Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
12/31/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Michigan Spartans and the 21st-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers begin Big Ten Conference play this afternoon in Minneapolis.
Michigan State has played quite well recently, as the squad has won its last five games to improve to 9-2 overall. The Spartans are fresh off an 82-66 victory over Oakland on Saturday, and they managed to defeat mighty Texas in the previous outing. The lone losses for coach Tom Izzo's club have come against a pair of ACC foes, Maryland and top-ranked North Carolina.
As for Minnesota, it is led by Tubby Smith, the former head coach at Kentucky. The Golden Gophers are off to their best start in half a century, as they went 12-0 against non-conference opponents to open this campaign. On Sunday, they cruised past High Point by an 82-56 final, and while many of the team's wins have come against rather weak opponents, a six-point decision over Louisville on December 20th caught the eye of the nation.
Minnesota owns a narrow 56-54 edge in the all-time series with Michigan State, but the Spartans won both meetings last season and eight of the last nine overall.
Michigan State is generating 79.5 ppg this season on 49 percent shooting from the floor, including 38.8 percent efficiency from three-point range. Defensively, the squad is holding foes to 68.0 ppg on 41.6 percent shooting. Raymar Morgan leads the team with 15.3 ppg, and he is knocking down a stellar 65.3 percent of his shots from the field. Kalin Lucas provides 11.4 ppg to go along with 71 assists, and he has turned the ball over a mere 11 times. Goran Suton and Chris Allen are both posting 10.2 ppg, providing balance to the lineup. In the 16-point win over Oakland on Saturday, Suton led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds. Lucas scored 15 points and dished out six assists for the Spartans, who also got 14 points from Travis Walton. They shot 51.6 percent from the floor, including 11-of-20 from three-point range, and finished with a 38-22 rebounding advantage.
Strong defense has been key to Minnesota's success, as it is holding opponents to just 61.6 ppg on 38.6 percent shooting from the floor. At the offensive end of the court, the Golden Gophers are generating 74.8 ppg. Lawrence Westbrook leads Tubby Smith's club with 13.0 ppg, while Damian Johnson (10.7 ppg) and Blake Hoffarber (10.3 ppg) have been solid offensive contributors as well. Freshman center Ralph Sampson III scored 17 points for Minnesota in the victory over High Point last time out. Westbrook tallied 13 points in that tilt, while Devoe Joseph, Hoffarber and Devron Bostick all tallied 11 points. The Golden Gophers connected on 52.5 percent of their field goal attempts and finished with 11 three-pointers. They also tallied 24 assists and forced 19 turnovers.
<< Buckeyes begin Big Ten play at home against Hawkeyes
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten play begins for the 24th-ranked Ohio
State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight, as they duel at Value City Arena
in Columbus.
The Buckeyes enter the tilt looking to rebound from their first loss of
<< Bulldogs battle Utes in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will
try to get back on track tonight, as they close out 2008 with a non-conference
bout against the Utah Runnin' Utes at the Huntsman Center.
The Bulldogs have been idle
<< Toothless Tigers take on ferocious Bears
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Baylor Bears welcome the lowly
Jackson State Tigers to Waco for a non-conference clash.
Jackson State is a huge underdog heading into this contest, as the club has
lost its last five outings and ow
<< Bruins place Bergeron on IR
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins have placed center Patrice
Bergeron on injured reserve.
Bergeron, who played in only 10 games with Boston last season after suffering
a concussion in a contest against Philadelphia on Oct
Top-ranked Tar Heels bring act to Reno for clash with Wolf Pack >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nevada Wolf Pack have the privilege of hosting
the nation's top-ranked team, as the North Carolina Tar Heels arrive in Reno
for tonight's non-conference clash.
North Carolina has won its first 12 games to open
Pitt puts perfect mark on line in Big East opener against Rutgers >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the nation's few remaining undefeated
teams will take the court in Piscataway, New Jersey today, as the third-ranked
Pittsburgh Panthers open Big East Conference play against the Rutgers Scarlet
Knights.
Xavier hopes to stop slide in bout with Robert Morris >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Xavier Musketeers are
heavily favored in this evening's clash with the Robert Morris Colonials.
Robert Morris is a member of the Northeast Conference and owns a 6-6 overall
record, which incl
No. 23 Michigan hosts Wisconsin in Big Ten lidlifter >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor is the site of
today's Big Ten battle between the Wisconsin Badgers and the 23rd-ranked
Michigan Wolverines, who have been much better than many expected.
Wisconsin fell to 9-3 over
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .
Let’s take a look at the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds and the betting line and figure out where they’ve been and where they are going to go.
MySportsbook.com put up the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds late on Sunday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers favored by 6.5 points and a total betting line at 47.5 points.
Since then, however, the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds have seen a good deal of movement and you’ll want to be on top of where they are likely to move to make sure you get the best line value for the big game.
Since opening, the Super Bowl 2009 betting lines went to Steelers -7 in the span of roughly 3 hours but were quickly bought back down just minutes later to 6.5 again.
After that is took about 5-6 more hours before the betting line went back to -7 where it has sat for a while now and is likely to remain. The opening betting total of 47.5 was bet down right after the line became available and went to 47 within minutes.
Roughly a day later it has been bet even further down to the 46.5 tally it currently is set at.
Roughly 60% of gamblers seem to be on the Cardinals here so the point spread will be bet down and a 7.5 would not last very long at all with many taking the early 6.5 in hopes of finding a potential middle in the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds.
If you like Arizona and see a 7.5, I’d take it as soon as possible because it’s unlikely to last. For Pittsburgh backers, the -7 might be the best you’ll be able to find but a 6.5 is definitely possible close to game time.
Regarding the Super Bowl 2009 betting odds for the total, most tracked gamblers are already on the over and with those who took the under 47.5 already securing a middle on the over 46.5, the only way I see it moving is back up to 47 so if you like the over, I’d recommend betting now.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting