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02/07/2012 - Evansville, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenneth Harris scored 15 points and Colt Ryan had 14 in Evansville's 65-57 upset of No. 17 Creighton on Tuesday.
The Purple Aces (12-12, 7-7 MVC) had lost three of four coming in, but outscored Creighton 9-1 over the final three minutes to earn the win. Ryan Sawvell chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
Doug McDermott scored 21 points for the Blue Jays (21-4, 11-3), who have lost two in a row on the heels of an 11-game winning streak. It marks the first time this season that they have dropped consecutive games. Austin Chatman and Gregory Echenique chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
<< Nielsen lifts Isles over Flyers in SO
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Frans Nielsen scored the winner in the
shootout as the New York Islanders took a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers
at Wachovia Center.
After stopping all 18 shots in regulation and overtime, Ily
<< Brodeur, Devils shut out Rangers
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record with
the 117th shutout of his career, as the New Jersey Devils made a first period
goal stand up in a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Davi
<< Pierce passes Bird as Celtics down Bobcats
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird for second all-
time on Boston's scoring list as he scored 15 points to go with nine assists
and eight rebounds in a 94-84 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at TD Garden
on Tues
<< UConn gets road win over Louisville
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caroline Doty had 15 points and No. 3
Connecticut defeated No. 20 Louisville, 56-46, at KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday.
Tiffany Hayes and Bria Hartley scored nine points apiece for Connecticut
(22-2
Clifford's goal the difference in Kings' win over Lightning >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner
midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings skated past the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penne
Pekovic helps Minnesota down Sacramento >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikola Pekovic had a double-double with 23
points and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota as it defeated Sacramento, 86-84, at
Target Center on Tuesday.
Michael Beasley added his own double-double with 17 point
Elliott tops former team, leading Blues over Sens >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Almost a year after the Ottawa Senators traded
him to the Colorado Avalanche, Brian Elliott made his regular season return to
Scotiabank Place.
Elliott stopped 28 shots and led the St. Louis Blues over Ot
Edler lifts Canucks over Preds in shootout >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexander Edler scored in the sixth round of
a shootout Tuesday night, lifting the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 win over the
Nashville Predators.
Edler challenged Pekka Rinne from the left side, skating de
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.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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