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Virginia Tech had lost to Wake Forest, Florida State, Boston College and North Carolina to open its ACC schedule.
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas Jayhawks will try to remain undefeated in league play as they host the Texas A&M Aggies in a Big 12 battle on at the Allen Fieldhouse this evening. This will be the 19th meeting in the series history. The Jayhawks have won all but one of the previous encounters. Texas A&M has not defeated Kansas since Feb. 3rd, 2007.
Texas A&M comes into the matchup with a 11-7 overall record after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 81-75 in an overtime thriller on Saturday. The victory was the second of the year in league play for the Aggies, as they now carry a 2-4 mark in Big 12 action. Head coach Billy Kennedy has a strong defensive philosophy which have given his team has the worst scoring offense in the conference (62.8 ppg), but the best scoring defense (59.2 ppg). The victory over the Sooners was the second in three games after an 0-3 start to the Big 12 Conference season. The Aggies had only scored more than 80 points twice this year, in their opening two games of the season. A&M is one of just 12 schools in the nation to have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past six seasons.
Kansas comes in with a 16-3 overall record after extending its winning streak on Saturday. The Jayhawks will be protecting their 16-game home winning streak and their perfect 6-0 league record. Head coach Bill Self led his team to its ninth straight win on Saturday as it took down Texas, 69-66. The Jayhawks shot 44.6 percent from the field, but made just 14-of-23 from the charity stripe in the win over the Longhorns. Kansas played well at the defensive end, as it held Texas to 34.4 percent shooting. The Jayhawks' six turnovers was its lowest total since entering Big 12 play. Kansas's +16.0 average scoring margin is the second best in the Big 12.
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off its first loss of the season, the Syracuse Orange will look to avoid a losing streak as they head to Fifth Third Arena for a Big East battle with the dangerous Cincinnati Bearcats. This will be just the ninth meeting between the Orange and Bearcats. Syracuse holds an 8-2 edge in the series after winning the last three encounters. The Orange handled Cincinnati in last year's contest with a 67-52 decision in a game played at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse will be without its rebounding and shot-blocking center Fab Melo for the second straight game as he attends to academic issues. Although he does not score an overwhelming amount of points, Melo's inside presence was missed against Notre Dame on both ends of the floor. Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters will need to step up with Melo out. Joseph is the team's leading scorer with an average of 13.6 ppg, but he will need to do better than 4-of-12 from the field to score 12 points, as he did against the Irish. Waiters scored in double-figures for the ninth-straight game against Notre Dame, but also shot a poor percentage to do so. The Orange's 7-1 record in the Big East has them in sole possession of first place, but another defeat would give them the same total of losses as five another teams in the league.
With Melo out, Yancy Gates should be a big contributor for the Bearcats. Gates is averaging 12.2 ppg and a team-best 9.4 rpg. The senior forward has recorded double-doubles in each of his last two outings. Sean Kilpatrick is Cincy's top scorer with an average of 16.0 ppg and comes in having scored in double- figures in all but two contests this season. Dion Dixon is the team's second leading scorer with an average of 13.9 ppg, while Cashmere Wright is chipping in 10.8 ppg and a team-high 4.8 apg.
Notre Dame, Connecticut, Stanford, Duke and Kentucky held their places from second through sixth. Tennessee, Maryland, Ohio State and Miami-Florida complete this week's top 10. Miami moved up one spot from 11th.
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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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