Streak hits 13 as Mavs thrash T'Wolves
Basketball Betting Lines
02/28/2007 -
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, grabbed 14
rebounds, and led the Dallas Mavericks to their 13th straight win, a 91-65
rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavs are now one win shy of their
franchise-record victory surge, set at the start of the 2002-03 season.
Jason Terry scored 18 points and doled out seven assists, and Josh Howard
came back from a sprained ankle suffered Monday night to score 17 points and
rake in seven rebounds for the Mavs. DeSagana Diop pulled down 10 rebounds for
Dallas, which has its second 13-game winning streak of the season. Dallas,
which also had a 12-game winning streak earlier in the season, is the first
team in NBA history to record three winning streaks of 12 or more games in one
season.
They can tie the franchise record winning streak Thursday at home against
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kevin Garnett scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves,
who shot a horrid 29.6 percent from the field. Ricky Davis also notched 15
points for Minnesota, which has lost four of five. Mark Blount added 10 points
for the Wolves.
The Wolves appeared to be shaking out of their shooting doldrums early in
the second half, opening the third quarter with a 13-7 stretch, and pulling to
within single-digits. A Davis three capped the stretch, cutting the Mavs lead
to 49-40.
That was as close as Minnesota would get, though, as Dallas quickly heated
back up, and a Nowitzki three in the final minute of the third quarter posted
the Mavs to a 68-53 lead entering the final 12 minutes.
"The second half, we ran a couple of plays for me and I was able to make some
shots," said Nowitzki.
Minnesota went out with a whimper in the fourth, scoring only 12 points as the
Mavs coasted to their largest road win of the season.
"They're a pretty good team," said Garnett of the Mavs, adding, "We didn't
shoot the ball particularly well, we didn't give ourselves a chance."
A Terry three posted the Mavs to a 24-14 lead with 1:41 left in the first
quarter, but a Davis three in the final minute pulled the Wolves to within
26-19 entering the second.
Minnesota scored only eight points in the second quarter, making only three
field goals, squandering a rare bad offensive quarter by the Mavs, who only
scored 16 points in the stanza. Minnesota missed its last 12 shots from the
field in the quarter, though, and trailed 42-27 at the break.
The Wolves shot a paltry 22.7 percent in the first half.
Game Notes
The Mavs set two defensive records, as Minnesota's 65 points and 29.6 percent
shooting performance were both all-time lows for Dallas opponents...The Mavs
improved to 40-3 when holding the opposition under 100 points...Dallas
outrebounded the Wolves, 54-39...The Mavs are 11-0 on the second night of
back-to-back games.
<< Oilers honor legendary Messier
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Edmonton Oilers retired former center
Mark Messier's No. 11 prior to Tuesday's home game against the Phoenix
Coyotes.
Messier began his NHL career in 1979 with the Oilers and was named the
<< Weight, Blues top Canucks
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doug Weight scored two goals as the St. Louis
Blues downed the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1, at Scottrade Center.
David Backes added a goal and an assist and Curtis Sanford made 25 saves for
the Blues, who have w
<< Blake tallies hat trick, Hunter caps wild Isles win
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trent Hunter's second goal of the game,
coming with 31 seconds left in overtime, sent the New York Islanders past the
Philadelphia Flyers, 6-5, at Nassau Coliseum.
Jason Blake recorded a hat trick and
<< Redd, Bucks storm past Warriors
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Redd poured in 31 points, Charlie
Bell reached double digits for the 19th straight time with 20 points and
Andrew Bogut scored 13 points to go along with 14 rebounds, as Milwaukee
trounce
<< Carter, Kidd lead Nets over Wizards
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored 27 points and Jason
Kidd had another solid all-around game with 26 points, eight rebounds and nine
assists, as the Nets used a big run in the fourth quarter for a 113-101 win
over Wa
Manning watches, Summitt cheers, Vols swamp Gators >>
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning sitting in
the stands and Tennessee legendary women's coach Pat Summitt dressed as a
cheerleader, the Volunteers rode early momentum to beat No. 5 Florida, 86-76,
handing
Legace has knee surgery >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Blues goaltender Manny Legace
underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday.
No immediate timetable was given on his return.
Legace is 23-15-5 with a 2.59 goals-against average and five
Red Wings defeat Blackhawks in Windy City >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Holmstrom scored a pair of goals to lead
Detroit to a 4-1 win over Chicago at the United Center.
Kyle Calder posted a goal and an assist in his debut for the Red Wings, who
snapped a two-game slide.
Hewitt wins, Blake goes down in Vegas >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lleyton Hewitt stormed past Vincent Spadea,
but James Blake rolled snake eyes in defeat during round-robin action Tuesday
at the $416,000 Tennis Channel Open.
The second-seeded Hewitt posted a 6-3, 6-3 vic
Defending champ Horna exits Acapulco event via injury; Calleri wins >>
Acapulco, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Agustin Calleri and No. 3 seed
Nicolas Almagro were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the $690,000
Abierto Mexicano Telcel, but defending champion Luis Horna was bounced after
injurin
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.
NFL Sports Betting
NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North.
Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash. NFL Betting
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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