Wsrriors Basketball Betting News

<< Parker, Spurs get past 76ers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker exploded for 37 points to go with eight assists as the Spurs held off the 76ers, 100-90, at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. Gary Neal added 18 points and Tim Duncan recorded a doubl

<< Boeheim passes Dean as Syracuse edges Georgetown
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kris Joseph scored a career-high 29 points and hit the game-winning shot in overtime, as No. 2 Syracuse downed No. 12 Georgetown, 64-61, on Wednesday. The Orange (24-1, 11-1 Big East) have won four st

<< Virginia rolls over Wake Forest
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Scott led a balanced attack with 19 points and five rebounds as the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers dominated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 68-44. Joe Harris added 11 points for the Cavaliers

<< No. 11 Michigan State hangs on vs. PSU
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Draymond Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds and No. 11 Michigan State led wire-to-wire to beat Penn State, 77-57, at Breslin Center on Wednesday. Penn State cut the Spartans' advantage, as large

Howard, Anderson lead Magic over Heat >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Anderson scored 27 points, Dwight Howard added 25 and both players had double-doubles to lead the Orlando Magic to a 102-89 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Magic made 17 three-pointers and

Monroe leads Pistons over Nets >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Monroe had 20 points to go with 12 rebounds and four assists as the Detroit Pistons earned their second road win of the season with a 99-92 win over the New Jersey Nets. Jonas Jerebko scored 16 points to

Hurricanes roll past Tar Heels >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shenise Johnson scored 19 points and Riquna Williams netted 17 to pace No. 6 Miami-Florida as it defeated No. 22 North Carolina, 61-37, at BankUnited Center on Wednesday. The Hurricanes (21-3, 10

Boston College upsets No. 15 Florida State >>
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Daniels netted a game-high 21 points to go with five assists as Boston College knocked off No. 15 Florida State, 64-60, on Wednesday. Matt Humphrey finished with 15 points and Ryan Anderso

What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

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.

How to Read Point Spreads

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:

• Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
  OR
  
• Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

• 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.

  For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

  Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

• Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
  OR
  
• Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

  Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

  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.