11/21/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls continue a brutal seven-game road swing Friday when they head to Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors.
The Bulls fell to 0-2 on the trek on Wednesday after Portland's Brandon Roy scored 20 points and Greg Oden had a successful regular season home debut, as the Blazers dominated Chicago to the tune of 116-74 at the Rose Garden.
The game marked the first meeting between the top pick in the 2008 and 2007 drafts. Oden, who was playing his first regular season home game one year and 144 days after he was picked in 2007, scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 17 1/2 minutes of action. Chicago's Derrick Rose was picked first in the most recent draft and shot just 1-of-8 for six points on the night.
Andres Nocioni came off the bench to score 13 for the Bulls, who have lost four of six. Drew Gooden and Ben Gordon each scored 11 points, while Larry Hughes posted eight points for Chicago.
Meanwhile, Golden State topped Portland in its last outing on Tuesday when undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow scored 25 points, including the three game- clinching free throws in the final seconds, to give the Warriors a 111-106 victory over the Blazers.
Stephen Jackson had 20 points and eight assists for the Warriors, who won two straight for the first time this season. Corey Maggette also had 20 points in the win.
On the injury front, Golden State forward Kelenna Azubuike is questionable for the game with a sprained left knee while Bulls forward Luol Deng is also questionable with a sore left groin.
The two teams spilt the home-and-home season series a year ago with both team's winning on the road. However, the host has won 12 of the last 14 meetings in the series.
<< Brand faces old mates as Clips visit Sixers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers will try to shake
off a disappointing loss when they open a short two-game homestand tonight
versus the Los Angeles Clippers at the Wachovia Center.
Philadelphia entered Wednesday's g
<< Nets visit Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors are back up north and will kick off a
four-game homestand tonight versus the Atlantic Division-rival New Jersey Nets
at Air Canada Centre.
Toronto will also welcome Boston, Charlotte and Atlanta to town
<< Streaking Magic meet Pacers in Indy
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will shoot for a season high five
straight wins tonight, when they pay a visit to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco
Fieldhouse.
Orlando has won four in a row and eight of its last nine games, including
Tuesd
<< Hawks host struggling Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks finally ended their recent losing ways
and will try to start another winning streak tonight versus the Southeast
Division-rival Charlotte Bobcats at Philips Arena.
Atlanta opened the season with a sizzlin
Knicks take on Bucks in Milwaukee >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The slumping Milwaukee Bucks will welcome the New York
Knicks to town this evening for a showdown at the Bradley Center.
Milwaukee has dropped three straight and six of its last eight games,
including Wednesday's 105-94 lo
Trojans seek redemption in clash with Mocs >>
San Juan, PR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked USC Trojans and the
Chattanooga Mocs are set to collide in the second round of the Puerto Rico
Tip-Off in San Juan.
USC led Seton Hall by 15 points at intermission last night and appeared heade
Akron seeks upset of No. 6 Pittsburgh >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Upset-minded Akron has traveled to
Pittsburgh for a non-conference clash with the sixth-ranked Panthers in the
Legends Classic.
The Zips have reason to be confident, as they have opened the season with
back
Pirates hope to tame Tigers in Puerto Rico >>
San Juan, PR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Memphis Tigers of Conference
USA and the Seton Hall Pirates of the Big East Conference are set to clash in
the second round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Memphis, which was the national runner-up
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.
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