11/30/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will try to snap a three-game losing streak Sunday when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to the Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series.
Philadelphia dropped its third consecutive game on Friday in Boston, suffering a 102-78 defeat to the defending champion Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden. Elton Brand had 18 points and eight boards to lead the Sixers, who got 15 points off the bench from Lou Williams.
Andre Miller contributed 12 points in the loss.
The Sixers will try to build on their 5-3 home record this evening.
Chicago, which will host Philly on December 2 at the United Center, will wrap up a seven-game road trip in the City of Brotherly Love. It is 2-4 so far on the trek and dropped a 98-88 decision at San Antonio on Wednesday.
Ben Gordon had 23 points and Drew Gooden added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, who are 2-7 as the visitor this season. Rookie Derrick Rose and Luol Deng each scored 10 points, while Rose also had six rebounds and six assists in defeat.
Philadelphia went 3-1 against Chicago a year ago and has won five of the previous eight matchups in the series.
The Bulls have lost seven of their last 11 games at the Wachovia Center.
<< Nets close out trek at Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets will wrap up a four-game road trip out
west tonight with a showdown against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.
New Jersey is 2-1 on the trek after back-to-back wins, including Saturday's
105-88
<< Lakers wrap up homestand vs. Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to close out a perfect
five-game homestand tonight versus the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center.
Los Angeles is 4-0 so far on the residency and improved to 8-1 as the host
with Fri
<< Sorenstam leads International team to Lexus Cup title
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Annika Sorenstam made her last appearance in an
LPGA Tour sponsored event a memorable one.
Sorenstam, the International team captain, defeated Asian team captain Se Ri
Pak, 3 & 2, as the International t
<< Sweden runs away with World Cup title
Shenzhen, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson
teamed to fire a nine-under 63 on Sunday to run away with the title at the
World Cup.
Sweden completed the event at 27-under-par 261 for the first win f
Rangers welcome Panthers for home-and-home finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will aim for a fourth consecutive
victory when they host the Florida Panthers this afternoon at Madison Square
Garden in the finale of a home-and-home series.
The Rangers, who lead the Atlantic Divisio
Sliding Thrashers invite Blues to town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not much has gone right for Atlanta since matching a
franchise record with five straight wins earlier this month. The Thrashers
will close out their November schedule today as they try to avoid a sixth loss
in seven games whe
Stars, Oilers meet in Big D >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling teams will meet today in Texas, as the
Dallas Stars welcome the Edmonton Oilers for a battle at American Airlines
Center.
The Stars are last in the NHL with just 18 points on the year and have lost
fo
Ducks head east to face Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will shoot for a fourth straight victory
when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes for this evening's interconference
matchup at RBC Center.
The Ducks posted their second three-game winning streak of the mo
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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