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01/27/2007 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big 12 standings meet this afternoon in Lawrence, as the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks host the Colorado Buffaloes in conference action from the Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks are sitting in a four-way tie atop the Big 12 at 4-1. The team distanced itself from its only league loss of the season, a 69-64 setback at Texas Tech, with an 82-56 pasting of Baylor in Waco on Wednesday.
The Buffaloes have just one conference win in six tries and have dropped two straight games and five of their last six overall. The team was home on Wednesday, but suffered a 14-point loss to Missouri.
Kansas holds a 111-39 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado and has won seven straight meetings coming into this contest.
When a team is averaging just 68.2 ppg and allowing a little more than 10 points more per outing (78.8 ppg), it isn't hard to figure out why wins are hard to come by. The Buffs are shooting a mere .403 from the floor, with the woes continuing from long range as well (.278). Richard Roby is without a doubt, the team's top option at the offensive end, averaging 16.7 ppg. He is followed in the scoring column by Xavier Silas and Dominique Coleman, who add 11.3 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. In the loss to the Tigers this week, Silas led three players in double digits with 16 points. Freshman Jeremy Williams scored a career-high 15 points, while Roby notched 11, despite shooting just 4-of-12 from the field.
Despite being one of the youngest teams in the conference, Kansas is getting the job done at both ends of the court and is enjoying a +17.3 scoring margin. The team is shooting .485 from the floor, leading to 76.8 ppg. Defensively, Kansas is allowing a mere 59.5 ppg, on well under 40 percent shooting (.372). Sophomore Brandon Rush leads four Jayhawks in double figures with 13.7 ppg. Fellow sophomore Mario Chalmers and freshman Darrell Arthur are tied for second with 11.5 ppg, while yet another sophomore, Julian Wright adds 11.4 ppg, while leading the team on the boards (8.0 rpg). Kansas made light work of Baylor this week, as the team led by 22 points at halftime. KU shot 50 percent from the floor and just over 47 percent from behind the arc (8-of-17) in the game. Rush led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Wright added 16 points and six boards, while freshman Sherron Collins came off the bench to tally 13 points in 22 minutes of work.
<< Scorching Blues hope to end string of misfortune vs. Preds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The resurgent St. Louis Blues hope to end a long winless
drought against the Nashville Predators when the two Central Division
opponents face off tonight at Scottrade Center.
Nashville boasts 13 consecutive
<< Panthers return from break to host dangerous Devils
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After starting up their current road trip with a victory,
the New Jersey Devils will shoot for a Sunshine State sweep when they head to
the BankAtlantic Center tonight to take on the Florida Panthers.
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<< Hurricanes vie for more Capital punishment
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes will try to finish off a sweep of
the Washington Capitals when the two Southeast Division foes wrap up a home-
and-home series this evening at the Verizon Center.
The Hurricanes looked sharp in
<< Wild try to end lengthy drought in Columbus
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild try to keep up their surprising recent
run of road success when they start up a five-game trek tonight against the
Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
The Wild are currently riding a club-r
Cowboys hope to lasso Cyclones >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys
finish up a brief two-game homestand this weekend, as they play host to the
Iowa State Cyclones in Big 12 action from the Gallagher-Iba Arena in
Stillwa
Buckeyes and Spartans meet in key Big Ten bout >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to keep within striking distance of
the red-hot Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten, the fifth-ranked Ohio State
Buckeyes play host to the Michigan State Spartans in league play from Value
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Top-25 battle pits Tar Heels against Wildcats >>
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rare non-conference treat late in the season
takes place in the desert this afternoon, as the fourth-ranked North
Carolina Tar Heels come calling on the 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats in
Tucson.
Sooners attempt to continue mastery of Aggies >>
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sitting in a logjam atop the Big 12
standings, the sixth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies return home to the friendly
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Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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