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2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament PreviewNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The competition level will be through the roof in Nashville this week, as all 12 SEC teams will compete in the 51st annual conference tournament. On the line is an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the majority of the teams in the league are well aware that their hopes of earning a ticket to the "Big Dance" depend solely on winning this event. Kentucky has won more SEC Tournament titles than all of the other conference members combined, and the Wildcats enter this year's field as the top seed from the East Division. The Wildcats will attempt to capture their first crown since 2004, but they figure to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament regardless of their finish in this event. The East Division is considerably stronger than the West, as it can be argued that the best four teams in the SEC all come from the East. Vanderbilt (E-2), Tennessee (E-3) and Florida (E-4) are all capable of knocking off Kentucky and winning this tournament. Vanderbilt and Tennessee have the necessary records to reach the NCAA Tournament without winning this league tourney. In regard to the West, even top-seeded Mississippi State has a shaky resume' and needs to cut down the nets in Nashville. The lone team in the field that has never won the SEC Tournament is South Carolina. The first round of this event begins on Thursday, as the third through sixth seeds in both divisions will be in action. The top two seeds in both divisions will open play on Friday, March 12th, in the quarterfinal round, and after semifinal action on Saturday, the championship game will be played on "Selection Sunday". The first of four first-round games pits the Alabama Crimson Tide (W-4) against the South Carolina Gamecocks (E-5). Alabama has won this tournament six times, the second most in the league, but the last crown was captured way back in 1991. Still, the Tide is 57-43 in this event. South Carolina, as mentioned, is still in search of its first title, and the Gamecocks are 16-18 in SEC Tournament affairs. Alabama beat South Carolina by nine points in the only regular-season meeting between the teams. The Crimson Tide depend heavily on their defense to win games, as they are second in the conference in scoring defense (64.6 ppg). Mikhail Torrance (15.4 ppg, 5.3 apg) and JaMychal Green (14.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) are clearly the two best players on the roster for 'Bama. As for South Carolina, it possess the league's leading scorer in Devan Downey (22.6 ppg), and the senior is also handing out 3.5 apg. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks are last in the league in free-throw percentage, assists and rebounding margin. Tennessee (E-3) and LSU (W-6) are slated to do battle on Thursday afternoon in what may be the most lopsided matchup of the first round. The Vols have won the SEC Tournament four times, but it has been 31 years since their last title. Last season, Tennessee reached the championship game, only to fall to Mississippi State in a 64-61 final. As for LSU, it captured its lone SEC crown back in 1980, so it can certainly relate to Tennessee's long wait for a championship. The Vols and Tigers played just once during the regular season, and Tennessee escaped Baton Rouge with a five-point win. The Vols own the second-best scoring margin in the SEC (+9.8 ppg), surprising considering the fact that they don't possess a single player ranked in the top 20 in the league in scoring. Tennessee is the top team in the conference when it comes to defending the three-point shot. As for LSU, it finished 2-14 versus SEC opponents during the regular season, but the team did close out the campaign with a victory and may enter this tournament with some confidence. Unfortunately, the Tigers completely lack depth and are the lowest-scoring team in the SEC (61.9 ppg) despite boasting two of the league's top 13 scorers, including Tasmin Mitchell (17.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg). The Florida Gators (E-4), will do battle with Auburn (W-5) in the first round. A 20-win season used to assure teams from major conferences a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but teams are playing more games than ever, so Florida needs to play well in this event to punch its ticket to the "Big Dance". The Gators own a 32-41 all-time record in this event, but they captured three straight titles from 2005 through 2007, so the majority of their success has been recent. As for Auburn, it has struggled in the SEC Tournament, posting a 27-46 record, and the program's lone championship came back in 1985. The Gators beat the Tigers by eight points in the only meeting between the teams during the regular season. The fact that Florida is able to field a starting lineup with five double-digit scorers is impressive. The Gators are last in the league in blocked shots but tops in assist/turnover ratio. Auburn is the worst defensive team in the SEC, allowing 74.0 ppg on 45.5 percent shooting by opponents. The Tigers possess the sixth and seventh ranked scorers in the league in DeWayne Reed (16.1 ppg) and Tay Waller (15.9 ppg). Rounding out the pairings in the first round will be the Arkansas Razorbacks (W-3) and the Georgia Bulldogs (E-6). Arkansas is 20-17 all-time in this event and won its lone title back in 2000. As for Georgia, it has two championships to its credit, the most recent of which was earned in 2008. The Razorbacks beat the Bulldogs by four points on the road in the only regular-season meeting between the clubs. Arkansas is ranked 11th out of 12 SEC teams in scoring defense, and the team is last in three-point percentage defense. Rotnei Clarke leads the Razorbacks with 15.5 ppg, and Marshawn Powell is close behind with 15.1 ppg. Georgia's top performer is Trey Thompkins (17.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg), who ranks second in the SEC in scoring and fourth in rebounding. His Bulldogs are 11th in scoring margin among conference teams, however, and they are last in turnover margin. The winner of the South Carolina/Alabama matchup will advance to the quarterfinal round to face Kentucky. The Wildcats have won this event 25 times and own a 111-22 record in SEC Tournament games. Still, they haven't cut down the nets since 2004 and haven't reached the title game since 2005. Kentucky leads the conference in many statistical categories, including scoring offense (79.9 ppg), scoring margin (+14.4 ppg), field goal percentage (.478), field goal percentage defense (.382), rebounding margin (+9.1 rpg) and assists (14.9 apg). Freshman sensation John Wall is averaging 17.0 ppg to go along with a league-best 6.2 apg, and fellow rookie star DeMarcus Cousins checks in with 15.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 1.8 bpg. Don't forget about Patrick Patterson and his 15.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg. The second quarterfinal game to be played on Friday pits the Ole Miss Rebels (W-2) against either LSU or Tennessee. Ole Miss won its only SEC championship in 1981, and the team's 23-46 conference record is far from impressive. Rebels' standout guard Chris Warren ranks third in the SEC in scoring with 17.2 ppg and ninth in assists (3.4 apg). Ole Miss is second in the league in scoring with 78.4 ppg, and the team shoots the ball efficiently from three- point range. The Rebels are second in assist/turnover ratio and have the talent in place to make a run in this event. Mississippi State (W-1) awaits the winner of the Auburn/Florida matchup, and that quarterfinal matchup figures to be competitive regardless of the pairing. MSU is the defending champion of this event as mentioned, and the program has three titles to its credit. Still, its 25-46 record at this event all-time is poor. The man to watch for the Bulldogs is star forward/center Jarvis Varnado, who recently became the NCAA's all-time leader in blocked shots. In addition to his 4.8 rejections per outing, Varnado also paces the conference in rebounding (10.6 ppg) and is scoring 13.5 ppg as well. Mississippi State is the best defensive team in the league in regard to scoring defense (64.4 ppg), and the club is limiting opponents to 38.4 percent shooting from the field. Dee Bost is a tremendous distributor at point guard who ranks second in the SEC in assists (5.4 apg). The Vanderbilt Commodores (W-2) will play either Georgia or Arkansas in the quarterfinals. Vandy's lone SEC Tournament title was earned way back in 1951, by far the longest drought of any of the teams that have won the crown. The Commodores are 29-47 in the event, but this year's team is one of the best in recent memory. Vanderbilt is the best free-throw shooting team in the conference, and that asset could certainly prove critical in close tournament games. While the Commodores do lack the type of player capable of taking a game over at the offensive end, there are three double-digit scorers in the fold. Jermaine Beal (14.7 ppg), A.J. Ogilvy (13.9 ppg) and Jeffery Taylor (13.9 ppg) provide plenty of balance to the lineup.
<< 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is the usual suspects that are destined to do the most damage in Las Vegas this week, as the members of the Mountain West Conference descend on the Thomas & Mack Center for the 11th annual conference t
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<< 2010 Big West Conference Tournament Preview
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2010 Big Ten Conference Tournament Preview >>
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What Is the Point Spread?What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?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. How to Read Point SpreadsNew 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:
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Sportsbook Betting LinesWho Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error. “You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said. “The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10). How the Opening Line Is MadeThe opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades. Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias. The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line. Why Sports Betting Lines ChangeOnce the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action. Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite. Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.” To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds. |
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