Top-10 rivals and two of the best teams from the Big Ten meet in what should be a fantastic college basketball gambling duel on Tuesday night in East Lansing. The Michigan State Spartans are coming off of their worst week of the season. They were hammered in Wisconsin and narrowly taken out by Illinois in their first two Big Ten losses of the season. They’re now just 0-4 ATS in their L/4 and 1-6 ATS in their L/7 overall. Meanwhile, since that dastardly three-game skid in the middle of January, the Purdue Boilermakers have really rebounded nicely, winning five straight games SU. NCAA basketball gambling fans haven’t been too thrilled with their efforts though, as they are just 2-6 ATS in their L/8. HC Matt Painter really needs to see some more consistent efforts from his team to pick up some wins against the NCAA basketball spreads. It feels like on nights that the defense struggles, such as when it gave up 75 points to Indiana last week is when the offense is at its best, but when the ‘O’ fails like it did its previous three games in which it only averaged 65.0 PPG, the defense steps it up a notch. The two just haven’t come together since a January 5th thumping of Minnesota. Don’t blame the threesome of G E’Twaun Moore, F Robbie Hummel, and F JaJuan Johnson, though. Those three are putting up 48.1 points per game between the three of them, but no one else on the team is scoring more than 6.0 points per game. Meanwhile in Spartan land, HC Tom Izzo isn’t necessarily looking for more consistency. He’s just hoping to get his top guard back on the court. G Kalin Lucas missed the Illinois game and only played a bit over a half of basketball against Wisconsin. He is the heart and soul of this offense, scoring 15.6 points per game, and he is frequently the man who is called upon to take the big shot. Lucas’ ankle injury has him listed as questionable, though. If he can’t go, F Raymar Morgan needs to step it up in a big way. Morgan has only scored a total of 16 points in his L/3 games overall, and that just won’t cut it for a team that is hoping to return to the National Championship game in April. There’s a ton of inconsistency right now on the Michigan State roster, and though the Spartans are a tough team to beat in East Lansing, the Boilermakers have enough veteran leadership to get the job done. It’s a short spread, but Purdue should walk away with another huge victory to move one step closer towards the regular season Big Ten championship, especially if Lucas doesn’t play for Sparty. Selection: Purdue Boilermakers The Boilermakers are a solid 5-1 ATS in their L/6 games played against the Spartans. BetPhoenix is your home for all of the great NCAA basketball betting action, so sign-up for an account right now through Bang the Book and capitalize on Purdue at +2.5!
Purdue Boilermakers
(19-3, 9-12-1 ATS)
Michigan State Spartans
(19-5, 8-15 ATS)
If, as trainer Ferdy Murphy suggested, Kalahari King was not 100 per cent fit going into last Saturday’s big handicap chase at Doncaster, then his rivals for next month’s Queen Mother Champion Chase must be wondering if they can cope with this fast improving performer, writes Elliot Slater. Carrying top weight of 11st 12lbs and returning after an absence of more than nine months, Kalahari King toyed with a field of smart handicappers before quickening away after the last to win very impressively under Graham Lee. Understandably the nine-year-old gelding received rave reviews and now looks a very serious rival for Master Minded and Twist Magic for the Champion Chase, a race that is building up to be an absolute cracker. Proven around Cheltenham, having failed by the narrowest of margins to land last season’s Arkle Trophy, the Middleham-trained chaser must be expected to improve again after his seasonal pipe-opener, a prospect that won’t please his big race rivals. With Master Minded still to demonstrate that he has returned to his best after the rib injury that contributed to his defeat at the hands of Well Chief in the autumn, and Twist Magic having three times failed to figure in previous visits to Cheltenham, Kalahari King has plenty going for him and represents tremendous value at current odds of around 6/1. You won’t hear many better Cheltenham betting tips between now and the start of the Festival. However, the news is much worse for the winner of last year’s Arkle, Forpadydeplasterer. The horse has reportedly gone lane reportedly gone lame and will be confined to his box for no less than three weeks, leaving no time to have him ready for the Festival fixture. Trainer Tom Cooper now suggests that he will attempt to prepare his stable star for a tilt at the big two mile chase at the Punchestown Festival in April. The Arkle Chase betting odds for the 2010 renewal of the race make Captain Cee Bee favourite at 7/2, followed by Sizing Europe at 6/1.
Tags: Champion glory, handicapping, Horse Racing, Kalahari
Another week of NBA betting action is in the books, and Bang the Book takes a look at the hot and the not from the week that was, sponsored by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Atlanta Hawks (31-18 ATS): The Hawks just can’t get over the hump and hop past the Orlando Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division. A brief three-game ATS slide was ended on Friday with a 91-81 win over the Bulls. It was the best defensive effort for Atlanta since December 5th.
2: Utah Jazz (29-17-3 ATS): The Jazz parlayed a stretch of seven games of which six were at home into a 5-1-1 ATS run. Utah has won eight straight basketball betting battles outright, and they’re snapping right at the heels of the Nuggets for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
3: Oklahoma City Thunder (31-19 ATS): Is the MVP of the entire NBA really on the Thunder? F Kevin Durant certainly has a great gripe as we trickle towards the All-Star Break. He’s averaging 29.7 points per game and has scored at least 28 points in every game that he has played since January 9th. OKC has covered three straight and six out of eight.
1: New Jersey Nets (18-31-1 ATS): It was a rare good week for the Nets, who have gone 2-0-1 ATS in their L/3 games overall. Of course, Jersey only has one win SU since January 2nd and two wins SU since December 8th. One would say that this is a team that should be trading everyone at the deadline, but is there any other team in the league that really wants anyone on a team that is 4-46?
2: Washington Wizards (18-29-2 ATS): For whatever reason, the Wizards seem to have Orlando’s number. They’ve taken two SU victories as dogs against the Magic this year, including Friday’s buzzer-beating win at Amway Arena. Of course, aside from that, Washington is only 1-6 ATS since January 20th.
3: Boston Celtics (19-29-1 ATS): The Celtics are really killing their NBA wagering fans right now. They’re just 9-12 SU and 5-15-1 ATS in their L/21 games, and if they’re not careful, the Raptors may run them down in the Atlantic Division. Getting outscored 36-11 in the third quarter of the Orlando game on Sunday wasn’t exactly something to be proud of either.
The role players for the Los Angeles Lakers: In order to win a championship, it takes the effort of a lot more than just a superstar. On Saturday night, G Kobe Bryant missed the Lakers’ game against Portland. C Andrew Bynum was banged up just a few minutes into the game. But without those two, LA didn’t just survive; it dominated. Everyone played their role. G Ron Artest scored 21 points, F Lamar Odom pulled down 22 rebounds, a G Shannon Brown scored 19 off of the bench. The end result was a 99-82 road win, which may have been one of the more significant victories of the season.
The Bad
F Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons: Remember when Prince was considered one of the best role players in the NBA? He always did a little bit of everything and managed to put up solid numbers. But this week, he only scored four points in 25 minutes against New Jersey and shot 2/12 from the floor in a 107-83 loss to Indiana.
The Ugly
Golden State Warriors: This eight-game losing streak has been particularly awful for the Warriors. In the L/6, they’ve allowed 114.8 points per game. Things may be getting uglier any day now, as there have been rumors of dealing G Monta Ellis are picking up. Ellis is scoring 26.2 points per game for Golden State, but it’s pretty clear that all he’s doing is stunting the growth of G Stephen Curry. Things are just ugly right now in Golden State and probably aren’t getting any better any time in the near future.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles lakers, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Tayshun Prince, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Super Bowl Sunday is here, but Bang the Book takes a look at who the hottest and coldest teams and players are through the first week of college basketball betting action in February. Check out who’s hot and who’s not this week, sponsored by Bet Phoenix! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Northeastern Huskies (16-6-1 ATS): The Huskies may just be the hottest team in the country you’ve never heard of. The CAA reps are trying hard to get into the NCAA Tournament discussions just in case they don’t win their conference crown, and covers in 12 of their L/14 (13-1 SU) are only helping that cause.
2: UNLV Rebels: UNLV probably punched its ticket to March Madness with a dominant 88-74 win over BYU on Saturday. It was the Rebels’ tenth cover in their L/13 games, most of which have come in the very competition MWC.
3: Villanova Wildcats (15-6 ATS): It was a bad week to be from Villanova. The Cats were hooked by Seton Hall to kick off the week, and then were trounced at the Verizon Center by Georgetown to end it. It was just the second time all year that ‘Nova failed to cover two games in the same week (@ St. Joseph’s 12/9, @ Temple 12/13).
1: Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks (2-16 ATS): Hey, the Skyhawks are in the win column! A 74-69 loss at home against Austin Peay was worth rejoicing over for UTM, which finally beat the NCAA basketball betting odds at home for the first time on the year. Things returned back to normal on Saturday with a loss both SU and ATS to 5-20 Tennessee State.
2: LSU Tigers (5-14 ATS): The losses just keep piling up for the Bayou Bengals, but at least they found a way to beat a spread during the week when they pushed Tennessee to the brink. The good news is that LSU is far better off on the road for bettors (2-4 ATS) than it is at home (3-8 ATS), so maybe these two roadies this week will yield fruitful results.
3: Washington Huskies (7-15 ATS): U-Dub may have finally turned the corner, as it is starting to play like the NCAA Tournament team that everyone expected it to be at the start of the season. The Huskies have won four straight and are 2-1 ATS in that stretch (with the fourth game being an unlined 123-76 victory against Seattle). However, this week will be the first time they’ve hit the road since 1/23, and they haven’t covered the CBB betting lines as guests all season.
G Dominique Jones & the South Florida Bulls: With just a few seconds left in the game, USF’s superstar was shouting into the stunned Verizon Center crowd, “They came to see Dominique Jones play!” Jones went for 29 points and eight boards as South Florida upset Georgetown on the road 72-64 for its sixth straight cover and fourth straight SU victory in the crowded Big East. A win on Sunday against Notre Dame might even put this team back on the NCAA Tournament map for what would be the first time ever as a member of the Big East.
The Bad
Being a Top-25 Team on Saturday: Just check out this list of Top-25 teams that were knocked off to start this weekend SU… #2 Villanova (L 103-90 @ Georgetown), #5 Michigan State (L 78-73 @ Illinois) #10 Texas (L 80-71 @ Oklahoma), #12 BYU (L 88-74 @ UNLV), #17 Temple (L 71-54 @ Richmond), #20 Vanderbilt (L 72-58 @ Georgia). Add that to the list of teams that won outright but didn’t cover their basketball betting lines, #1 Kansas, #9 Duke, #11 Kansas State, #19 Georgia Tech, #22 Northern Iowa, #23 New Mexico, and #25 Cornell, and ranked teams went a grand total of just 8-13 ATS on Saturday.
The Ugly
Bryant Bulldogs & Alcorn State Braves: It’s not often that you see NCAA basketball gambling spreads on either Bryant or Alcorn State games, but the prospects of both teams pulling off totally winless seasons is starting to look more and more possible. The Bulldogs, dropped to 0-24 with two losses this week to Central Connecticut State by an aggregate score of 121-82. They’ve lost 26 straight dating back to last year. Meanwhile, the Braves have dropped 27 straight overall including ‘08-’09 after losing by 21 to Jackson State on Saturday. It doesn’t get much uglier than these two teams, and it doesn’t look like either has the ability to win anything anytime in the near future.
Big East betting action doesn’t get much bigger than it is going to be on Saturday afternoon at the Verizon Center, where the Villanova Wildcats and Georgetown Hoyas will meet for the second time this season. Villanova continues to hold the best ATS mark in the entire country at 15-5 in spite of the fact that it failed to cover against Seton Hall on Tuesday night. Georgetown has been hot and cold, but it seems to play to the level of its competition. Case in point: The Hoyas lost 72-64 at home against South Florida in its last CBB betting affair, but was simply awesome in an 89-77 win against Duke last weekend. HC Jay Wright may have the best guard tandem in the nation at his disposal. G Scottie Reynolds is simply one of the best in the business, as he is leading the team by scoring 18.5 points per game, and he’s doing so by shooting blistering percentages from the field (49.6% from the floor, 41.1% from downtown). His counterpart G Corey Fisher is just as dangerous, as he is averaging 13.2 points per game. As a team, the Wildcats are putting 85.0 points per game on the board this year, and they’ve put up at least 80 in every Big East wagering battle against teams not named Marquette. This will be quite the challenge for a Georgetown defense that is surrendering just 63.2 points per game in ‘09-’10. HC John Thompson III has to be concerned with the fact that his squad has allowed at least 70 points in three straight games and in five of its L/7. If the Hoyas are winning this game, C Greg Monroe is going to have to be a difference-maker. He is second in the team in scoring (15.4 points per game), and can absolutely dominate the paint against anyone in the nation. Monroe is averaging 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per night. Georgetown found itself in a perfect storm during the week, so don’t let that loss to South Florida scare you. This is a team that is still hoping to notch that one signature win to tell the rest of the world that they are deserving to be in the discussion as a #1 or #2 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas came up huge in the national spotlight against the Dookies at home last weekend, and they should do exactly the same thing this one against the #2 team in the country. Selection: Georgetown Hoyas Before losing on January 17th, the Hoyas had covered four of the previous five college basketball betting lines in this series. You can get on either side of the two-point spread in this basketball wagering duel right now at BetPhoenix!
Villanova Wildcats
(20-1, 15-5 ATS)
Georgetown Hoyas
(16-5, 9-8 ATS)
Tags: CBB betting, college basketball betting, Georgetown Hoyas, Greg Monroe, Jay Wright, John Thompson III, NCAA basketball betting, Scottie Reynolds, Villanova Wildcats
Super Bowl XLIV Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Colts -4 ½, 56 ½ O/U Super Bowl Sunday is finally here and the world is anticipating an exciting show featuring two of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints will partake in the fight for the Lombardi Trophy. The New Orleans Saints are making their first appearance in the Super Bowl while Peyton Manning and the Colts will be trying to win their 2nd Championship in 4 years. The Saints offense led the NFL in scoring this season averaging nearly 32 points per game and the Colts were not far behind averaging 26 points per game leading viewers to expect fireworks this Sunday night. Last year’s Super Bowl broke the all-time viewing record at nearly 98.7 million viewers and this year nearly 10 billion dollars is expected to be wagered on the big game worldwide. Therefore, it is easy to understand why the Super Bowl is easily the single biggest sporting event on the planet. Under those circumstances, both teams will be under a huge amount of pressure. A lot of people think the Saints have momentum on their side, but Colts QB Peyton Manning is perhaps the best in the business and has been in this situation before. So who will win the biggest game in sports? It is no secret that the Colts heavily favor the pass just like the Saints and have tons of success doing so, but their defense may not be getting the credit they deserve. The Colts defense has surrendered just 10 points on average in their two playoff wins. However, the secondary has been very questionable this season and that is the main concern when facing the Saints offense. Still, if the Colts defensive front can get pressure on QB Drew Brees they could really frustrate the Saints offense. Last week the Vikings held Brees to just a 55% completion percentage due to their relentless pass rush and that has to be the main focus for the Colts defensive front this Sunday. On offense, the Colts fast paced and methodical approach is difficult to defend. Manning reads defenses better than any quarterback in the NFL and is averaging over 300 yards passing per game in the two postseason victories. The Saints have really struggled against the pass this season, but they have also forced a ton of interceptions, 26 during the regular season. Therefore, Manning can not afford to give the Saints secondary chances to bring down any interceptions. WR Reggie Wayne is the big play threat and TE Dallas Clark is perhaps the go to guy in key situations. However, young wide outs Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have inflicted most of the damage during the postseason as defenses have keyed in on Wayne and Clark. Collie and Garcon have combined for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns during the playoffs. The question is who will step up on the biggest stage? Still, if the Colts can just prevent turning the ball over and giving the Saints any additional opportunities with the football they will be hard to beat. The Saints offense has done a tremendous job at spreading the ball around this year and they have a ton of guys that the Colts must keep an eye on in the passing game. Wide receivers Devery Henderson and Marques Colston are extremely dangerous targets combining for nearly 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season. Of course additions targets like Robert Meachem and Jeremy Shockey will also be in the mix of things as well. QB Drew Brees is having a sensational season throwing for 4,388 yards with 34 touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. Those are very stellar numbers and Brees has performed well during the postseason as well. The key for the Saints offense will be “space.” They have to keep the Colts defense spread out giving their playmakers some 1 on 1 opportunities. When the Saints get space they can get some big plays and also work tailback Reggie Bush into the passing game. If that happens, the Colts secondary will have their hands full. For the Saints defense, they have to use the electricity from the big game and turn that into a positive. Often times in big games, you will see defenses step up and that has to be the Saints defense on Sunday. Safety Darren Sharper led the NFL with 9 interceptions during the regular season and a few of those big plays would be extremely critical in helping their chances in scoring the win. Nobody expects the Saints to flat out stop the Colts offense considering that is highly unlikely. However, if they can prevent the 7 point scores and force a few turnovers they will have a great opportunity to score their first ever Lombardi Trophy. Pick – I just do not see Manning losing this game and believe a late touchdown seals the deal for the Colts. Colts -4 ½
Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints
Sunday February 7th, 6:30PM Eastern
Tags: Colts vs Saints Pick, Super Bowl 44 Preview, Super Bowl XLIV Predictions
Mouse Morris’ 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition has had his ups and downs in the seasons since his famous victory, but could be returning to Cheltenham with a sporting chance in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, writes Elliot Slater. Having suffered his share of injuries and being out of action at the peak of his powers for nearly two years, the Presenting gelding returned last winter and was in good form. After running with credit on his first two starts in top company this term, War Of Attrition finished well down the field in Denman’s Hennessy romp leaving Morris with a dilemma as to where to go next. The veteran handler decided to freshen up the old boy with a run over hurdles and he excelled himself with a fine effort in Leopardstown’s Christmas Hurdle, before going a step further last time out in winning Gowran Park’s Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle, showing a surprisingly good technique for one who has been campaigned over the larger obstacles for so long. An intended starter in the John Smith’s Grand National, War Of Attrition could be seen back over fences in his native Ireland during February, before going to Cheltenham and then on to Aintree. However, the horse is currently around 40/1 in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle betting, something that suggest a fairytale win at Cheltenham is unlikely. It’s an unorthodox preparation but one that appears to be keeping the interest of this admirably tough old warrior who has won more than £674,000 in career prize money. He might not have the pace of old, but at his best in a strongly run race War Of Attrition will give it a go in the World Hurdle before going to Aintree with a serious chance of recording one last high-profile success. Mouse Morris’ most famous wins as a jockey came in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He rode Skymas to victory in both the 1976 and 1977 renewals of the event. This year, Master Minded will be looking to win the race for the third time in a row and the Queen Mother Champion Chase odds suggest he is in with a good chance of doing so.
Tags: cheltenham, horse betting, Horse Racing, war of attrition
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – TBA The Cleveland Cavaliers own the best record in the NBA and have rallied off 9 straight wins over the last 3 weeks. The Cavaliers who also own one of the best home records in the NBA (20-3) host the Miami Heat tonight in their 3rd straight home game in what is a long 8 game home stand in Cleveland. The Cavaliers have racked up 4 straight impressive victories by at least 10 points or more. However, before that they just barely held of Miami in a close 92-91 outcome in a game that featured brilliant performances by both team’s superstars in Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. In the last meeting, both James and Wade knocked down 32 points a piece. However, it was James who had the last laugh knocking down two free throws in the final 5 seconds of the game to go up by a point. Wade attempted a game winning shot as time expired, but the shot did not fall. Wade and the Heat know attempt to get a little revenge even though it will likely be more difficult on the Cavaliers home floor. Miami is coming off another hard fought loss last night to the Boston Celtics 107-102. The Heat exchanged the lead with the Celtics back and forth throughout the game, but once again could not close the deal in the 4th quarter. Wade drained another 30 points against the Celtics while surprisingly getting a solid supporting cast as 5 additional teammates scored at least 10 points in the contest. The Cavaliers have only given up 92 points per game at home this season so the Heat who shot a solid 52% from the floor last night will need another solid effort to score the win. The Cavaliers had Wednesday night off for rest after taking down the Grizzlies on Tuesday 105-89. The win marked the 3rd in a row the Cavaliers have held their opponent to less than 90 points total. Lebron James showed out on Tuesday, but it was not the points that were impressive. James did have 22 respectable points, but the 15 assists really impressed as nearly all of the Cavaliers starters got involved. Even Shaq put in 13 points while pulling down 13 boards in the contest. Daniel Gibson knocked down 16 points in the contest and his play is huge during the absence of Mo Williams. One thing that hurt the Cavaliers during the last meeting with the Heat outside of Wade’s 32 points is they allowed too many second chance opportunities. Miami, who is one of the worse rebounding teams in the league, pulled down nearly 50 rebounds against the Cavaliers just two short weeks ago. Shaq, James, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas must do a better job this Thursday in securing those rebounds and preventing those second chances for the Heat. If that happens, the Cavaliers should be fine.
Miami Heat (24-25) at Cleveland Cavaliers (39-11)
Thursday February 4th, 8:00PM Eastern
Tags: Heat at Cavaliers, Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
It has been over 10 weeks since Jimmie Johnson wrapped up a record breaking 4th consecutive Championship at Homestead Speedway, but the wait is finally over. This Saturday the engines will fire on the NASCAR’s 2010 season when the Budweiser Shootout drops the green flag from Daytona International Speedway. The Budweiser Shootout is one of the most popular races for fans as it has that “all-star” feel that draws plenty of excitement. Previous point’s champions, Daytona winners, 2009 Chase contenders, and 2009 pole winners are just a few of the qualifications to make a driver eligible for Saturday night’s spectacle. The reason the race has displayed great action over the past is because it is a non-points race with big money on the line. That particular combination provides aggressive driving at very high speeds. In fact, the restrictor plates that are run at the super speedways like Daytona and Talladega have been increased from previous years. The change in the restrictor plate should present some higher top end speeds, but more importantly give more horsepower and throttle response to the drivers. Previous restrictor plate races have been a crap shoot with anyone being able to jump in for a chance to win like Brad Keselowski who won last year’s Talladega race in just his 5th start in the Sprint Cup Series. Giving the drivers more throttle response should help give the better cars and drivers the edge. Therefore it would not be surprising to see some familiar faces in the mix of things like super speedway superstars Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two have always worked well together in the draft and should be able to be in the hunt this Saturday night. Earnhardt especially needs to get 2010 started off in the right direction after a disastrous 2009 campaign. Earnhardt received tons of criticism last season failing to win a single race in his 2nd season at Hendrick Motorsports. There has been more time and energy that has went into the #88 camp during the off-season so it will be interesting to see what transpires on the track. Right now Stewart actually is the leading favorite to win the race at +500 odds after capturing a Daytona victory in the July race in 2009. Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are also other favorites expected to be factors this Saturday night. Johnson is possibly one of the favorites due to the fact that he can win absolutely anywhere. Still, Johnson has not won a restrictor plate race since the 2006 season when he won the Daytona 500 and Aarons 499 at Talladega. Busch is one of those guys that many fans love to hate, but has possibly the most raw talent out of any driver in the field. Busch has run very strong at the plate races capturing two wins in 2008 and with new crew chief Dave Rogers in command Busch should be a contender again this Saturday. Of course everyone is a contender when the NASCAR circuit hits the high banks of Daytona, but there are a few dark horses to keep your eye on as well. One is the #83 Red Bull Toyota of Brian Vickers. Vickers surprised a lot of people last year by qualifying for the Chase for the Championship and has steadily improved into a legitimate contender on the track. Vickers got his first career victory at Daytona’s sister track at Talladega and is definitely got the moves to keep his Toyota out front. Another guy that should have some serious attention this Saturday night is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin exploded at the end of 2009 and was the only driver that ever appeared to be able to truly challenge Johnson for the Championship. A few misfortunes kept the Championship dreams out of the picture, but a breakout year could be in the works if they can continue their momentum in 2010. Hamlin has a knack for pushing cars to the front of the pack and it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him in victory lane this Saturday. Of course only time will tell as there are plenty more names that could emerge from the pack. One thing that is certain is that NASCAR has put more emphasis on returning back to their roots in terms of driver emotion. To much of the fans displeasure, NASCAR had tried putting a halt on the on track emotion and aggression. However, the move hurt ratings taking away from the sole character that makes NASCAR so exciting. In the days leading up to the start of a new season, NASCAR has publicly stated that they plan to be much supportive of the fans plea to let the drivers express their true emotions. The question is how long will it take for tempers to boil over this Saturday night. I can imagine it will not take long because 3 wide racing a few inches apart at nearly 200 miles per hour can get anybody’s nerves on tilt and that is why Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout should be a fun one to watch.
Tags: 2010 Budweiser Shootout, Budweiser Shootout Preview
For the second time this season, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Duke Blue Devils will engage in a college basketball betting affair. In the first meeting, the Jackets stung the Dookies 71-67 as seven-point NCAA basketball wagering underdogs. That game was played in Atlanta, though. Now, the Techsters will have to take their show to Tobacco Road, where the Blue Devils have won 14 straight games. This isn’t the first seemingly impossible road test for HC Paul Hewitt’s club this year. They’ve already got a win at North Carolina this year, and they’ve already take on the likes of Florida State (twice), Clemson, and Wake Forest in conference play. The Blue Devils are a solid 8-4 SU and 8-4 ATS against the 12 teams that they’ve faced that are likely going to the NCAA Tournament heading into Thursday’s showdown with G-Tech. Solid defense is going to be Georgia Tech’s key to victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Opposing teams have only shot 36.6% from the floor against them on the season, the fourth best mark in the country. The more important stat is that the Jackets are only conceding 29.3% from beyond the arc, a number that must hold true to stop Duke’s potent long-range attack. However, just as important is their ability to make offensive possessions count and avoid costly and useless turnovers. Georgia Tech is turning the ball over 16.2 times per game, and another big number like that against the Dookies will almost certainly lead to disaster. Duke couldn’t put any defensive pressure on the Hoyas on Saturday in Washington DC, and the end result was G’Town shooting a whopping 71.7% from the floor in its 89-77 win. Still, it’s amazing that the Blue Devils were able to stay in that game in spite of the fact that they shot just 37.1% from the field. The key was offensive rebounding, as that was a stat in which they won by a 12-1 margin. Though the Dookies aren’t typically known for their superb rebounding abilities, they are averaging outrebounding their foes by 7.1 boards per game on the season and will need another solid effort to deal with the bigs inside for G-Tech. This Duke team has every reason to be angry in this one. Not only is it coming off of that embarrassing defeat at the Verizon Center, but it also must want to avenge that bad loss in Atlanta. In the Blue Devils’ four ACC games played at home, they’ve averaged winning by 18.8 points per game, and only one foe (Florida State) has stuck within 20. Expect another big showing from the hosts on Thursday night. Selection: Duke Blue Devils The favorite is 15-5 ATS in the L/20 NCAA basketball gambling duels between these ACC foes. That’s good news for the Blue Devils, which you can find lined at -12.5 right now at Diamond Sportsbook!
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
(16-5, 11-4 ATS)
Duke Blue Devils
(17-4, 13-7 ATS)
Tags: college basketball betting, Duke Blue Devils, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, NCAA basketball betting, Paul Hewitt
