No. 2 Connecticut thumps Oklahoma
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/13/2012 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals as second-ranked Connecticut easily took down Oklahoma, 73-55, on Monday.
Bria Hartley had 20 points and seven rebounds, while Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis donated 10 points apiece for the Huskies (24-2), who have won 12 consecutive games.
Whitney Hand paced the Sooners (16-8) with 18 points and six rebounds and Sharane Campbell finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Jelena Cerina contributed seven points and nine rebounds for the Sooners, who had won four of five coming in.
UConn got off to an incredibly hot start, jumping out to a 21-4 lead with under 12 minutes to go in the first half.
Oklahoma responded with an 11-0 run to get within 21-15, capped by four free throws by Campbell, but UConn kept the pressure up and took a 37-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Huskies shot just 40 percent from the floor and were led by Hartley and Hayes with 12 points apiece. UConn was also stellar on the defensive end, holding the Sooners to just 30 percent from the floor.
The Sooners picked up the offense slightly in the second half, shooting 39 percent from the floor, but never got closer than seven.
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Arnold's tally with 6.4 seconds remaining in overtime sent Boston College to a 3-2 victory over Boston University to claim the championship of the 60th annual Beanpot at TD Garden. Arnold accepted a
<< No. 4 Kansas tops Kansas State
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor totaled 20 points, five
rebounds and five assists as No. 4 Kansas got past Kansas State, 59-53,
at Bramlage Coliseum.
Jeff Withey added 18 points with 11 rebounds for the Jayhawk
<< Pavelski picks up 4 points as Sharks top Caps
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski totaled four points on two
goals and two assists as San Jose dealt Washington a 5-3 defeat at Verizon
Center.
Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored
<< Hornets beat Jazz, snap eight-game skid
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman had 27 points and 13 rebounds
and the New Orleans Hornets overcame a late Utah rally to down the Jazz,
86-80, on Monday.
Gustavo Ayon netted 13 points to go with nine rebounds and three
<< James leads Heat past Bucks
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 35 points and the Miami
Heat snapped a three-game losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 114-96
win on Monday night.
The Heat, in the midst of a three-games-in-three-days stretch,
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caron Butler was welcomed by a standing ovation when he accepted his NBA championship ring Monday night, but the Clippers forward received a bigger hand from the American Airlines Center crowd when he missed
Hornets' Gordon to have surgery, out another six weeks >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon will
miss another six weeks after he undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his right
knee Tuesday.
Gordon first suffered the injury in the season opener against Ph
Lee leads Warriors over Suns >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Lee finished with 28 points and 12
rebounds and the Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Suns
with a 102-96 victory.
Monta Ellis chipped in 18 points and Klay Thompson netted 10
Canucks edge Coyotes in lengthy shootout >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Kesler scored the game-winning goal in
the sixth round of the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks edged the Phoenix
Coyotes, 2-1, at Rogers Arena.
Kesler moved in slowly and fired a quick wrist sho
Anderson passes first-round test in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson outlasted Grigor
Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in first-round action at the
SAP Open on Monday.
Dimitrov cruised in the first set before losing a second-set t
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.