Utah State and New Mexico State battle for WAC supremacy

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Utah State tries to make it back-to- back Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles tonight as the squad clashes with the New Mexico State Aggies in the 27th-annual event at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

On Friday night the Utah State Aggies left no doubt that they deserved a spot in the championship game as they completely dominated Louisiana Tech by a final of 85-55. It was the third straight game in which USU had scored at least 81 points and represented the program's 17th straight victory overall since opening the conference schedule with back-to-back setbacks against NMSU and LaTech, coincidentally. Utah State began its quest for a second-straight crown with an 84-60 romp over eighth-seeded Boise State on Thursday afternoon.

As for the New Mexico State Aggies, the third seed in this year's tourney, they first took care of San Jose State two nights ago with ease in a 90-69 final and continued their spirited play with an 80-79 triumph over host team Nevada in a matchup that came down to the wire last night.

USU currently owns a 37-32 edge over NMSU after crushing the visiting Aggies at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan just last week by a score of 81-63. In the conference opener back on January 2nd, NMSU posted a low-scoring 55-52 win over Utah State at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces. The teams also have a history in past WAC title games, as New Mexico State handed Utah State a 72-70 decision for the championship back in 2007.

Trailing by one with just seconds to play, Jahmar Young took control for the Aggies and put them into the win column when he sank a jumper with five seconds remaining in regulation. One of four players to score in double figures for the Aggies, Young finished with 15 points, five assists and four rebounds as he shot a mere 4-of-15 from the floor. Troy Gillenwater logged a season-high 21 points and collected eight boards off the bench, Wendell McKines posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards and Jonathan Gibson accounted for 10 points as well. Even though the Aggies have several starters who can take control of a game and lead them to the win column this season, the player to watch tonight is Gillenwater because he's been able to bring a burst of energy off the bench since he has played in barely one-third of all the games for the program. He is averaging 14.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for a team that is putting up a whopping 78.9 ppg, but also allowing 78.3 ppg. Gibson (17.7 ppg) is the three-point specialist with his 102 conversions this season, but one can't sleep on Young (20.5 ppg) because he too has had huge success on the perimeter with his 71 treys in 2009-10.

USU allowed LaTech to take an early two-point lead in the opening moments of their meeting on Friday, but after that the Bulldogs were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way as they shot just 8-of-27 from the field in the first half and 34.5 percent for the game, compared to a staggering 58.8 percent by one of the top shooting teams in the nation. Jared Quayle posted 16 points on 4-of-6 behind the three-point line in limited minutes, while Brady Jardine came off the bench to tally 13 points. Pooh Williams accounted for 10 points before being sent to the bench in order to rest the starters once it became obvious that USU was moving on. Tai Wesley, who tallied eight points, six assists and five rebounds, remains the leading scorer (13.7 ppg) and rebounder (6.5 rpg) for the program and because of his close proximity to the glass at the offensive end of the floor he has been shooting 57.9 percent from the field this season. Quayle (12.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 140 assists) is shooting better from three-point range (.433) than he is the floor overall (.410), which is just one of the reasons why Utah State is one of the most accurate three-point shooting teams in the nation this season at 42.4 percent.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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