Duke, Big East highlight South

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/15/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hours after winning their record 18th ACC Tournament title on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils were awarded the No. 1 seed in the South Region in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Duke (29-5), backed by the triumvirate of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, is the top seed for an 11th time and will face the winner of the opening-round game between Big South champion Winthrop and SWAC winner Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which had started its season with 11 straight losses. Those two teams will tangle in Dayton on Tuesday for the right to advance to Jacksonville.

"For our senior class I am so happy," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Not many teams in my 30 years in the ACC have won both the regular season and the [ACC] Tournament, and I think because they did it, and we played such a tough schedule, these kids were rewarded with a No. 1 seed."

The Blue Devils, whose only loss in the past 13 games came at Maryland on March 3rd, may face one of the three Big East teams slated in their portion of the bracket if they get past Friday's first-round matchup, as either Louisville or California will be waiting in the round of 32.

Also on Friday, the Cardinals (20-12), the No. 9 seed and the only team that defeated Big East regular season champion Syracuse twice this season, will face the Pac-10's Golden Bears (23-10), who were given the No. 8 seed after falling to Washington in the conference finale.

Villanova (24-7), despite losing five of its last seven games, is seeded second in the South thanks to a strong showing in Big East play and a veteran club that reached last year's Final Four. In the first round on Thursday, the Wildcats meet Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris (23-11), which is seeded 15th in the Big Dance for a second straight year.

The third seed was given to Baylor (25-7), which fell short of appearing in its first Big 12 title game with a loss to Kansas State in the semis of the conference tourney. Nevertheless, the Bears, led by LaceDarius Dunn (19.4 ppg), were given a high seed and will face No. 14 Sam Houston State (25-7), the Southland Conference champion.

"Sam Houston is very well coached. They have done very well against Big 12 schools teams in the past few years and we know we will have our hands full," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said after learning of Thursday's first-round matchup.

Purdue (27-5) picked up a No. 4 seed after there was speculation it might steal a coveted No. 1 slot just three weeks ago. The Boilermakers have dropped just two games since, but they more importantly lost the services of star forward Robbie Hummel to a knee injury.

"I felt we would be a 1-3 [seed]. Our resume says we're a two or three," proclaimed Purdue head coach Matt Painter, who admitted Hummel's injury caused his team's stock to slip. "I don't begrudge the committee for putting us as a four seed. They did what they felt was best. I think it can serve as motivation for our guys to play better."

On the heels of its 69-42 loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinals, which included an embarrassing 11-point first half, Purdue gets a stiff first-round test on Friday against No. 13 seed Siena (27-6), fresh of its third consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. The Saints have advanced to the second round in each of the past two seasons, including an upset of Vanderbilt as a No. 13 seed in 2008.

The always interesting 5-12 matchup on Friday pits Aggies vs. Aggies, as Texas A&M (23-9), the ninth seed, battles Utah State (27-7). Texas A&M ended its season on a nice run, winning nine of its last 12 games, though two loses came against Kansas, the current No. 1 team in the nation. Utah State, meanwhile, had won 17 in a row before being upset by New Mexico State in the Western Athletic Conference title game on Saturday.

The final Big East team in this part of the bracket is Notre Dame (23-11), which used a late-season run to earn the No. 6 seed. The Fighting Irish changed up their style of play to win six straight before losing a heartbreaking decision to eventual tourney champ West Virginia in the semis.

Waiting for the Irish in the first round on Thursday is No. 11 seed and Colonial Athletic Association champion Old Dominion (26-8), making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

Rounding out the South Regional is a battle between schools in mid-major conferences, as No. 7 Richmond takes on No. 10 Saint Mary's on Thursday. The Spiders (26-8) held their own in a surprisingly competitive Atlantic 10 Conference, winning 12 of 13 games before losing a 56-52 decision to Temple in the title game on Sunday. The Gaels (26-5) also made the finale in their conference but toppled nationally-ranked Gonzaga to win the West Coast Conference.

The region's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Houston's Reliant Stadium on Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28.

Footballventure NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Kentucky garners No. 1 seed in the East
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Kentucky, which scorched the Southeastern Conference in the regular season and won the conference tourney crown in a tense overtime contest, was named as the top- seeded

<< Syracuse-Vermont rematch highlights West
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament and staring at an injury to starting forward Arinze Onuaku, Syracuse is the No. 1 seed in the West Region as the Orange head into a much-

<< NCAA Capsules-East Regional
Lexington, 32-2.Nickname: Wildcats. Coach: John Calipari.Conference: Southeastern. Bid: SEC champion.Region: East. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 100-45, 50 years. Last appearance: 2008.Scoring: Team (79.2); John Wall 16.9; DeMarcus Cousins 15.3; Pa

<< NCAA Capsules-South Regional
Durham, N.C., 29-5.Nickname: Blue Devils. Coach: Mike Krzyzewski.Conference: Atlantic Coast. Bid: ACC champion.Region: South. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 88-30, 33 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (78.4); Jon Scheyer 18.7; Kyle Singler

<< Top-ranked Jayhawks draws top overall NCAA seed
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Look who's lurking deep in the Midwest bracket where Kansas proudly sits as overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.It's none other than Tennessee and Oklahoma State - the ``2'' in that glittering 32-2 record that the Jayhawks

Kansas looms large in the Midwest >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas Jayhawks began the 2009-10 college basketball season atop the preseason polls, and so far the voters have been spot on, as the Big 12 champs will carry that top ranking into the NCAA Tournam

NCAA Capsules-West Regional >>
Syracuse, N.Y., 28-4.Nickname: Orangemen. Coach: Jim Boeheim.Conference: Big East. Bid: At large.Region: West. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 50-32, 32 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (81.5); Wesley Johnson 16.0; Andy Rautins 11.7; Kris J

Indiana hoops: Hoosiers far behind state's top 3 >>
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Basketball still rules in Indiana. Even if the Hoosiers no longer rule basketball in the stateThey're not even in the top three.For the 20th time in the past three decades, at least three teams from the state of Indiana have m

World Cup of Golf to become biennial event >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The World Cup of Golf will return in 2011 as a biennial event so it does not conflict with the sport's inclusion in the Olympics, the Asian Tour said Monday in a press release. The decision to hold the team event only

Arenas: 'I deserve to be punished' for gun prank >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -Gilbert Arenas says he deserves to be punished for bringing guns to the locker room.The suspended Washington Wizards guard tells Esquire magazine he wasn't using ``longevity thinking'' when he took out four guns in what he says was

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.