NFL Playoff Gambling: California bettors show support for 49ers at Reno sportsbooks

College Basketball Betting Trends: Marshall looks to maintain ATS success vs. WVU

West Virginia -3.5 vs. Marshall O/U 135 Marshall and West Virginia renew their rivalry tonight in Charleston, WV. The Thundering Herd have owned the series from a pointspread perspective but tonight's matchup has seen a massive adjustment in the line compared to previous meetings. West Virginia vs. Marshall Series History 2005-11 Year Score SU Winner ATS Winner 2011 75-71 Marshall Marshall +10 2010 68-60 West Virginia Marshall +12.5 2009 87-76 West Virginia Marshall +15.5 2008 66-64 West Virginia Marshall +15.5 2007 77-63 West Virginia West Virginia -10 2006 58-52 Marshall Marshall +16 2005 59-55 Marshall Marshall +13.5 ?Tags: College Basketball West Virginia Mountaineers Marshall Thudering Herd

NFL Playoff Gambling: California bettors show support for 49ers at Reno sportsbooks

-NY Giants- at San Francisco -2.5 O/U 42 Reno's Peppermill and Cal Vena sportsbooks have seen a lot of betting support for the San Francisco 49ers. "Are you putting your money on the 49ers this weekend?" asked reporter Andrew Del Greco. "Of course," said Reyes. "Good luck," said Del Greco. "I'm going to bet my whole check if I have to," said Reyes. "The 49ers are going to the Super Bowl!" "Our ticket counts are up about 20 percent, it's mostly 49er fans," said Cox. Tags: NFL San Francisco 49ers New York Giants

College Basketball Betting: Oklahoma State has trouble lasting 40 minutes

Oklahoma State at Iowa State -8 O/U 137 Oklahoma State's youth and lack of depth really showed in last week's 106-65 loss at Baylor. But it wasn't the first time those shortcomings were exposed. The Cowboys are 2-2 in Big XII play, but?have been?outscored in the second half in all four games by a combined 45 points. Fatigue obviously could be a favor tonight with Iowa State looking to push the tempo. The Cyclones aren?t an ideal mid-range favorite, but perhaps we'll have?a halftime opportunity with a cheaper adjusted price. Following the loss to Baylor, OSU head coach Travis Ford dropped this gem of a quote... ?I told our guys and I want them to understand this, ?It?s not about winning and losing at this point, it?s about how you are playing,?? Ford said. ?Because we can play well and still not maybe win the game. ?About eight to 10 minutes to go in the (Baylor) game, we didn?t have much fight in us.? ? ? Tags: College Basketball Oklahoma State Cowboys Iowa State Cyclones

NBA Handicapping: Clippers blasted in Utah sans Paul, return home to face Dallas

Dallas at LA Clippers Without Chris Paul, or any real desire to put forth an effort, this happened to the Los Angeles Clippers last night. Head coach Vinny Del Negro wasn't shy about voicing his disappointment. The Clips still trail a majority of the team in terms of games played but will be facing the third game of a back-to-back-to-back tonight against Dallas. As of this morning, Paul (hamstring) was listed as questionable. ? "I didn?t like our approach," Del Negro said. "I didn?t like our focus. I didn?t like our toughness. I didn?t like our energy to start the game. We dug ourselves a hole. "We?re not going to win a lot of games playing with that type of effort. I don?t care if it is a back-to-back game, where we?re playing, how much rest they have. We have to play better than that." "We just came out and played poorly. We didn?t have good energy," Del Negro said. "We weren?t aggressive. They were more aggressive. Give Utah credit, but our starters didn?t get off to a good start with their energy defensively and Utah got into a rhythm. "There?re no excuses. We?ve got to bounce back tomorrow night and play much harder, play smarter, play tougher, and that?s what I expect." Tags: NBA Los Angeles Clippers Dallas Mavericks

NCAA Basketball Gambling: Indiana exposed on defense in Big Ten play

Indiana -4.5 at Nebraska O/U 131 Despite dropping back-to-back games, Indiana isn't going into panic mode as it travels to face Nebraska tonight. Despite some impressive wins this season, the Hoosiers continue to be exposed on the defensive end of the floor. Through six games in league play, IU ranks 12th in points per possession allowed (1.12), 11th in effective FG% (54.9) and 10th in 2-point FG% defense (55.3). The numbers should improve with their next three games against offensive challenged Nebraska, Penn State and Wisconsin. But the Hoosiers have built a rep in the betting markets and if they want to continue to win games (and cover pointspreads) they'll need to improve on the stopping the opposition. ?I think this is an important game because it?s the next game,? said IU freshman Cody Zeller. ?We?re just going to take this one game at a time whether we?re on a big winning streak or on a two-game losing streak. I think every game is important to us.? ?We?ve had two tough losses and now we have to bounce back from them,? Oladipo said. ?The most important game is our next one and that?s (today). We have to come out with an edge and with some energy.? ?Tags: College Basketball Indiana Hoosiers Nebraska Cornhuskers

NFL Playoff Betting News: High-octane offenses drop like flies

Baltimore at New England -7.5 O/U 50.5 Despite all of the offense that took place during the regular season, the postseason has already weeded out two of the top three offenses (Green Bay and New Orleans). The Patriots are the only team remaining but are they on borrowed time or will their situational defense be enough to survive? Don't forget that the Saints, Patriots and Packers ranked 30th, 31st and 32nd respectively against the pass this season. Also note that the New England is just 1-6 ATS in its last seven postseason contests (the lone cover last week vs. Denver). ? Tags: NFL New England Patriots Baltimore Ravens

NBA Handicapping: Dallas Mavericks one of many teams struggling to score

Some startling numbers?on how bad offenses have been in the NBA with a focus on the Dallas Mavericks who shot 35% in last night's ugly 73-70 loss to the Lakers. There are currently 21 teams shooting 45% or worse ? up from last year's 13. Nineteen teams are averaging 96 ppg or less. "Hasn't been there all year," Terry said of a Mavs offense that ranks 21st in scoring at 92.6 points a game and 22nd in field-goal percentage at 43.1. "But defensively, we're doing our job. We just have to make shots. Stay encouraged; defensively we're playing our ass off. We'll get there. Again, it was just an uncharacteristic, off-shooting night for us. I'm not really concerned." "Throughout the season," said Dirk Nowitzki, averaging just 17.9 points on 46.9 percent shooting and 19.2 percent from 3-point range, "I expect a lot of ugly games like that to happen. It's just normal." Tags: NBA Dallas Mavericks

Handicapping the NFL Playoffs: Statistical percentages vs. Betting lines

Quick look at the comparison between Football Outsiders' DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) playoffs odds and CRIS's betting lines. Here are the moneyline to percentage calculations based on CRIS's lines. New England (-350) is 78% to beat Baltimore San Francisco (-135) is 57% to beat New York Here are the odds to win the Super Bowl; moneyline and percentages. New England (+105) 48.7% New York Giants (+240) 29.4% San Francisco (+240) 29.4% Baltimore (+650) 13.3% ? Tags: NFL

NBA Betting Free Pick: Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers

Submitted by Teddy CoversGolden State +2.5 at Cleveland O/U 196.5? Recommendation: Golden State Expect another strong effort out of Golden State tonight as they continue their road trip with a game in Cleveland against the Cavs.? Here?s what forward David Lee said on the eve of the trip: ?If we come back with a losing record from this road trip, it should be a huge disappointment. This is a road trip to places where we need to go take care of business and get three or possibly four victories. I don't see it any other way at this point." But Mark Jackson?s squad started the trip with a complete no-show in Charlotte, blown off the court by the lowly Bobcats.? They were outscored 66-46 before halftime, and never came close to making up the deficit in the final 24 minutes of play.? Forward Dominic McGuire: ?We took it for granted. We came out thinking this was an automatic win?.I don't think it was anything they did. They were hitting shots but ... 38 points for the Bobcats in the first quarter? C'mon." The Warriors bounced back strong against the Pistons on Sunday, coming away with an eight point road win as a 4.5 point underdog.? And their primed to do it again tonight, facing a tired Cleveland squad, playing on the second night of back-2-backs with their ninth consecutive court change as they return home following a grueling seven game road trip.? The Cavs stepped up in the second half to earn a much needed win at Charlotte yesterday, leaving them a tad bit ?fat and happy' here, as evidenced by this quote from head coach Byron Scott: ?I told the guys that if we can come off this seven-game trip with three wins, it?d be pretty good. And we did that. And we had some other close ones, so the road trip pretty much was a success.?? Look for the Cavs to really struggle matching the Warriors intensity this evening, especially without injured sharpshooting starter Anthony Parker in the lineup. Tags: NBA Golden State Warriors Cleveland Cavaliers Teddy Covers

Gambling on the NFL Playoffs: Baltimore prepares for trip to New England

Baltimore at New England -7.5 O/U 50.5 New England has defeated Baltimore six out of the last seven in the series, but the Ravens did win in Foxboro during the 2009 playoffs. Winning on the road during this year's regular season proved to be difficult for Baltimore but the team is instead focusing on its past success on the highway during the postseason (4-3 SU/ATS last four years). "The last four times we played them, going back to `97, all four of them have been wars," Johnson said. "Even though they've won three of the four, they had to earn it. This one is not going to be any different. It's going to be an extremely intense situation and environment, and we're looking forward to it. It's going to be fun." "I think it helps just by the fact that we've done it," he said. "Most of our team has been there before. Those young guys can relate to the older guys, and the older guys can share some wisdom. "But it's not going to impact necessarily this game except to the extent that our guys have been there before and it's certainly not going to be anything new to them. And that's a good thing." ?Tags: NFL Baltimore Ravens New England Patriots

NFL Betting News: Sportsbooks in fear of a New York Giants Super Bowl run

Both offshore and Las Vegas sportsbooks are facing some hefty payouts if the New York Giants continue to win. The Giants right now are our biggest loser if they were to win the Super Bowl,? Kevin Bradley, Bovada sportsbook manager told the New York Post last week. ?Before the first Cowboys-Giants game (in Week 14), we actually had a big customer put down a large bet on the Giants to win both the NFC crown and the Super Bowl,? Chris Andrews, assistant director of Club Cal Neva Sports Books, said. ?This customer took 60-1 for the Super Bowl and 30-1 for the conference." ?If the Giants win the Super Bowl, it will be a very nice score for the betting public,? says David Mason, spokesperson for Panama-based BetOnline.com. ?It seems like no matter the sport, there is just so much public money coming out of the Big Apple, we are more often than not exposed a bit. This year is no different. Even a season like this one, when the Giants had to go down to the wire to even make the playoffs, their faithful bettors always saw value in their long odds.? Tags: NFL New York Giants

Sports Betting Podcast 1-17-2012 with Rob Veno and Erin Rynning

Tags: College Basketball NBA Rob Veno Erin Rynning

Gambling on the NFL Playoffs: San Francisco well aware of different Giants team

The red hot Giants, led by quarterback Eli Manning, look to be a different bunch than the ones that traveled to San Francisco earlier in the year. The 49ers have taken notice. Some quotes and notes here from the Mercury News: "Eli's not throwing many interceptions," said 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown, who had one of the 49ers' two interceptions against Drew Brees in Saturday's 36-32 divisional win over the New Orleans Saints. Manning tallied nine touchdown passes, one interception and 953 yards as the Giants won their past three elimination games: A 31-14 victory over Dallas to clinch the NFC East, a 24-2 rout of the Atlanta Falcons in the wild-card round and Sunday's dethroning of the Packers. Manning had two passes intercepted in the Nov. 13 loss. His fateful 40th attempt was knocked down by lineman Justin Smith's right hand on fourth down with 34 seconds left. "Eli has been money all year," Smith said Monday. "(When) we played him, he was dropping balls in there that only the receiver could get to. It's going to be a tough matchup." Tags: NFL New York Giants San Francisco 49ers

NBA Betting Trends: Chicago Bulls fit strong profile for matchup vs. Phoenix

Pretty impressive betting trend in action tonight in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls off a game in which they allowed more than 100 points* (102-86 loss at Memphis). Over the last two seasons, the Bulls are an amazing 14-3 ATS and 4-13 O/U in this profile. The two 64-point performances came this season. The rest during the 2010-11 season. No line yet on tonight's game against Phoenix ? Derrick Rose currently listed as doubtful. *In regulation Chicago Bulls Betting Results Last Two Season After Allowing 100 points Opponent Points Allowed Bulls ATS Over/Under Phoenix ??? ??? ??? Washington 64 Win Under Memphis 64 Win Under Atlanta 83 Win Under Atlanta 73 Win Under Phoenix 94 Loss Under Sacramento 92 Win Over Washington 79 Win Under Miami 89 Win Under Portland 109 Loss Over Boston 79 Win Under Detroit 92 (OT) Loss Under Philadelphia 76 Win Over Oklahoma City 90 Win Under Denver 98 Win Under Dallas 83 Win Under Boston 110 (OT) Win Over Detroit 91 Win Under Results 86.2 pgg 14-3 ATS 4-13 O/U Tags: NBA Chicago Bulls Phoenix Suns

NBA Handicapping: Phoenix Suns continue to struggle on offense

Phoenix at Chicago Article of Phoenix's struggles on offense this year. The Suns are averaging 11.2 ppg below last year's mark and don't feature a player in the top 50 in scoring. ?I think everyone is going to score more,? said Nash, who posted 20 points and 10 assists despite a sore quadriceps. ?There?s going to be more cohesion. We?ll see more balance, and we?ll see more guys scoring. It?ll get better.? ?We?ve got to have Channing shoot the ball better than he is,? Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. ?JD (Dudley) is starting to come into his own, shoot better and make plays. We?ve just got to get ourselves running and get easy layups. The history of our team and how it has shot well came from how we would get layups and dunks. To be in a half-court situation so often is not good.? ? Tags: NBA Phoenix Suns Chicago Bulls

College Basketball Betting: Analyzing close against the spread results

Submitted by Fairway JayThis is Part I of a series of articles to be posted on college basketball results and the impact against the spread (ATS). I?m often asked about close results and usually emailed, tweeted or text a message about a close win or loss (usually loss). It?s important to understand some of the random variances that can take place in betting sports, and in this case college basketball. Over the course of a college basketball season the average margin of a final score will fall with 8-9 points from the betting line. Over the past few weeks we have suffered our share of close ATS losses, including 0-5 the past three days for results that landed within five points of the betting line. Along with some service selections, my personal wagering has resulted in a 0-5 recent run for games that landed within one point of the betting line.? Yet despite some recent less than desired results, we?ve been on quite a run on our top-rated Big Drive plays. Since late November the record stands 25-7. Through the winning run and full season, I spend many hours logging and tracking scores, stats and lines. I?ve been tracking scores and documenting the results as it relates to ATS wins and losses. In November I wrote a blog about ATS results. Over the years, I?ve used a 5-point result from the betting line as a pretty solid standard for random ATS results. Over the course of a college basketball season, approx. 40-42% of the games and final scores will land within five points of the betting line. In the opening month of the season covering over 580 lined games, 34.6% of the CBB games fell within five points of the betting line, proving that early season college basketball can be more beatable as the oddsmaker is not as sharp as it relates to final scores ATS. Understand that betting lines move based on market activity, and I?m usually grading from the closing line. But the results shown would still be close even to the opening line. In the month of December, there were over 660 CBB games. Of those games, 41.4% landed within five points of the betting line, and exactly 10% of the games landed within one point of the line; which is usually the average over the course of a CBB season. Regardless of your level of handicapping ability, long term results of these close ATS games should produce close to 50% ATS winners and losers. If you?re results are more losers than winners on these close ATS results, then you?re just having a negative random variance and unfortunate results. Along with line moves, bookmaker juice and other challenges in preparing to win and beat the bookmaker, it can be frustrating if you are suffering too many close ATS losses. We?ve experienced that first hand recently, going 5-13 on results that have landed within five points of the betting line in the month of January.?? We?ll review January results in Part II along with additional ATS parameters as we continue to evaluate the results, stats and match-ups, and work to become even more proficient in point spread prognosis in our never-ending pursuit of profit. Check back throughout each week for additional articles, analysis, insight and ?Fairway Forecasts? along with the best sports betting information at sportsmemo.com/blogs. Fairway Jay is a recognized leader and one of the sports industries insightful point spread prognosticators. He?s having another winning and profitable season in 2011-12 highlighted by 16-units of profit in December alone (1 and 2 unit scale). Fairway Jay?s current top-play Big Drive run is a bankroll-building 25-7 including 11-3 on his top-rated 20* Big Drive plays. Fairway Jay has won 67% of his top-rated Big Drive selections this college basketball season. Fairway Jay is a proven pro and performer in the college basketball game with a 5-year stretch of consecutive winning seasons and profits that placed him on the leaderboard among the nation?s top college basketball handicappers. With documented success and experience to battle with the best and beat the bookmaker, join Fairway Jay on the college basketball court and profit from his experience and well-rounded game. Follow on Twitter: @FairwayJay Tags: College Basketball Fairway Jay

NCAA Basketball Gambling: Michigan looks for three straight over rival Michigan State

Michigan State -1 at Michigan O/U 131.5 Notes on tonight's Michigan State-Michigan matchup in Ann Arbor. Both teams come in off of losses ?MSU fell at Northwestern 81-74 and UM was blown out at Iowa, 75-59. The Wolverines has some pretty strong ATS trends in their favor: 15-4 ATS run vs. Big Ten, 27-8 ATS run as an underdog, 15-6 ATS run at home. Michigan won both meetings last season, 70-63 (-1) and 61-57 (+11). ? Tags: College Basketball Michigan Wolverines Michigan State Spartans

College Basketball Free Play: Maryland Terrapins at Florida State Seminoles

Submitted by Andrew LangeMaryland at Florida State? Recommendation: Maryland +6.5 1st half Beating North Carolina at home wasn't that monumental of an achievement for Florida State ? despite what the Seminoles? student body showcased after the buzzer. However, hanging 90 on the Tar Heels in route to a 33-point victory is no doubt going to make FSU's players feel good about themselves. Letdowns happen all of the time in college hoops and the odds of that occurring to the Seminoles ? for at least parts of tonight's game ? are pretty good. I will say that of all of the potential letdown victims, it is the teams with elite level defenses which are typically the least susceptible ? something that FSU without question has. The one thing the Seminoles don't have though is the ability to consistently knock down shots. Against a majority of the better teams on their schedule, the Seminoles failed to top 1.0 point per possession. Maryland is a different squad than it was at the start of the year. After adjusting some to first-year head coach Mark Turgeon and going to battle with a full complement of players, we've seen the Terps play some competitive basketball with 9 out of 10 wins (lone loss, 79-74 at NC State). They take a big step up in class defensively against FSU but this is a scrappy enough team to hang around. Look for the home side to come out a little flat as we make a play on the underdog in the first half.? Tags: College Basketball Maryland Terrapins Florida State Seminoles Andrew Lange

College Basketball Betting: Kentucky Wildcats struggle to cover pointspreads

Submitted by Andrew LangeTypically, the best teams in college basketball post against the spread records around the .500 mark. They obviously win a lot which is correlated with covering spreads but on the same token, the extra "tax" and attraction to bettors often keeps them from putting up great ATS numbers. Take last year from example. North Carolina (16-17 ATS), Duke (20-16 ATS), Kansas (18-17 ATS), Pittsburgh (15-14 ATS), Syracuse (15-18 ATS), Ohio State (18-16 ATS) and Kentucky (16-16 ATS) were all right around the .500 mark. There were some expectations, most notably UConn (23-12 ATS), but the Huskies came from way off the grid to go 10-1 ATS during the postseason. But this year, something odd is taking place. Kentucky, which is considered to be one of the best teams in the country, is a horrific 3-13-1/4-12-1/4-13 ATS (depending on what numbers you go by). Based on one set of numbers I saw, the Wildcats haven't covered a game since November 19 ? after starting the season 3-0 ATS. So why has Kentucky been such a poor spread team? No question, there is a tax tacked onto the Cats ? but the same can be said about a lot teams. But unlike those teams, Kentucky is young, and winning games by margin ? which often takes a full 40 minutes of effort with already inflated lines ? can be difficult with such a young cast of characters. The Cats have missed out more than a handful of covers by laying off the pedal late, not to mention they were wildly overpriced in their first two road games in the SEC. I think some of it can be attributed head coach John Calipari and his emphasis on development and gearing his young teams for the postseason. Unlike other squads, he doesn't have multiple years to develop team chemistry and teach these kids the little things involved in being a champion. He's handed a ton of inexperience and little to no time to teach them how to win. And the learning process, which we are witnessing right now, is forced to take place in games, rather than in practice or the offseason. As a result, Kentucky is winning a lot of games on sheer talent alone, which is a big reason why they've faltered against the spread at such a high rate. And I've seen enough of Calipari to know that close wins and losses are almost a welcome sight as they better prepare his teams for a Final Four run. I think moving forward, the Cats are going to stumble upon a handful of ATS victories but their struggles are no fluke if you break down all of the factors involved. Tags: College Basketball Kentucky Wildcats Andrew Lange

NCAA Basketball Betting Trends: 71% of Missouri Valley games have gone OVER the total

Submitted by Andrew LangeBuilding on the blog we posted the other day about the increase in scoring in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. The MVC has long been known as a grind-it-out league that on occasion sees a team or two willing to play up-tempo. Below is a chart of the team-by-team yearly pace rankings according to Ken Pom. As you can see, from 2008-10, the MVC's average rank was between 233 and 241. This season however, we've seen that number climb to 173 as half the league ranks 143 or higher. I think we'll see the overall pace numbers dip once these teams play more conference games which brings us to our next point. Amazingly, 25 of the MVC's 35 league games have gone over the total thus far. The only two teams to not trend towards the OVER in league play are ironically the league's two top offense, Creighton and Wichita State. And only one team (Drake, 6-9 O/U) has trended UNDER from a season long perspective. Missouri Valley Conference Tempo Numbers Team 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012 O/U MVC Bradley 67 216 212 166 36 6-1 Creighton 159 84 206 255 71 3-4 Drake 271 274 295 206 143 5-2 Evansville 254 121 202 139 140 5-2 Illinois State 290 239 226 310 277 6-1 Indiana State 193 256 237 190 223 6-1 Missouri State 162 280 250 309 235 5-2 Northern Iowa 328 318 343 340 291 4-3 Southern Illinois 305 229 172 263 131 7-0 Wichita State 309 291 254 231 183 3-4 Average Rank 234 231 240 241 173 25-10 Tags: College Basketball Andrew Lange

NBA Betting Alert: Bogut slated to return for Milwaukee Bucks today

Submitted by Otto SportsMilwaukee at Philadelphia -9 O/U 185 Andrew Bogut returns to the lineup on MLK day for the Milwaukee Bucks after suffering from concussion symptoms. The starting center is so important to the Bucks from a defensive standpoint, something head coach Scott Skiles has discussed on more than one occasion during the season. Note the Bucks are 0-5 without Bogut to date. Here?s a quote from Skiles in a recent article: "In some of our better defensive stretches, it's because Andrew has erased some mistakes," Skiles said of Bogut. "And not just with a shot block but with his presence around the painted area. It brings out some of the flaws in our overall team defense when he's not out there." His return along with an increased effort on the defensive end after an embarrassing loss to Dallas last time out should see Milwaukee at their best. And they?ll have a willing partner in a defensive showdown. Philadelphia is the NBA?s top ranked defensive efficiency team, ranking No. 1 in field goal and three point percentage allowed and No. 2 in points per game allowed. Look for this game to be a low scoring tilt.? Tags: NBA Milwaukee Bucks Philadelphia 76ers Marty Otto

NBA Betting News and Notes 1-16-2012

Submitted by Teddy CoversWe're only three weeks into the young NBA season, yet we're already seeing teams morph away from how they looked earlier in the campaign. Let's take a look around the league, concentrating on key notes and quotes, the type of information that has the potential to make us some money in the weeks to come. Detroit ? Pistons starting forward Tayshaun Prince has had a fascinating career arc. He?s been on a championship team in 2004 and returned to the Finals again in 2005. Prince has helped his team reach the Eastern Conference Finals six times. He?s also played for six different head coaches in Detroit, including their current head honcho, Lawrence Frank. But with a 3-10 record to open the season including four consecutive non-competitive home losses, Prince has been vocal about his frustrations, just weeks after inking an extension to stay with Detroit for the next four years. Prince: ?We got to figure out a way to get in the paint a lot more. Right now, we?re confused on both ends and we?re settling for jump shots. I know myself in general, I?ve taken shots that really haven?t come in the flow. You?re kind of forced to take shots you really don?t want to take. They?re not rhythm shots. That?s when it becomes frustrating.? After the John Kuester coaching disaster led to a near player revolt last year, the change to Frank was supposed to be an easy, automatic upgrade. Prince doesn?t seem to think so, at least when it comes to Detroit?s on court improvement (or lack thereof).? ?At some point, even though you?re in a struggling process of trying to learn, you want to see consistent signs, and you?re not seeing those signs right now.? The hiring of Frank hasn?t resulted in any sort of attendance boost. When Detroit was competing for championships, they were selling out the 22,000+ seats at the Palace of Auburn Hills every night; a streak of 259 consecutive games. This year, the Pistons have averaged less than 12,000 fans per game, dead last in the NBA in attendance. And, as Prince alluded, the team is struggling mightily learning Frank?s systems on both ends of the court. The head coach raised some eyebrows with this quote: ?Not to be insensitive, everyone wants a baby, few want to go through the pregnancy. Guess what, this is going to be hard?. I?ve got the utmost respect for women, O.K. But my point is, there are going to be labor pains.? Golden State ? Watch out of the Warriors on their current East Coast swing. Golden State went on the road trip with high expectations, facing off against a quartet of bottom feeders: Charlotte, Detroit, Cleveland and New Jersey.? Forward David Lee on the eve of the trip: ?If we come back with a losing record from this road trip, it should be a huge disappointment. This is a road trip to places where we need to go take care of business and get three or possibly four victories. I don't see it any other way at this point." But Mark Jackson?s squad started the trip with a complete no-show in Charlotte, blown off the court by the lowly Bobcats. They were outscored 66-46 before halftime, and never came close to making up the deficit in the final 24 minutes of play. Forward Dominic McGuire: ?We took it for granted. We came out thinking this was an automatic win?.I don't think it was anything they did. They were hitting shots but ... 38 points for the Bobcats in the first quarter? C'mon." Coach Jackson: ?We didn?t show up. As a coach, that?s on me. Somehow my guys didn?t come out ready to play. We jumped on them early and took our foot off the gas. We thought it was going to be easy. ? This type of effort cannot be accepted.? The Warriors certainly played hard against the Pistons on Sunday, coming away with an eight point road win as a 4.5 point underdog. Coach Jackson: ?We defended, we didn?t make excuses, and we didn?t get frustrated. It was just a great performance overall?.. I think the guys felt challenged, and first and foremost we are a defensive-minded team. We started to get stops and it affected our offense.? Let?s see if that defensive effort carries over to the remainder of their trip. New York ? The Knicks enter the week on a run of six straight Unders, only reaching 100 and allowing 100 once apiece during that nine day span. The Knicks haven?t been known for playing any defense at all since Patrick Ewing left for Seattle and Jeff Van Gundy abruptly resigned 19 games into the 2001-2002 season. And head coach Mike D?Antoni hasn?t been known for coaching a defense-first style at any point of his decade long NBA career. As Vince Lombardi might say, ?What the hell is going on out there?? New York won a game last week against the 76ers when they didn?t make a single basket for the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. They missed their last nine shots from the floor and committed nine turnovers; managing only seven free throws down the stretch. But they held Philly to 37 percent shooting for the game and gave up only ten assists on the Sixers 32 made baskets. Carmelo Anthony: ?We're not worried about our offense. That will come. Right now, we're focused on our defense. That's where we need to be. We're committed to doing it.? ?Melo, explaining how last year?s playoff sweep at the hands of the Celtics has left his team hungry for defensive improvement: ?I think that's in the back of our minds. For me personally, I was on a personal vendetta. I get tired of hearing it.? Anthony continued: ?I think most importantly that once we got Tyson [Chandler] everybody was saying he was the key to the defensive changes. But it was going to start with myself and Amare to help him out. We can't rely on Tyson to do everything out there. As long as I'm out there putting the effort forth, as long as Amare is doing the same thing, going for the loose balls, rebounding, talking, communicating, we'll be a great defensive team. I can see us moving in that path." Rookie point guard Iman Shumpert moved into the starting lineup just as the Knicks were transforming defensively. ?When I came in here, people were telling me that I was going to have to change the attitude of this team. But when I stepped onto the floor, it was Amare and Melo who came at me, telling me, 'You're going to have to defend.' So it was clear to me that those guys made the change in their minds at the end of the last year. Obviously, during the lockout, they made a commitment to themselves that they were going to play defense and they were going to make sure everybody on this team played defense. So I just came in and did what I normally do. Somehow, it seems like it's starting to click right now." 76ers head coach Doug Collins certainly noticed New York?s defensive improvement.? ?I thought what [the Knicks] did tonight was, by far, the best defense I've seen played all season long. They're big and strong. Their guards got into us. I take my hat off to them. Very impressive." Philadelphia ? If the playoffs started today, the 76ers would be the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, behind only Chicago. Doug Collins team was a pointspread juggernaut down the stretch last year, consistently undervalued by the betting markets. With a 10-2 ATS mark so far this year, at first glance, it sure looks that the markets are still undervaluing the Sixers on a nightly basis. But when we dig underneath the surface, we see that Philadelphia?s SU and ATS records may be more than a tad bit misleading. First, we?ve got to look at Philly?s early season schedule. To say that it?s been a weak slate of foes is something of an understatement. The 76ers have beaten the Wizards twice, the Kings, Raptors, Pistons, Hornets, Warriors, Suns and Pacers for their nine wins. Of that grouping, only Indiana is a likely playoff team. So far, all we?ve seen Philly do is beat up on weaklings. And when we take a closer look at the weaklings Philly has been beating, their schedule looks even weaker. They beat Golden State without their best offensive player, Monta Ellis. Against the Hornets, New Orleans was without their best defensive wing, Trevor Ariza. They beat Detroit without Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Rodney Stuckey in the lineup. The win over Indiana came when the Pacers were without Danny Granger and George Hill. Kings leading scorer Marcus Thornton was on the sidelines in street clothes in Philly?s win over Sacramento. Basically, the entirely of Philly?s red hot 9-1 SU and ATS run in their last ten games came against bottom feeders with significant injury concerns. There?s no question that Philly is pretty good, but there are real questions about whether the Sixers current status as the second best team in the East will leave them with any pointspread value as their schedule toughens up in the weeks and months to follow. Tags: NBA Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Teddy Covers

College Basketball Gambling Preview: Baylor Bears at Kansas Jayhawks

Submitted by Fairway JayKansas and Baylor battle in a key Big Xll game Monday night with both teams 4-0 in conference play. They should put on a great show at raucous Allen Fieldhouse, where Kansas is 60-1 SU the last 3+ years. Baylor?s collection of big men may be the best in the nation with a long, athletic group of forwards and some top NBA prospects including sophomore Perry Jones lll and freshman Quincy Miller. Kansas counters with a 7-foot center and the league?s No. 1 rebounder, junior Thomas Robinson. I saw Baylor (17-0) play West Virginia in December at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Bears? athleticism and length is impressive and they?remain one of just three undefeated teams in the country. Here is a statistical profile of tonight?s top game on ESPN. League stats show the following. ??Baylor leads the league in scoring at 79 ppg while Kansas has the league?s No. 1 scoring defense allowing just 57 ppp? ??Baylor is No. 2 in scoring defense at 62 ppg? ??Kansas (+18) and Baylor (+16) lead the Big Xll in scoring margin? ??Kansas (34%) and Baylor (38%) lead the Big Xll in field goal defense? ??Baylor?leads the league in 3-point shooting (42%) and Kansas is No. 2 in 3-point shooting defense? ??Kansas (7.0) and Baylor (5.0) lead the league in blocked shots per game? ??Baylor leads the league in assists (17) and steals (9) per game? ??Both teams are +8 in rebounding margin to lead the league Despite a rising total, let?s play this game under the total as a Free Fairway Forecast. Fairway Jay is a recognized leader and one of the sports industries insightful point spread prognosticators. He?s having another winning and profitable season in 2011-12 highlighted by 16-units of profit in December alone (1 and 2 units scale). Fairway Jay?s current top-play Big Drive run is an incredible bankroll-building 25-6 including 11-2 on his top-rated 20* Big Drive plays. Fairway Jay has won 68% of his top-rated Big Drive selections this college basketball season. Fairway Jay is a proven pro and performer in the college basketball game with a 5-year stretch of consecutive winning seasons and profits that placed him on the leaderboard among the nation?s top college basketball handicappers. With documented success and experience to battle with the best and beat the bookmaker, join Fairway Jay on the college basketball court and profit from his experience and well-rounded game. Follow on Twitter: @FairwayJay Tags: College Basketball Baylor Bears Kansas Jayhawks Fairway Jay

Sports Betting Podcast 1-16-2012 with Brent Crow and Teddy Covers

Tags: College Basketball NBA Brent Crow Teddy Covers

NBA Handicapping: Bobcats go small ball with Augustine and Walker

Cleveland at Charlotte -2 O/U 194 The Bobcats saw positive results in Saturday's 112-100 win over Golden State when they put DJ Augustine and Kemba Walker in the backcourt and moved Boris Diaw to the bench. Head coach Paul Silas noted the team played much faster and with more energy. Obviously it was just one performance (against the Warriors) and the Augustine-Walker duo could cause issues on the defensive end, but it was a rare bright spot in what has been a dismal season for the Bobcats. "We weren't just standing around with no energy level," Silas described. "(Saturday) we weren't just settling for jump shots. We were really passing it inside." "Defense can be an issue. We'll be dealing with larger" shooting guards, Silas said of his new lineup, which faces the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday in a 2 p.m. Martin Luther King Day matinee at Time Warner Cable Arena. "But Kemba is tough-minded; he's not going to back down. I thought he did a great job on Monta Ellis." Tags: NBA Charlotte Bobcats Cleveland Cavliers

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Source: http://www.sportsmemo.com/blogs/view/?name=NFL-Playoff-Gambling:-California-bettors-show-support-for-49ers-at-Reno-sportsbooks&blog_id=9012

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