North Carolina downs Maryland
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/04/2012 - College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller scored 22 points and Harrison Barnes had 18, as No. 5 North Carolina used a late surge to down Maryland, 83-74, at Comcast Center on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 ACC) had lost five of their last seven trips to College Park, but got 17 points and 12 rebounds from John Henson and a career- high 16 assists from Kendall Marshall to earn the victory. They have won five straight since a disappointing 90-57 loss at Florida State.
North Carolina will host in-state rival No. 5 Duke on Wednesday night.
Terrell Stoglin scored 20 points to pace the Terrapins (13-9, 3-5), who have dropped five of their last six. They were coming off a double-overtime loss to Miami on Wednesday. Alex Len chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
The Terrapins were in control for the majority of the game, They took a 40-37 lead into the break on Len's put-back at the buzzer and were up 57-52 with 11 1/2 minutes to go.
Then North Carolina came to life, reeling off seven straight to take its first lead since early in the first half. Barnes bookended the spurt with a jumper and a three-pointer and Henson had a dunk in between, as the Tar Heels went on top, 59-57.
They led the rest of the way, although the margin wasn't a comfortable one.
Stoglin hit a jumper to make it a one-point game, 70-69, with 3 1/2 minutes left. But the Tar Heels leaned on their superior size to maintain the slight edge, scoring four straight on put-backs by P.J. Hairston and Henson.
James Padgett's free throw made it 74-70 and the Terrapins had a chance to further cut into the deficit after Reggie Bullock missed an ill-advised, rushed layup. Stoglin failed to capitalize, however, missing a three-pointer and Barnes sunk a pull-up jumper out of a timeout to put UNC up 76-70 with 1:06 to play.
The Tar Heels made 5-of-6 free throws the rest of the way and Henson threw down a slam at the buzzer to cap the scoring.
Game Notes
The Tar Heels sealed their eighth straight 20-win season under head coach Roy Williams with the victory. They have 54 20-win seasons in program history...The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with the Terrapins, 116-57...Bullock had 11 points.
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by a two-goal performance from Bart Schenkeveld, Excelsior climbed out of last place thanks to a 3-1 win over 10-man Venlo on Saturday. The Dutch defender, on loan from Feyenoord, grabbed goals
<< Wyoming upsets No. 11 UNLV
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz netted 16
points apiece as Wyoming upset No. 11 UNLV, 68-66, on Saturday.
Luke Martinez added 15 points and Adam Waddell contributed 14 for Wyoming
(18-5, 4-3 Mountain
<< Tello, Messi lead Barcelona past Real Sociedad
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristian Tello and Lionel Messi scored a
goal apiece as Barcelona edged Real Sociedad, 2-1, at Camp Nou on Saturday to
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Tello put Barcelona
<< No.4 Stanford cruises against Arizona
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joslyn Tinkle led the way for No. 4 Stanford
with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as it demolished Arizona 91-51 at McKale
Center on Saturday.
All five starters scored in double figures including Chiney Og
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Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Parcells, who won two Super Bowls as
a head coach, and all three wide receivers up for consideration failed to make
the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Do
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lift No. 22 Mississippi State to a 91-88 win over Auburn. Renardo Sidney had 17 points, Dee Bost added 15 points with seven assists
No. 4 Stanford cruises past Arizona >>
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joslyn Tinkle led the way with 22 points and 11
rebounds and No. 4 Stanford demolished Arizona, 91-51, on Saturday.
All five starters scored in double figures including Chiney Ogwumike, who had
18 points and 1
Alpha rolls to victory in Withers >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Alpha cruised to victory on
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run last year, is a prep event for Aqueduct's $1 million Wood Memorial on
April 7
Levin extends lead at Phoenix Open >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spencer Levin didn't have the kind of
big performance he put together during his first two days at the Phoenix Open,
but avoided big mistakes Saturday and emerged with a commanding lead.
Levin shot a
Battle Hardened gains victory at Tampa Bay >>
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lightly raced Battle Hardened came from off the
pace to capture Saturday's $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
The 1 1/16-mile race is the final local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby on March
10.
Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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