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Wolves welcome Spurs to the Twin Cities

Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to snap a 16-game losing streak to the San Antonio Spurs when the two clubs met in early January and shoot for a rare win streak in the series tonight at the Target Center.

The Timberwolves finally got the best of the Spurs with a 106-96 victory on Jan. 2 in Minneapolis thanks to 24 points and 15 rebounds from Kevin Love, while Michael Beasley and Luke Ridnour both had 19 points. They had not defeated the Spurs since January 3, 2007, but have still lost 21 of the last 23 meetings between the two clubs.

San Antonio lost guard Manu Ginobili in that one with a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand and is 10-2 in the previous 12 contests in the Twin Cities. The Wolves have still lost 14 in a row in the Alamo City.

Minnesota is in the midst of a tough schedule and will play the Spurs, Lakers, Rockets and Pacers in succession. It has split the last four games against the Clippers, Jazz, Rockets and Mavericks, and recorded a 105-90 triumph at Dallas the last time out on Wednesday behind 31 points and 10 boards from Love, who inked a contract extension prior to the game. He has posted 17 double-doubles this season and helped Minnesota stop a two-game slide and win for the fifth time in eight tries.

"It was a good day," said Love. "I wanted to put everything aside that happened off the court and really wanted to focus on the game tonight.

Ricky Rubio added 17 points and 12 assists, and Wayne Ellington scored 16 points for the Timberwolves, who are 4-6 as the host and last in the Northwest Division standings. The Wolves will play two straight and three of the next four games at the Target Center. Wolves guard Luke Ridnour (knee) is questionable for Friday's game.

San Antonio is just 2-6 away from home this season and will begin a three-game trek tonight against the Wolves, Mavericks and Grizzlies. It has won two straight and six of its last nine games, including Wednesday's 105-83 victory versus the Atlanta Hawks.

Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair each scored 17 points for the Spurs, who improved to 10-1 at home this season and got 16 points from Tiago Splitter. Tony Parker added 15 points and seven assists, while reserve Danny Green had 10 points. The Spurs bench scored 51 points to make head coach Gregg Popovich happy.

"Our bench was fantastic," Popovich said. "A number of people came into the game and played good solid basketball both at the defensive and offensive ends."

Tim Duncan had just six points and grabbed 11 boards for a San Antonio squad that sits one game ahead of Dallas for Southwest supremacy. Duncan leads the team with five double-doubles this season. Parker holds the record for most points at the Target Center with 55 on Nov. 5, 2008 in a double-overtime win. He is averaging 21.3 points and 8.9 assists in his previous 10 games.

The Spurs are currently in the midst of playing 16 of 21 road games. They are currently 3-3 during that stretch, with four games on the road and two at the AT&T Center.


<< Bogut-less Bucks visit Bulls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It has been a season of frustration for Bucks center Andrew Bogut and his latest setback will keep him out of action indefinitely. That leaves Milwaukee a big hole in the middle this evening as it visits a Chicago Bulls club

<< Cavs and Nets meet at The Q
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets have yet to win consecutive games this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have done it just once. Both teams will be trying to put together win streaks this evening at Quicken Loans Arena. The Nets have

<< Mavs hope to rebound with Jazz in town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celebrations don't seem to be agreeing with the Dallas Mavericks and the reigning NBA champs are probably glad they can put the ceremonies in the rearview mirror as they get ready to host the Utah Jazz. The Mav

<< Nuggets aim to stay hot vs. Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The streaking Denver Nuggets aim for a sixth straight win tonight when they host a Toronto team that expects to be without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani. The Nuggets are fresh off a brilliant 5-0 road trip tha

<< Blazers welcome Suns to Rip City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blazers haven't been much of a threat away from Rip City this season but things have been far different when they are hitting the hardwood in the Pacific Northwest. Portland will shoot for its sixth straight win a

Sixers try to bounce back vs. bumbling Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from a rare loss at home this evening when they welcome the hapless Charlotte Bobcats to the Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia lost for only the second time in 10 tries in front of

Wagner will play FBS school for first time >>
Staten Island, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wagner College football program will open its 2012 season at Florida Atlantic - the Seahawks' first game against a Football Bowl Subdivision school. Wagner announced an 11-game schedule on Friday, beg

Phillies sign OF Pierre >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies on Friday inked outfielder Juan Pierre to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 34-year-old veteran finished 2011 with a .279 average, two home run

Inter aims to bounce back against Lecce >>
Lecce, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan will attempt to get back to winning ways on Sunday at Lecce after the club saw its eight-match winning streak halted in the Coppa Italia by Napoli in midweek. The 2-0 setback prevent

Raptors' Bargnani out with calf issue >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani will be out for an undefined period of time after aggravating a previous calf injury. The 26-year-old suffered a strained left calf back on January 11 and missed six

Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.