Clemson visits Wake Forest in key ACC clash

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/08/2009 - Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams jockeying for position in the ACC standings clash in Winston-Salem this evening, as the 18th-ranked Clemson Tigers tussle with the 10th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The Tigers enter the game tied with Florida State for fourth place at 9-6, but they trail Wake Forest by just one game. Clemson comes in on a winning note as well as it notched a 75-57 victory over Virginia on Tuesday. The triumph put a stop to a two-game slide and guaranteed the program back-to-back winning ACC campaigns for the first time since 1965-66 and 1966-67. Clemson's 19 ACC wins over the past two seasons are the most over a two year stretch in school history.

As for WF, it has already clinched a top four finish and opening round bye in the ACC Tournament with its 10-5 league record. The Deacons, who trail Duke by just a game for second place, have won three straight and five of their last six outings, including a 65-63 win at Maryland on Tuesday. The team now returns back home, where it has gone a healthy 13-1 thus far.

Wake leads the all-time series with Clemson, 96-52, and that includes a 78-68 victory in the first meeting of the season. The Deacons have been especially tough on the Tigers in Winston-Salem and have won the last 16 matchups between the teams at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The Tigers shot 50.0 percent from the floor and went 19-of-25 at the foul line, as they coasted past Virginia earlier in the week. Clemson also controlled the paint, outscoring Virginia 38-20 and holding a 36-27 advantage on the boards. Terrence Oglesby made all 10 of his free-throw attempts on his way to 18 points, while Raymond Sykes had 14 points. Trevor Booker also got into the mix, notching a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. It was another strong performance by Booker, who nearly averages a double-double with team highs of 15.1 ppg and 9.7 rpg on the season. K.C. Rivers has provided a nice complement to him with 14.1 ppg and 6.2 rpg, and Oglesby chips in with 13.7 ppg on the strength of 39.9 percent shooting from three-point range. Overall, Clemson is generating a hardy 78.6 ppg, in addition to forcing opponents into 17.2 turnovers per game.

Trailing 54-48 with a little over seven minutes to play, Wake Forest went on an 11-0 run to seize control and it would hang on for the victory over Maryland on Tuesday. The Deacons shot just 39.7 percent from the floor, but overcame that by dominating the boards, 50-32, including 19-11 on the offensive glass. Jeff Teague led the charge with 17 points, while Al-Farouq Aminu recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. On the season, Teague has made a case for ACC Player of the Year honors, as he averages 19.6 ppg and 3.5 apg to lead Wake in both departments. He is also a factor at the other end of the floor, racking up a team-best 54 steals. James Johnson and Aminu check in with 14.4 ppg and 12.7 ppg, respectively, and they are combining for 16.6 rpg. They are the primary reason why the Deacons have been able to outrebound foes by 6.2 rpg on the season.

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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one.

(September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977.  Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded.

Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer.  In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. 

MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite.  After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up.

Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions.  They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals.  The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. 

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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