Gaels and Toreros tangle in WCC affair

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Saint Mary's Gaels put an 11- game win streak on the line this evening, as they welcome the San Diego Toreros to Moraga for a West Coast Conference matchup at McKeon Pavilion.

Randy Bennett's Gaels are clicking on all cylinders right now, at 21-2 overall and a perfect 10-0 in conference play. It is the best overall start for SMC in school history. Saint Mary's has not suffered a loss since December 22nd against Big 12 power Baylor (72-59). Most recently, the Gales remained unbeaten in league play with an 80-66 victory at BYU this past weekend.

Bill Grier's Toreros have struggled this season and enter this contest five games under .500 overall (8-13) and three games below the mark in-conference (3-6). San Diego is coming off an 84-70 loss at San Francisco and has lost two of its last three games overall.

The Gaels are seeking the regular-season sweep after posting a 78-72 victory at San Diego back on January 5th. With the win, Saint Mary's sports a narrow 37-35 lead in the all-time series.

With a -4.9 scoring margin, it is no wonder the Toreros have found wins hard to come by. The team lacks any real scoring depth, netting a meager 66.4 ppg, despite shooting a decent .440 from the floor. Another area of concern for the team is the lack of production on the boards. USD is being outrebounded by nearly five rebounds per game. Johnny Dee is the only player on the team currently averaging double figures at 14.5 ppg. Chris Manresa and Darian Norris are just below the mark with 9.4 and 9.1 ppg, respectively. The Toreros finally put together a strong offensive showing last time out, shooting a cool .509 from the floor against San Francisco. Unfortunately, it didn't carry over the defensive end, as the Dons racked up 84 points in a 14-point romp. Ken Rancifer led the Toreros with 17 points. Dee finished with 13, while Dennis Kramer and Manresa added nine points apiece.

The Gaels are getting it done in just about every facet of the game, leading the WCC in field-goal percentage (.483) and scoring defense (60.3 ppg). The team has a number of invaluable contributors, headlined by Matthew Dellavedova and Rob Jones. Dellavedova leads the team in scoring (15.4 ppg) and assists (6-4 apg) with latter tops in the conference. Jones has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, but enjoys the play down low, averaging 14.3 points and a WCC-best 10.8 rebounds per game. Stephen Holt (10.7 ppg) is a viable third scoring option and leads the WCC in steals. The Gaels displayed their offensive firepower in the road win at BYU this past weekend, as four players finished in double figures. Brad Waldow hit 8-of-10 from the floor to finish with a game-high 19 points. Clint Steindl came off the bench with 16 points. Jones just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Dellavedova tallied 10 points, seven boards and four assists.

Sprotsbook NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< 24th-ranked Bulldogs set sights on Cougars
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs continue their quest for the top spot in the West Coast Conference as they head to the Marriott Center to square off with the BYU Cougars. This will be just the second meeting bet

<< Gators and Gamecocks collide in Gainesville
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Florida Gators put a five- game win streak on the line this evening, as the welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Gainesville for an SEC showdown at the O'Connell Center. Billy Donovan's G

<< No.10 Murray State meets SEMO in OVC action
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Murray State Racers put their flawless record on the line this evening, when the team takes on the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks in a key Ohio Valley Conference matchup at the CFSB Center. S

<< Hokies battle Blue Devils in Blacksburg
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devils get back to conference business, as they travel to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in an ACC matchup at Cassell Coliseum. The Blue Devils took a break from

<< Tressel headed back to Akron in non-coaching role
Akron, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel has been hired at the University of Akron in an administrative role. Tressel, who received a graduate degree from Akron in 1977, will not work in the athletic

Stony Brook to visit Syracuse, Army >>
Stony Brook, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stony Brook will travel to FBS programs Syracuse and Army and play six home games as part of its 2012 football schedule. It will be the second straight year Stony Brook has scheduled two FBS opponents. The

Bombers extend contract of GM Mack >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday extended the contract of general manager Joe Mack through 2014. Mack began his current role as the head of football operations in 2010, returning to the club for wh

Bombers re-sign QB Pierce >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed veteran quarterback Buck Pierce. Per team policy, terms were not disclosed. "We are thrilled that we were able to get a deal done with Buck," said Blue Bomb

Tepper tabbed to head Buffalo defense >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University at Buffalo has named Lou Tepper as its defensive coordinator. Tepper has more than 35 years of Division I coaching experience, including a six-year run as head coach at Illinois. He guided

Underrated Sixers fight for respect >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Philadelphia is the only city where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day," - Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt. The Sixers could only gain a victor

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.