finished 1-of-5 from the field with two points and three rebounds in 11-plus minutes.
<< St. Louis upends No. 25 Dayton
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Lisch scored 16 points and pulled down
six rebounds to pace Saint Louis to a 57-49 win over 25th-ranked Dayton.
Tommie Liddell added 10 points and five assists for the Billikens (17-10, 8-5
Atlantic
<< Canucks' Sundin returns to Toronto, nets SO winner
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mats Sundin scored the game-winning shootout
goal in his return to Toronto, as the Vancouver Canucks edged the Maple Leafs,
3-2, at Air Canada Centre.
With things tied after the fifth skater in the shootout
<< Spurs dismantle Wizards to end road trip on high note
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Mason burned his former team by
scoring 25 points, and the Spurs wrapped up a lengthy eight-game road trip
with a 98-67 rout of the lowly Washington Wizards.
Mason, who played for the Wizar
<< Oklahoma's Blake Griffin leaves game
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma standout sophomore forward Blake
Griffin took a shot to the head Saturday night during the first half against
Texas and will not return.
Griffin, a frontrunner for National Player of the Year
Wild deal Red Wings rare loss >>
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Owen Nolan had two goals and an assist, as the
Minnesota Wild handled the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2, at the XCel Energy Center.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Martin Skoula, and Stephane Veilleux scored for the
Wild,
Jazz top Hornets in first game following Miller's death >>
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mehmet Okur scored 25 points and the
Utah Jazz won their first game since the death of team owner Larry H. Miller
with a 102-88 triumph over the New Orleans Hornets.
Miller died on Friday, succumbi
Mavericks score 70 in first half, dominate the Kings >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Singleton had a season-high 19 points and
12 rebounds off the bench, as the Dallas Mavericks used a 70-point first half
to cruise past the Sacramento Kings, 116-95.
Josh Howard and Brandon Bass each s
Record-winning day for Busch at California >>
Fontana, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Several hours after winning the Camping World
Truck Series race, Kyle Busch returned to victory lane at Auto Club Speedway
when he took the checkered flag for the Stater Bros. 300 Nationwide event.
Busch
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.
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.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
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.
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