Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Harris scored a game-high 24 points as he led the Massachusetts Minutemen to a 59-56 win over the Charlotte 49ers in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Harris finished the night shooting 5-of-13 from the field and 11-of-12 at the free-throw line for 11th-seeded UMass (12-19).

The sixth-seeded 49ers (19-12) were paced by An'Juan Wilderness who tallied 11 points, followed by Ian Andersen with 10 off the bench. Derrio Green and Dijuan Harris combined to make just 3-of-15 shots from the field and missed all nine chances beyond the arc in the setback.

The Minutemen shot a mere 31.3 percent from the field in the first half, yet the squad led by as many as seven points in the period and held a 31-29 advantage at the break.

In the second half UMass again had trouble finding the mark from the floor, converting a woeful 33.3 percent and 1-of-11 behind the three-point line, but with 13-of-16 shooting at the free-throw line the visitors were able to secure the three-point win.

The difference in the game came at the charity stripe where Charlotte, which made just 5-of-26 beyond the arc, was outscored 18-5.

With the victory the Minutemen move on to the quarterfinal round on Friday and will face off against the third-seeded Richmond Spiders in Atlantic City.

Final Score: St. Bonaventure 83, Duquesne 71

St. Bonaventure, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Matthews converted 6-of-8 behind the three-point line and finished with a game-high 28 points as he led St. Bonaventure to an 83-71 win over the Duquesne Dukes in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Also scoring in double figures for the eighth-seeded Bonnies (15-15) were Andrew Nicholson and Jonathan Hall with 25 and 10 points, respectively, with each clearing seven rebounds as well.

The ninth-seeded Dukes (16-15) were paced by Damian Saunders who registered a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the losing cause. B.J. Monteiro contributed 13 points and five boards off the bench and Jason Duty accounted for 11 points.

Duquesne suffered just 1-of-12 shooting behind the three-point line in the first half, taking the squad down to 40.6 percent from the floor overall, en route to a 34-30 deficit at the break.

In the second half the Bonnies not only made 53.8 percent from the floor, but also 6-of-8 beyond the arc and 15-of-18 at the charity stripe, cruising to the 12-point home win.

St. Bonaventure won the game at the free-throw line where it outscored the Dukes by a margin of 24-8.

With the win the Bonnies now head to Atlantic City and the quarterfinals of the tourney where they will face off against top-seeded Temple on Friday afternoon.

Final Score: Dayton 70, George Washington 60

Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Johnson scored 16 points, leading four players in double figures, as the Dayton Flyers posted a 70-60 win over the George Washington Colonials in the first round of the 34th annual Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Also scoring in double figures for the seventh-seeded Flyers (20-11) were Rob Lowery and Chris Johnson with 11 points apiece and Paul Williams 10 points as he made 7-of-8 at the free-throw line.

The 10th-seeded Colonials (16-14) were paced by Damian Hollis who dropped in a game-high 19 points. The starting five for George Washington combined to make just 9-of-26 from the floor in the setback.

The Colonials ran out to a quick nine-point advantage in the first half, but the home team fought back, hit on 6-of-14 behind the three-point line in the period and registered a 37-33 lead at the break.

In the second half the Flyers pushed their lead as high as 13 points, securing the 10-point victory with 17-of-21 shooting at the free-throw line.

Dayton, which will now take on second-seeded Xavier in the quarterfinals on Friday evening in Atlantic City, outscored the visitors at the free-throw line by a 26-10 margin.

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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship

(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

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MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts US credit cards needs.

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.