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03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nine team will converge on the Staples Center in Los Angeles to compete for the Pac-10 Conference Tournament championship beginning on Wednesday, March 10th.
The only member of the league that isn't competing for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament is USC, which is ineligible for this event because of self-imposed sanctions. Last season, the Trojans won the Pac-10 Tournament title, so it is certainly disappointing for fans of that program that USC won't have a chance defend the title. California enters as the top seed, but in a conference with greater parity than almost any other in the nation, it is hard to consider the Golden Bears a runaway favorite. They figure to be pushed by second-seeded Arizona State and third-seeded Washington. Fourth-seeded Arizona and fifth-seeded UCLA are both young teams, but there is enough talent in place to score an upset. Sixth-seeded Oregon State is one of four teams still in search of a Pac-10 Tournament title, and the team is slowly getting better. Seventh-seeded Stanford was a disappointment over the last couple of months, and the Cardinal need to get on track in a hurry. As for eighth-seeded Oregon and ninth-seeded Washington State, neither are considered a legitimate threat to capture the crown.
The Oregon Ducks and Washington State Cougars will meet on Wednesday in the tournament's only opening-round affair, and the winner will earn the right to fact top-seeded California in the quarterfinals. WSU has never won this tournament and owns an unimpressive 5-10 record all-time in the event. The Ducks have two Pac-10 tourney titles to their credit, the most recent of which was earned in 2007. The player to watch for Washington State is sophomore Klay Thompson, as he ranks third in the conference in scoring with 19.6 ppg. Reggie Moore adds 12.6 ppg, and he is just a freshman. Tajuan Porter is the leading scorer for Oregon, but it is highly unlikely that his 11.9 ppg and erratic shooting will scare the Cougars. Malcolm Armstead leads the Ducks and ranks third in the league with 4.43 apg. On Saturday, March 6th, Oregon beat Washington State by a 74-66 final to close out the regular season.
The first of four quarterfinal-round matchups pits the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats against the fifth-seeded UCLA Bruins, and these two teams rank first and second, respectively, in regard to Pac-10 Tournament championships. Arizona has captured the crown four times, most recently in 2002, and the club is 17-8 all-time in this event. As for UCLA, it has three titles to its credit, including two in the last four years. Arizona is last in the conference in scoring defense (71.9 ppg), but the club is third in scoring offense (72.0 ppg). Freshman Derrick Williams leads the Wildcats with 15.7 ppg and 7.0 rpg, while Nic Wise, a senior, provides 14.4 ppg and 3.4 apg. UCLA is also led by a freshman, as Michael Roll is scoring 13.5 ppg on the strength of his 42 percent shooting from three-point range. The Bruins rank last in the 10-team league in scoring margin, last in free-throw percentage and last in three-point percentage defense, so the fact that they have been able to overcome the shortcomings and win enough games to earn a five seed is impressive. Arizona won both meetings with UCLA during the regular season.
As mentioned, top-seeded California will battle either Washington State or Oregon in the quarterfinals, and the Golden Bears hope that they can claim their first Pac-10 Tournament championship. Cal is the top free-throw shooting team in the league and leads the conference in field goal percentage as well. The Golden Bears are scoring 77.4 ppg while allowing 67.7 ppg to foes, and they own the second-best scoring margin in the Pac-10. There is a wealth of talent in the starting lineup, and four Cal players rank in the top-20 in the league in scoring. Jerome Randle is fourth with 18.7 ppg, and fellow guard Patrick Christopher is seventh with 16.0 ppg. Theo Robertson brings 13.8 ppg to the mix, and Jamal Boykin contributes 11.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg. All four players are seniors, providing Cal with plenty of experience.
The third-seeded Washington Huskies and sixth-seeded Oregon State Beavers will square off on Thursday, and while OSU has never won this tournament, the Huskies finished on top in 2005 and have split their 20 games in this event. Washington possesses two of the Pac-10's top five scorers, as Quincy Pondexter sits second with 20.2 ppg and Isaiah Thomas checks in with 17.2 ppg, good for fifth place. Pondexter is third in the league with 7.8 rpg, and the fact that he is shooting 54.3 percent from the floor despite constant attention from defenders is impressive. The Huskies lead the league in scoring offense (80.5 ppg) and scoring margin (+10.0 ppg), and they are also tops in rebounding margin (+4.6 rpg). As for Oregon State, it ranks ninth in the league in scoring offense (60.0 ppg) and ninth in scoring margin (-1.2 ppg). The Beavers shoot just 28.5 percent from three-point range, but the fact that they lead the Pac-10 in steals has certainly helped their cause. Calvin Haynes leads OSU with 12.7 ppg. Washington beat Oregon State by 12 points in the regular-season finale, and by six points earlier in the campaign.
The final quarterfinal pairing features the second-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils and the seventh-seeded Stanford Cardinal. Stanford's lone title was earned in 2004, and the team is 11-11 in this tournament. As for the Sun Devils, they own a 5-11 mark in this event and have never earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. ASU is paced by Ty Abbott (12.0 ppg) and Rihards Kuksiks (11.7 ppg), and Eric Boateng, who leads the conference in field goal percentage (.653), is sixth in rebounding (7.0 rpg). The Sun Devils are second in the league in scoring defense (58.1 ppg) and are the best three- point shooting team (.371). Stanford always has a chance to win regardless of the opposition because of the presence of Landry Fields, the top scorer in the conference at 22.2 ppg. Fields is also second in rebounding with 8.7 rpg, and with Jeremy Green (16.9 ppg) in the fold, the Cardinal may possess the top duo in the Pac-10. Unfortunately, Stanford ranks last in the league in field goal percentage defense. The Sun Devils beat the Cardinal in both head-to-head meetings during the regular season.
<< Bruins hope to bolster playoff chances vs. Maple Leafs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to bolster their playoff hopes
when they visit the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's clash between
Original Six clubs at Air Canada Centre.
The Bruins are currently holding onto the ei
<< Heat visit Bobcats in key Eastern Conference showdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade is doing everything he can to keep the Miami
Heat in playoff contention. But, first he has to figure out a way to beat the
Charlotte Bobcats when the two teams collide Tuesday in the Tar Heel State.
The Bobcats
<< IUPUI and Oakland collide for Summit League title
Sioux Falls, SD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The IUPUI Jaguars and the Oakland Golden
Grizzlies will battle tonight in the championship game of the Summit League
Tournament. The prize for the winner is an automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
IUPUI,
<< Bulldogs battle Raiders for Horizon League crown
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the fifth straight season the 12th-
ranked Butler Bulldogs will take part in the Horizon League Tournament
Championship Game when they host the Wright State Raiders this evening at the
Hinkle Fieldhouse.
2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The competition level will be through the
roof in Nashville this week, as all 12 SEC teams will compete in the 51st
annual conference tournament. On the line is an automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament, and th
Slumping Lakers target win vs. Raptors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers hope to avoid
their longest losing streak in three seasons tonight when they hit the
hardwood against the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center.
The Lakers dropped their
Thrashers, Predators both aim to avoid third straight loss >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of playoff hopefuls will try to avoid third
consecutive losses tonight when the Atlanta Thrashers host the Nashville
Predators at Philips Arena.
Both the Thrashers and Predators came out of the Olympic break with ba
Red Wings host Flames in matchup of playoff hopefuls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings will both be
aiming for a third straight victory when they meet in the Motor City tonight
for a battle between playoff hopefuls at Joe Louis Arena.
In addition to winning two straig
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.
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
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