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02/04/2012 - Cedar Rapids, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Creighton Bluejays take aim at their 12th straight victory, as they fly into Cedar Rapids for today's Missouri Valley Conference showdown with the Panthers of Northern Iowa.
Creighton picked up its 11th consecutive win on Wednesday night by blasting visiting Illinois State in a 102-74 final. It was the second time this season the Bluejays soared above the 100-point mark, and it improved their overall record to 21-2, and their league ledger to 11-1. It was also the 12th win in 13 home games for a Creighton club that is clearly the class of the MVC this season.
Northern Iowa is coming off a win of its own, as the Panthers took care of visiting Southern Illinois on Tuesday, 58-49. As a result, UNI improved to 15-9 on the season and 5-7 in conference play. The Panthers own a 10-3 home record, but they've strung together consecutive wins just once since opening the season an impressive 10-1.
Creighton owns a 29-15 lead in the all-time series with Northern Iowa, and the Bluejays have won the last three meetings, which includes a 63-60 decision in Omaha back on January 10.
Doug McDermott poured in 25 points to lead six players in double figures, as the Bluejays could do no wrong in their recent win over Illinois State. The other five guys scored between 10 and 12 points apiece, and the team as a whole made good on 13-of-25 three-point attempts (.520) while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor overall. A 27-13 edge in points from the foul line helped the cause, as did a 35-23 rebounding advantage. Creighton is one of the highest scoring teams in the country, averaging 81.8 ppg behind outstanding shooting percentages of .516 overall and .453 from three-point range. McDermott (23.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg) is one of the top performers in not only the MVC, but the country as well, and the team's only other double-digit scorer is Antoine Young (11.0 ppg, 4.5 apg). Defensively, the 'Jays are giving up 68.0 ppg with foes shooting 42.6 percent from the field. Creighton is +5.8 in rebounding margin, but -1.3 in turnover differential.
Freshman Deon Mitchell scored a career-high 17 points, and Chip Rank came off the bench to net 13 more, as Northern Iowa got past Southern Illinois earlier this week. The Panthers overcame a slow start (.286 FG percentage in the first half) by shooting 55.0 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes to earn the victory. The Salukis were limited to 35.3 percent field goal efficiency, and a 20-8 deficit in points from the free-throw line also proved costly. UNI claimed significant advantages in points in the paint (22-12), off turnovers (16-2) and from its reserves (18-5). Through 24 games, Anthony James (13.4 ppg) is the only player averaging double figures in scoring for coach Ben Jacobson's club, but he is hitting just 38.4 percent of his field goal attempts. Overall, the team is averaging 66.0 ppg in dropping 43.3 percent of its total shots and 38.2 percent of its long-range bombs, while the opposition is netting 60.8 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 43.1 percent overall and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc.
<< Ward, Hurricanes try to shut down Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes may be tied for the fewest points
in the Eastern Conference, but they showed again on Thursday that they can
still hang with the best the NHL has to offer.
Hoping to win two in a row for just the se
<< Bulls charge into D.C. to take on 14th-ranked Hoyas
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the postseason rapidly approaching, a
pair of Big East Conference teams hoping to improve their prospects meet in
the nation's capital this morning, as the South Florida Bulls take on the
14th-ranked Geo
<< Minus Howard, Red Wings visit healthy Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings seem to finally be hitting their
stride on the road, but they'll be without the league's leader in wins for the
rest of their swing.
Minus goaltender Jimmy Howard, the Red Wings look for their third s
<< Sharks, Coyotes engage in the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks aim to push their win streak to four
straight games this evening as they begin a tough stretch of road games with a
matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Sharks halted a three-game slide with a 1-0 w
Waves hope to crash down on 24th-ranked Bulldogs >>
Malibu, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Coast Conference foes meet in Malibu
tonight, as the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs pay a visit to the Pepperdine
Waves.
Gonzaga was recently re-admitted into the AP Top-25 after winning four in a
row from J
Sixth-ranked Bears battle Cowboys in Big 12 affair >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears will attempt
to stay within striking distance in the Big 12 Conference, as they invade
Stillwater this afternoon for a conference matchup with the Oklahoma State
Cowboys at Gallagh
Marquee matchup pits Jayhawks against Tigers >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated game in the Big 12 has
finally arrived, as top-10 foes Kansas and Missouri collide in Columbia, with
positioning atop the conference standings at stake.
The eighth-ranked Jayhawks lead the
Irish set sights on Golden Eagles >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles
continue their push towards the top of the Big East standings, as the begin a
two-game road trip this afternoon, taking on a dangerous Notre Dame team at
the Joyce Center
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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