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Pistons, Heat set for South Beach battle

Basketball Betting Lines

03/02/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An Eastern Conference Finals rematch is on tap tonight at AmericanAirlines Arena, as the defending world champion Miami Heat welcome the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit has won five of six and seven of its last nine at Miami. The Pistons have also won three in a row against the Heat overall, including an 87-85 win over the squad on November 30.

Those games don't include last season's conference finals, when Miami knocked off Detroit in six games en route to its first-ever NBA title.

It is Detroit, however, that is doing a better job duplicating success this season. The Pistons are a conference-best 17-9 on the road this season and lead the Central Division by 4 1/2 games over Cleveland.

Miami is one game under .500 at 28-29 and trails Washington by 3 1/2 games for the top spot in the Southeast standings. The club is seventh overall in the East though.

The Pistons have been out of action since Sunday, when they edged the Chicago Bulls, 95-93. Richard Hamilton poured in 22 points, but it was Chris Webber's tip-in with 2.2 seconds left in regulation that lifted Detroit over Chicago.

Webber, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, got a hold of the ball and scored the deciding basket after Chauncey Billups put up a jumper. With one last chance for the win, Chicago's Ben Gordon missed a three-pointer from the left wing to end the game.

Billups ended with 15 points and dished out nine assists, while Tayshaun Prince added 14 points and grabbed nine boards for the Pistons, who have won four in a row.

The game marked the return of former Piston Ben Wallace to Detroit. The four- time Defensive Player of the Year, who was booed each time he touched the ball, finished with six points and eight rebounds.

The Heat made up some ground in their division last time out when they downed the Wizards, 92-83. Shaquille O'Neal scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory.

Jason Williams added 23 points for Miami, which improved to 2-2 since star guard Dwyane Wade suffered a dislocated left shoulder. Wade remains out indefinitely.

Tonight's game opens a six-game homestand for the Heat, who are 16-10 as the host this season. Atlanta, Chicago, Minnesota, Washington and Utah will all make visits to AmericanAirlines Arena during the stand.


<< Red Wings begin homestand against hapless Blackhawks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings open a five-game homestand this evening, when they welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings last played Tuesday evening against the Blackhawks and posted a 4-1 road vic

<< Surging Senators, struggling Thrashers set to face off
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Ottawa Senators will try for their ninth win in 10 games this evening, when they visit the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. The Senators have gained a point in nine straight games (8-0-1) and are fourth in

<< Magic pay a visit to San Antonio
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having temporarily fallen out of the playoff picture, the Orlando Magic will try to rebound tonight when they visit the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. The Magic have lost five of their last six and are now one

<< Hawks, Wizards square off in D.C.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards will try and stop a four-game losing streak tonight when they resume their homestand against the division-rival Atlanta Hawks at the Verizon Center. Washington, which owns a 3 1/2-game lead

<< Hornets buzz into Windy City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls play the finale of a three-game homestand, as they welcome the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets tonight to the United Center. This is the second and final meeting of the season between

Suns host Pacers in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns try to get back on the winning track, as they host the slumping Indiana Pacers tonight at US Airways Center. Phoenix, which returns home after going 3-1 on a four-game road trip, opens a five-game home

Knicks host Warriors at MSG >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors aim to stop a four-game losing streak this evening when they battle the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Golden State has lost the first two games of its current five-game r

Rockets aim to burn Nuggets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets attempt to extend their winning streak to three games when they welcome the Houston Rockets tonight to the Pepsi Center. Denver plays the middle contest of a three-game homestand. All-Star gu

Salukis begin defense of MVC Tournament title >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 11th-ranked Southern Illinois Salukis begin defense of their Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title today, as they take on the ninth-seeded Drake Bulldogs in the quar

Big West: Lakers, Kings to battle in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pacific Division rivals battle tonight, as the streaking Los Angeles Lakers welcome the Sacramento Kings to the Staples Center. This is the second of four meetings between the clubs this season. On January 4th, supers

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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