2010 Southland Conference Tournament Preview
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/08/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eight Southland Conference teams will gather in Katy, Texas this week to compete for a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The quarterfinal round, featuring all eight teams, will take place on Wednesday, followed by semifinal action on Thursday. After a day of rest, the last two teams standing will compete for the tournament title on Saturday afternoon.
There are 12 teams in the league, and the bottom four (Northwestern State, McNeese State, Central Arkansas and Lamar) missed the cut for this event. Sam Houston State enters as the top seed after winning 14 of 16 conference tilts during the regular season, three games better than second-seeded Stephen F. Austin. Third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and fourth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana were 10-6 versus league foes, so they certainly have to be viewed as threats. As for fifth-seeded Texas State, sixth-seeded Texas-San Antonio and seventh-seeded UT-Arlington, all were at least .500 in league play. In fact, the only participant in the tournament that lost more league games than it won during the regular season is eighth-seeded Nicholls State. Last season, Stephen F. Austin won the title, and eight different programs have captured the crown over the last eight years, making this tournament one to watch.
The first of four quarterfinal-round matchups pits the second-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks against the seventh-seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks. The Lumberjacks won the only regular-season meeting with the Mavericks by a 72-65 final on January 20th. As mentioned, Stephen F. Austin won the title a year ago by beating Texas-San Antonio by 11 points in the championship game. That crown was the first for the Lumberjacks, who are a modest 10-11 all-time at this event. They are coming off a loss to Texas-San Antonio in the regular- season finale and need to bounce back strong. As for the Mavericks, they closed out the regular season with a three-game losing skid and are just 13-23 all-time in this tournament. However, they did win the championship in 2008, so the taste of success still lingers. UT-Arlington is scoring 74.6 ppg, significantly better than Stephen F. Austin's 66.9 ppg, but the Lumberjacks are the best defensive team in the league (60.1 ppg), while the Mavericks rank near the bottom (73.4 ppg). Marquez Haynes is the man to watch in this matchup, as he is UTA's best player and the league's leading scorer (22.8 ppg).
Another quarterfinal pairing features the third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders against the sixth-seeded Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners. UTSA is the best free-throw shooting team in the conference (.756) and tops in three-point percentage defense as well. As for Corpus Christi, it leads the conference in rebounding margin (+5.3 rpg). The Islanders, a relative newcomer to the league, captured their lone Southland Tournament title in 2007 and is 4-1 at this event. The Roadrunners have won this event twice, most recently in 2004, and are 14-13 in Southland Tournament tilts. Corpus Christi and San Antonio split a pair of meetings during the regular season and are evenly matched. Neither team possess an individual ranked in the top 10 in the league in scoring.
The top-seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats are obviously favored in their quarterfinal matchup with the eighth-seeded Nicholls State Colonels, but it should be pointed out that the lone regular-season encounter between the two teams resulted in a rather narrow 75-69 victory for SHSU. The Bearkats have won this event only one time (2003) and are 8-11 all-time in Southland tourney games. As for Nicholls State, it has captured the crown twice, most recently in 1998. The Colonels are far from pushovers, as they possess the league's second-leading scorer in Anatoly Bose (20.4 ppg), as well as the ninth-leading scorer in Fred Hunter (14.1 ppg). Sam Houston State boasts the fourth and fifth top point producers in the league in Clavell Gilberto and Corey Allmond, who are generating 16.9 ppg and 16.3 ppg, respectively. The Bearkats are the top scoring team in the league (80.8 ppg), and Nicholls State (65.9 ppg) ranks 11th.
Rounding out the quarterfinals is a clash between the fourth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana Lions and the fifth-seeded Texas State Bobcats. These teams met just once during the regular season, and Southeastern Louisiana won that showdown by a 75-66 final. The Bobcats closed out the regular season with three straight victories and figure to enter this event with some confidence. They have won this tournament twice, but the most recent title came back in 1997, and the club is just 9-13 all-time at the event. Texas State is second in the conference in scoring (77.1 ppg), but the club is next-to-last in scoring defense (77.8 ppg). Cameron Johnson paces the Bobcats with 14.3 ppg, and he is fifth in the league in rebounding (7.9 rpg). The Lions pride themselves on strong defensive play, as they are yielding only 65.8 ppg while holding foes to a league-best 39.5 percent shooting from the floor. Patrick Sullivan paces Southeastern Louisiana with 15.7 ppg, and he is shooting 53.1 percent from the field while ripping down 8.7 rpg.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 39th annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament will begin on Tuesday, and the Morgan State Bears will look to claim their second straight tournament title. Morgan State, which defeated Norfolk Sta
<< 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10
Conference, 12 have been invited to participate in the league tournament which
begins on Tuesday night. The first round will take place at campus sites of
the higher seeds.
<< Line of Scrimmage: Big Ben, bad choices, and more free agency
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger now has as many sexual
assault allegations on his resume' - two - as he has Super Bowl titles. Wanna
wager which category gets to No. 3 sooner? I'm no gambler, but I bet those
odds would be
<< Mountaineers battle Terriers for SoCon title
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wofford Terriers make their first-ever
appearance in the title game of the Southern Conference Tournament tonight as
they tangle with the Appalachian State Mountaineers for the right to move on
to the NCAA T
<< Stags and Saints meet in MAAC championship game
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Siena Saints make their fourth straight
appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship
game as they clash with the Fairfield Stags tonight in familiar surroundings
at Times Union C
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jackson State has played in the last three Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship games and the top- seeded Tigers have a strong chance to reach that point again in the 33rd- annual SWAC Tou
Mighty Caps host sliding Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals were struggling heading into the
Olympic break but the NHL's point leaders seemed to regain their swagger last
week.
The Caps will shoot for a fourth straight victory tonight, when they host the
Da
Kings try to bounce back against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to avoid a three-game losing
streak when they host the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Staples
Center.
The Kings won their first game following the Olympic break, pounding Dallas,
5-1
Eagles bring back Avant; Vick next >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles and wide receiver
Jason Avant have agreed to terms on a five-year contract, and it appears as
though the team will pick up the 2010 contract option on quarterback Michael
Vick.
Di Maria continues to ponder future >>
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has played
down rumors linking him with a certain exit from the Portuguese giants in the
summer.
The 22-year-old Argentina international is attracting interest from a num
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."
Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs..
About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
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.
How to Read Point Spreads
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:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
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.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
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.