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
03/13/2010 -
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -The underdogs are trying to top each other at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament - and they're succeeding.
``I've been seeing all the highlights of all the games, and what it seemed like is all the lower seeds were coming out on top,'' North Carolina State freshman Scott Wood said. ``I kind of didn't want to let them all down.''
Three upsets in the quarterfinal round set up a pair of unlikely semifinal matchups Saturday: Top-seeded Duke faces 12th-seeded Miami, and seventh-seeded Georgia Tech takes on 11th-seeded N.C. State.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils - the only one of the top six seeds to make it to the semifinals - beat Virginia 57-46 before the Hurricanes started the binge of upsets by topping fourth-seeded Virginia Tech 70-65.
Then came the evening session, when the Yellow Jackets toppled No. 19 Maryland 69-64, and the Wolfpack beat third-seeded Florida State 58-52.
The ACC's two bottom seeds have made it to the semifinals, and five of the top six seeds are done - both firsts in the storied league tournament's history. In fact, never before had four of the top six been eliminated by this stage of the event.
``That's just one thing that I've noticed, and it just shows that the lower seeds have probably been wanting it a little bit more,'' Wood said. ``I think that's how it should be.''
At least one team - either N.C. State or Georgia Tech - is assured of becoming the latest ACC team to play four tournament games in four days. The Hurricanes, who sprung their second upset in a 24-hour period, hope to join them.
``In AAU, we played four games in one day. This is what I'm here for,'' said Miami's Durand Scott, who scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 6 minutes against the Hokies. ``This is what I like. I love to play basketball. I live for this. If I could play it nonstop without a break, I would do it.''
Three of the league's top players struggled just as mightily as its top teams.
ACC player of the year Greivis Vasquez of Maryland and fellow all-conference players Jon Scheyer of Duke and Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech combined to make 14 of 53 shots, including 3 of 25 from 3-point range.
The ACC's only favorite to win Friday used Scheyer's timely scoring surge. He scored seven of his 15 points during the decisive run against the Cavaliers.
Kyle Singler had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Nolan Smith also had 15 points while Scheyer, the third member of Duke's ``Big Three,'' keyed the 11-0 run that saved the Blue Devils from joining the league's growing list of upset victims.
Instead, they'll face the Hurricanes, who had dropped 11 of 14 games before arriving here and joined the 2006 Wake Forest team as the only 12th-seed to reach the semifinals. DeQuan Jones added 14 points for the Hurricanes, who had never won two games in their previous five ACC tournaments.
In the other half of the bracket, Wood had his second hot shooting performance against the Seminoles, scoring 18 points on six 3-pointers to send the Wolfpack into the semifinals for the first time since coach Sidney Lowe reached the title game in his first season in 2007. They'll face a Georgia Tech team that blew most of a 19-point lead, overcame 25 turnovers and needed Iman Shumpert to strip the ball from Vasquez in the closing seconds.
That gave the Yellow Jackets' NCAA tournament resume a boost, with Selection Sunday drawing closer. Not that coach Paul Hewitt is looking that far ahead just yet.
``Right now, we're in this tournament. We can answer all the questions ourselves,'' Hewitt said. ``It's in our hands. We'll just see what happens tomorrow, and we'll take it from there.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< UNLV knock offs BYU to reach Mountain West title game
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and
made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66,
to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Willis
<< Wozniacki, Sharapova advance at Indian Wells; Henin slips
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and
former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova were among Friday's second-round winners at
the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis event.
The second-seeded Wozniacki, of
<< Vandy downs Georgia in SEC QFs
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Jenkins poured in a career-high 25
points to lead the 20th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores to a 78-66 victory over
the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference
Tournam
<< Roy leads Blazers to rout of Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy poured in 28 points and finished
10-of-13 from the field, leading Portland to a 110-94 rout of the Sacramento
Kings.
LaMarcus Aldridge tacked on 18 points as the Trail Blazers remained in t
McDonald plays role of sage for young Blue Jays >>
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -Becoming a coach isn't on John McDonald's radar just yet, but while he's playing he enjoys being a mentor to his fellow Toronto Blue Jays infielders.``I would hope the younger players would use a player like me as a source of kno
UNLV knocks off BYU to reach Mountain West title game >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and
made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66,
to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Willis
Leach faces James in Texas Tech lawsuit deposition >>
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Mike Leach is sitting across from his accuser as Craig James gives sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech.James, whose complaint of mistreatment of his son led to Leach's firing, declined to comment Sat
Panthers shoot for rare victory over Sharks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida needs all the victories it can muster from now
until the end of the season to even have a chance at making the playoffs. The
Panthers could have a tough time getting a win today, when they visit the
mighty San Jose Sh
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard 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