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02/12/2012 - Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines will try to make it 15 in a row at home, as they host the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten Conference battle at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.
This is the first of two scheduled meetings this season between these two teams, and the 158th matchup between Illinois and Michigan in history. The Fighting Illini hold an 85-72 lead in the rivalry, after they split the season series in 2010-2011.
Illinois comes into this bout on a two-game losing streak after suffering an 84-71 setback to Indiana on Thursday night. The loss dropped the Fighting Illini's overall record to 16-8, and made its Big Ten record 5-6, which has them tied for sixth place in the standings. Head coach Bruce Weber could not have been too disappointed with his team's offensive performance against the Hoosiers though, as it shot 52 percent from the field. Illinois is being outscored slightly by its Big Ten brethren this season, as it averages 64.2 ppg while permitting 66.2 ppg.
The Illini are one of a select group of teams that has three quality players who can be relied upon to put up big numbers. Brandon Paul is the team's leading scorer with an average of 15.0 ppg, and he also averages a team-best 3.2 apg. Paul had an unbelievable performance in Illinois' upset of Ohio State last month as he scored 43 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor. Paul has scored in double figures in 13 straight games. Meyers Leonard (13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg) adds frontcourt depth as he is one of the top centers in the Big Ten, while D.J. Richardson (12.5 ppg) joins Paul in the backcourt to give Illinois one of the best guard duos in the league.
Michigan head coach John Beilein led his team to a 62-46 home victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Wednesday to stay just 1 1/2 games back of first place in the conference. The Wolverines own an impressive 18-7 overall record, which includes an 8-4 mark in league play. The Wolverines put forth a stellar shooting performance against Nebraska, knocking down 52.2 percent of their field goal attempts, which included an 11-of-24 effort from long range. The Wolverines provide a challenge for their opponents as they allow a mere 60.4 ppg, which is fourth-best in the league coming into the weekend.
Michigan has one of the best backcourts in the nation as Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Trey Burke both have the ability to take over a game. Hardaway is the team's leading scorer with an average of 14.3 ppg, but the sophomore guard has been struggling lately, as he has gone a mere 4-of-21 from the field to score a total of 10 points in the last two games. Hardaway has a big impact every time he steps on the floor, whether he is scoring or not, due to his athleticism, which he utilizes at both ends. Despite being a freshman, Burke is third in the conference in assists (4.9 apg) and second on the team in scoring (14.0 ppg). Jordan Morgan leads Michigan on the boards with 5.5 rpg, and Zack Novak is a third-scoring option as he is netting just under 10 ppg.
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Cabrera-Bello finished at 18-under-par 270, one stroke ahead of Lee West
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Mo Joong-
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Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniela Hantuchova defended her
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The third-seeded Hantuchova was defeated in the first set by the fourth-seeded
Kiri
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Hyogo, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ivo Karlovic defeated Go Soeda in the final
match as Croatia downed host Japan, 3-2, to advance in the Davis Cup.
Kei Nishikori had taken down Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to tie the match
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Bulls aim to continue road success in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East-leading Chicago Bulls shoot for their sixth
straight win when they finish a grueling nine-game road trip at TD Garden vs.
the Boston Celtics.
The Bulls, who have the NBA's best record at 23-6, hope to have Derrick
Streaking Pistons host lowly Wizards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The improving Detroit Pistons shoot for a season-high fifth
straight win when they take on the lowly Washington Wizards in the middle
contest of a three-game homestand.
Greg Monroe recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds as the
Heat and Hawks clash in Atlanta >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to tighten things up in the
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The star-studded Heat lead the Hawks by two games entering tonight's contest
and improved to 1-1 on
Rangers welcome Caps for matinee at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off another dominating performance against their
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Washington Capitals for today's battle at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers visited Philade
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.
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