Hoyas head north to battle Friars

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a statement victory, the Georgetown Hoyas are slated to collide with the Providence Friars this evening in a Big East Conference affair.

Georgetown had lost two of its previous three games heading into Saturday's meeting with a Villanova squad that was undefeated in Big East play and ranked second in the country. Therefore, the Hoyas' 103-90 victory over the Wildcats in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated was certainly surprising. Through 22 outings, Georgetown is now 17-5 overall, including 7-4 in conference.

Providence is in desperate need of a victory tonight, as the team has suffered three consecutive defeats, and the 4-7 Big East record clearly overshadows a 12-11 overall mark. The Friars were most recently in action on Saturday when they fell to Marquette in an 82-79 final.

The Hoyas own a 38-19 series advantage over the Friars, which includes three straight wins over Providence.

Austin Freeman scored 25 points for Georgetown against Villanova on Saturday, and Jason Clark was close behind with 24 on the strength of his 6-of-7 showing from three-point range. Greg Monroe posted 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Julian Vaughn contributed 13 points. The Hoyas shot a stellar 56.3 percent from the field and earned a 39-17 edge in points from the foul line. They did commit 20 turnovers, but the positives clearly outweighed the negatives. Overall this season, Freeman leads the team with 16.8 ppg on 54.5 percent field goal efficiency, including 50 percent from beyond the arc. Monroe adds 15.5 ppg and 9.6 rpg, while Chris Wright adds 14.3 ppg and 4.0 apg. Clark brings 11.1 ppg to the floor for the Hoyas, who are scoring 73.9 ppg while allowing 64.4 ppg to foes. They are shooting 50.5 percent while surrendering 40.8 percent shooting.

Sophomore Jamine Peterson is the best player on the Providence roster, as he is scoring 18.7 ppg to go along with 10.1 rpg. Sharaud Curry checks in with 15.5 ppg and 3.6 apg, and Marshon Brooks contributes 14.3 ppg. The Friars are generating 82.3 ppg while surrendering 79.0 ppg to opponents. In the most recent outing against Marquette, Peterson scored 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Curry pitched in 23 points on the strength of a 5-of-9 effort from three-point range, and Bilal Dixon posted 13 points and 14 rebounds. Despite the efforts of those players and a 39-29 rebounding advantage, the Friars could not overcome shaky defense, as they permitted the Golden Eagles to shoot 51.7 percent from the floor.

Bookmaket NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Berdych, Dent victorious in San Jose
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and unseeded American Taylor Dent were first-round winners Monday at the $600,000 SAP Open. Dent topped fellow countryman Alex Bogomolov Jr, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on the indoor hardco

<< Mavs send Warriors to ninth straight loss; Ellis hurts knee
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Terry made 6-of-9 three-point tries, finishing with a season-high 36 points, along with nine assists and six rebounds, as Dallas took control in the fourth quarter in a 127-117 victory over Go

<< Gasol carries short-handed Lakers over Spurs
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol had a spectacular all-around game with 21 points, 19 rebounds, a season-high eight assists and five blocked shots, pacing the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-89 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

<< Ducks win 10th in a row at home, snap LA's victory streak
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry had a goal and two assists to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-2 win over Los Angeles and snap the Kings' franchise- best nine-game winning streak. Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an

<< James, Westbrook take home NBA weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending Februar

Alabama visits Kentucky in SEC action >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide invade Rupp Arena this evening for an SEC clash with the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Alabama is a respectable 13-10 overall, but that record is overshadowed by a 3-6 mark versus l

Illini and Badgers square off in Big Ten brawl >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini carry a four-game win streak into tonight's Big Ten Conference battle with the 11th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, who are tough to beat in Madison. Illinois has quietly gotten itself in

Ranked foes meet in Big Ten battle >>
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans will try to keep their slim hold on the top spot in the Big Ten tonight, as they host the sixth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. After opening their Big T

Vols and 'Dores duke it out in pivotal SEC clash >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will take on the 22nd-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores this evening with an SEC battle and state bragging rights on the line. Tennessee has won its last three games to move to

Pacers, Bulls clash at Conseco Fieldhouse >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Chicago Bulls squad that's struggled on the road for much of this season will try to turn around its historic lack of success at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse in tonight's Central Division clash with the Indiana Pacers.

Betting the NFL preseason

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.