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03/05/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are nine members of the America East Conference, and all nine are set to participate in the 30th-annual America East Conference Tournament. The prize awarded to the winner of this event is a bid to the NCAA Tournament, and considering the fact that a team from this league is highly unlikely to ever earn an at-large dance ticket, this four-day event figures to pulsate with intensity.
Boston University has five AEC titles to its credit and a 38-24 all-time record at this event, but the Terriers, who are seeded third this season, haven't won this tourney since 2002. Vermont has captured three championships, and the second-seeded Catamounts figure to have a good shot at adding to the total. Albany is seeded seventh, so the odds of the club winning this event for a third time seem unlikely. As for UMBC, the defending champion, it is seeded sixth. The top seed is Binghamton, which is one of five league members never to win this tournament.
After the first round, quarterfinal round and semifinal round are played in consecutive days from Friday the 6th through Sunday the 8th, the championship game will not take place until Saturday the 14th, adding to the drama. While the first three rounds will take place at SEFCU Arena in Albany, New York, the title game will be held at the home venue of the highest remaining seed.
The first round on Friday pits the eighth-seeded Maine Black Bears against the ninth-seeded Hartford Hawks. These two teams split a pair of meetings during the regular season, and both of those contests were highly competitive. Hartford has won only six games all season and ranks last in the conference in both scoring offense (60.3 ppg) and scoring defense (70.5 ppg). The team has gotten dominated on the boards all season, as it is being outrebounded by nearly seven boards per contest. As for Maine, it closed out the season with four consecutive losses and figures to carry little confidence into this event. The Black Bears rank eighth in the nine-team league in turnover margin and have to take good care of the ball on Friday to advance.
The first of four quarterfinal games on Saturday the 7th pits the second- seeded Vermont Catamounts against the seventh-seeded Albany Great Danes. Albany lost seven of its last eight regular season games but did manage to beat Vermont in one of the two matchups between the teams. The Great Danes are the best free throw shooting team in the AEC and are also tops in the conference in rebounding margin, pulling down 8.4 rpg more than the opposition. Vermont is the league's top scoring team, as it is generating 77.8 ppg. Mike Trimboli (16.3 ppg), Marqus Blakely (15.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and Colin McIntosh (13.2 ppg) provide the Catamounts with a tremendous trio.
Third-seeded Boston University and sixth-seeded UMBC will battle in another quarterfinal clash. Boston University boasts the league's third and fourth leading scorers in John Holland and Corey Lowe, who are generating 18.0 ppg and 16.6 ppg, respectively. The Terrier, who beat UMBC in both regular season meetings, are knocking down a league-leading 8.8. three-pointers per contest and rely heavily on their perimeter shooting. As for UMBC, it has not played nearly as well as fans hoped heading into this campaign, but the team always has a chance to win thanks to the presence of Darryl Proctor (20.0 ppg). The Retrievers, by contrast with the Terriers, are last in the league in three- pointers made, as they are knocking down only 3.7 shots per contest from behind the arc.
The winner of the first-round game between Hartford and Maine will take on top-seeded Binghamton in the quarterfinal round. The Bearcats won a share of the regular season title for the first time in their 63 years of existence, a tremendous accomplishment for the program. The club is 20-8 overall and posted a 13-3 mark against AEC opposition, including wins in all four of its matchups with Hartford and Maine. D.J. Rivera is a gifted scorer who leads the conference with 20.2 ppg. Rivera's squad doesn't lead the AEC in an major statistical category, surprising for a top seed, but the Bearcats do most things well and simply know how to win.
The fourth and final matchup of the quarterfinal round pits the fourth-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats against the fifth-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves. New Hampshire did win both regular season matchups with Stony Brook, the most recent of which was decided by one point in overtime last week. The Wildcats are second in the conference in scoring defense but second to last in scoring offense. They are last in free throw percentage, a stat that is definitely concerning since this quarterfinal game figures to be close. As for Stony Brook, it is tops in the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 60.4 ppg. The Seawolves also lead the AEC in steals and turnover margin, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to generate enough offense to defeat the Wildcats.
<< 2009 Big Sky Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 34th-annual Big Sky Conference
Tournament is set to begin this weekend, with quarterfinal action from campus
sites and semifinal and championship games to be played in Ogden, Utah.
The Weber State Wild
<< Creamer among three co-leaders in Singapore
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a disappointing finish in Thailand,
Paula Creamer fired a five-under 67 on Thursday to share the lead with two
other players after the first round of the HSBC Champions tournament.
Creamer, who
<< Report: Denver signs QB Simms
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Broncos continued their off-season
spending spree by reportedly adding free agent quarterback Chris Simms to
their roster.
The Denver Post reports the 28-year-old Simms has joined the team, presumably
<< Gay helps Grizzlies top Clippers, snap eight-game skid
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay poured in a season-best 35 points
and pulled down eight rebounds and Memphis snapped an eight-game skid with a
118-95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Marc Gasol had 20 points, eight boards
2009 West Coast Conference Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The West Coast Conference Tournament will
be held at a neutral site for the first time, as Orleans Arena in Las Vegas
will serve host to the 23rd annual event.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs, the only ranked team in
Dayton visits Xavier in pivotal Atlantic 10 battle >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dayton Flyers and 17th-ranked Xavier
Musketeers will do battle tonight in a game with major implications in the
race for the Atlantic 10 Conference title.
Xavier sits atop the A-10 standings with an 11-3
Nittany Lions seek upset of 23rd-ranked Fighting Illini >>
University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Penn State Nittany Lions hope to
impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee with a Big Ten Conference
victory over the 23rd-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.
Illinois carried a modest two-game w
Bruins host Beavers in Pac-10 tussle >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked UCLA Bruins are clearly
favored in tonight's Pac-10 Conference clash with the visiting Oregon State
Beavers.
Oregon State got hot recently, ripping off three consecutive wins.
Unfortunately
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.
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