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03/14/2010 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jahmar Young scored a team-high 19 points, and third-seeded New Mexico State captured the WAC Tournament championship with a 69-63 victory over top-seeded and defending champion Utah State.
Troy Gillenwater added 15 points off the bench for NMSU (22-11), which will play in the NCAA Tournament next week after winning its second conference championship in four years. The Aggies, who lost their final two regular season games, including a 81-63 thrashing at the hands of Utah State in the regular season finale, exacted some revenge after beating sixth-seeded San Jose State and second-seeded Nevada to reach Saturday's final.
Utah State (27-7) had dominated the WAC all season, having won its past 17 games. Jared Quayle led the team with 25 points, but USU will need to be awarded an at-large berth on Sunday if it is to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Nate Bendall added 16 points, while Tai Wesley had 13 in defeat for Utah State.
<< Spurs crush Clippers...again
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bonner had a team-high 21 points, as
the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 118-88 win, their 16th consecutive victory
over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Spurs also completed the series sweep for the
<< Scola sizzles as Rockets cut down Nets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola poured in a career-high 44 points on
20-of-25 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Houston Rockets got past the
New Jersey Nets, 116-108, at the Toyota Center.
Scola topped his previous career
<< Smith leads Nuggets' fourth-quarter charge in win over Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.R. Smith scored 16 of his 30 points in the
fourth quarter, as the Denver Nuggets used a huge final period to defeat the
Memphis Grizzlies, 125-108.
Smith made 11-of-16 field goals, including a 7-for-10
<< Knicks pound Dallas to snap Mavs' 13-game win streak
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points and
the New York Knicks were an efficient 16-of-30 from beyond the arc, helping
them snap Dallas' 13-game winning streak with a resounding 128-94 victory at
America
Canucks rip Senators in return home >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikael Samuelsson scored twice, as the
Vancouver Canucks returned home to GM Place with a 5-1 win over the Ottawa
Senators.
The Canucks were forced to play 14 straight games on the road, spannin
Curry and Ellis lift Warriors over spiraling Raptors >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Stephen Curry finished with 35 points
and Monta Ellis had 31, as the guards helped the Golden State Warriors end a
six-game slide with a 124-112 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Curry, who was one po
Report: Jets head coach Ryan undergoes lap-band surgery >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reportedly
underwent a procedure Saturday at NYU Medical Center to help him battle his
obesity.
According to the New York Daily News, Ryan was released following the sur
Nadal, Djokovic move on at BNP Paribas Open >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were
both second-round winners Saturday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an
ATP World Tour Masters event.
Nadal, the reigning titlist and third seed, ea
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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