2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hawaii Warriors may have the most Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles with three, the last coming in 2002, but this year the islanders aren't even invited to the party as the 27th annual event kicks off this week at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

Bringing just eight of the nine member teams to the Silver State, the WAC left the league's least successful program at home and this year it was Hawaii. To further signify Hawaii's problems, the school fired head coach Bob Nash on Monday after just three year's at the helm.

On a more positive note, the top-seeded Utah State Aggies showed once again why they are a force to be reckoned with, sporting a wildly successful 14-2 conference mark as they prepare to take on eight-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. As well as USU played this season though, putting up a 25-6 record by no means guarantees the team a place in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Aggies know all too well what it means to be snubbed by the selection committee because it was just a few years ago that Utah State, ranked in the AP's top-25, lost in the Big West Conference Tournament and failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament. It was the first time that a ranked program failed to get an at-large bid since the tournament went to 64 teams.

Utah State, the defending champ, is riding a lengthy 15-game win streak into this event and has players like Tai Wesley, Jared Quayle and Nate Bendall to thank for that. Wesley leads the program in both scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) and is also first with 40 blocked shots and second in assists with 101. Quayle (11.9 ppg) has the sort of inside-outside game that coaches dream about, able to not only clear 6.2 rpg but also shoot 43.2 percent behind the three-point line. He also led USU in assists (132) and steals (37). Bendall accounts for 10.5 ppg and gives the squad another set of hands on the glass with 5.7 rpg, helping the Aggies to have one of the best rebounding groups in the WAC.

As for the Broncos, they essentially slipped into the tourney because Hawaii completely fell apart. BSU, which won this event in 2008 against New Mexico State, did average a solid 74.2 ppg this season, but at the same time the group gave up 72.5 ppg. Ike Okoye led the way with 12.9 ppg and 8.0 rpg, shooting 53.6 percent from the field, while Robert Arnold showed signs of life in recent weeks and finished the regular season with 11.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg. One of the keys for the Broncos will be the play of Paul Noonan, a starter last season who is now coming off the bench to supply nine points per outing.

Set to take on the winner of the Boise State/Utah State matchup will be the survivor of the Fresno State/Louisiana Tech dog fight. The California Bulldogs were an enigmatic bunch to say the least as they lost Paul George (16.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) to injury and kept winning and then regained his services and hit the skids. Toss in Sylvester Seay with his 14.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg and FSU had one of the top scoring tandems in the league, but still struggled to come up with 66.3 ppg. The team as a whole is just 32.1 percent successful, yet has allowed opponents to make goof on 37.2 percent beyond the arc. Greg Smith has been a solid interior performer for Fresno with his 11.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg, while Steven Shepp (5.6 ppg) sacrifices his own offense in order to direct the squad with his 145 assists.

LaTech, one of three teams in the league that has never won the tournament title, let alone make it to the championship round, had the talent to be one of the teams to beat this season, but the squad lost three of the last four games coming down the stretch and fell to the fourth seed as a result. Even though he missed the last several games because of an injury, it is expected that Kyle Gibson will be back and ready to go for the Bulldogs. If not, LaTech again has the problem of filling the void left by a player who is averaging 19.1 ppg and is one of the better passers with 92 assists. Magnum Rolle (14.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and Olu Ashaolu (10.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg) have been beasts in the paint for LaTech, seemingly always around the ball when it comes off the rim. In the case of Rolle, having logged 69 blocked shots means he gets his hands on the ball as much as anyone on the roster.

A perennial favorite in this event and the host team this season, second- seeded Nevada is tasked with taking on the seventh-seeded Idaho Vandals. The Wolf Pack started off the season a but shaky with two wins in six tries, but the squad picked it up in conference play thanks to the efforts of Luke Babbitt who is one of, if not the, top player in the conference this season. A double-double machine, Babbitt finished the regular season averaging 21.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per outing. Not only does he dominate in the paint, Babbitt is also a tough matchup because he has made 43 percent of his three- point tries this season and that has helped the program hit on 36.6 percent beyond the arc. As soon as defenses began to close up on Babbitt, teammates like Armon Johnson (16.0 ppg, 167 assists), Brandon Fields (14.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Joey Shaw (10.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) began to get better looks at the basket and take advantage of their opportunities. Toss in the under-appreciated Dario Hunt with his seven rebounds per game and his team-high 60 blocked shots and it is easy to see why Nevada should be sticking around until the end as all good hosts should.

The Vandals had their moments this season, but the fact that they lost to Nevada in both regular-season meetings doesn't bode well for the group at this stage. The big news coming out of Moscow is that Kashif Watson (10.7 ppg) has been suspended for disciplinary reasons and that means the squad will be missing one of its three double-digit scorers. As a result, even more pressure will now rest on the shoulders of Mac Hopson (14.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 149 assists) as if it wasn't there already. Steffan Johnson (10.2 ppg) might feel compelled to try his hand at even more three-pointers on Thursday, which might not be a bad thing seeing as how he's made good on 41.1 percent of his tries this season and the Vandals are a solid 38 percent as a group. Center Marvin Jefferson will certainly need to stay out of foul trouble in order to improve upon his 9.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg, especially now that Watson has gone and handicapped the squad.

The last pairing for the quarterfinals might just be the most interesting as sixth-seeded San Jose State clashes with third-seeded New Mexico State. The Aggies, who lost on the road at SJSU this season, has one of the most explosive offenses in the league and averages 78.5 ppg. However, this is also a group that is one of the weakest in the nation on defense with a hefty 78.6 ppg allowed. Jahmar Young leads a list of five double-digit scorers with his 20.9 ppg, followed by Jonathan Gibson with 17.8 ppg as the duo combines to deliver 176 assists along the way as well. Hamidu Rahman (14.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and Wendell McKines (10.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg) do all of the dirty work on the inside and yet this squad still losses the battle of the boards by an average of almost three per game. For NMSU, the good news in recent weeks has been the return of Troy Gillenwater who missed the first 21 games of the season. A great addition to the front line, Gillenwater has contributed 14.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg during his return and figures to be an important piece of the puzzle moving forward.

The Spartans may have known they were in trouble this season when they lost to Northern Colorado on the road in late December. Granted, the Bears are a solid team out of the Big Sky Conference, but SJSU lost by 24 points in that matchup and was one of the most lopsided setbacks of the season for the Spartans, who are a dismal 2-12 in this tournament over the years. The team's 14-16 record on the season overall was disappointing, especially since Adrian Oliver was one of the top offensive producers in the entire nation with his 22.5 ppg. Oliver does a bit of everything for San Jose State from shooting 41.7 percent from three-point range to clearing 5.3 rpg and also handing out 87 assists. Robert Owens and Chris Oakes chip in with 10.6 and 10.5 ppg, respectively, the latter among the league leaders with his 9.1 rpg. Like New Mexico State, the Spartans have a problem holding down opponents and have given up 75.1 ppg, which means this matchup could see plenty of action at both ends of the floor.

Victoriasvegas NCAA Basketball Betting News

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.