Basketball Betting
 

Basketball Betting


NFL Football
NCAA Football
NCAA Basketball
MLB Baseball
NHL Hockey
Soccer
Auto
Horse Racing
Golf
Tennis
 

NBA Basketball Betting

Memphis forward transfers to Duquesne and can play immediately

Basketball Betting Lines

08/29/2006 -

PITTSBURGH (AP) -Almamy Thiero never lived up to the promise of his outstanding high school career during an injury-filled career at Memphis. He hopes to do so during his final college season after transferring to Duquesne.

Thiero, still listed on the University of Memphis' roster as of last weekend, is taking advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows graduate students to transfer schools and become eligible immediately. Undergraduate students must sit out one season after switching schools.

Thiero, a 6-foot-10, 255-pound forward who graduated from Memphis in May, played in 28 games over three seasons from 2002-05 but sat out the 2005-06 season with a knee ligament injury.

Thiero was considered one of the nation's top high school players while at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., where he averaged 18 points and nearly 14 rebounds for two seasons.

He was injured during most of his time at Memphis, including a broken leg that required two operations while he was a freshman. He also missed most of the 2003-04 season after being diagnosed with blood clots near his lungs. During his only healthy season, 2004-05, he averaged 0.5 points and 1.7 rebounds in 23 games.

Now that Thiero is healthy, Duquesne coach Ron Everhart thinks a player with four years of experience in an upper-level program can be a valuable asset to what might be the youngest team in Division I.

``He didn't play a lot at Memphis, but he can be an impact guy for us,'' Everhart said Monday. ``He's had some tough luck with injuries, but this gives him a new start and he's going to be a player we're counting on.''

Only two players from last season's 3-24 team returned to Duquesne after Everhart was hired away from Northeastern to replace Danny Nee. Everhart has recruited eight new players plus Shawn James, who will follow him from Northeastern but will be ineligible this season.

Having Thiero will help Duquesne make the transition before James, the nation's top shot blocker, becomes eligible.

``A player like Almamy who was at the highest level brings us a lot of experience and leadership,'' Everhart said. ``He's a player with ability, and our younger guys can learn from him what it takes to compete in college basketball on a daily basis and to win at this level.''

Duquesne has only one returning inside player with experience, 6-9 Kieron Achara, who missed all but a few minutes of last season with a shoulder injury.

The NCAA has had rules that allowed graduate students with eligibility remaining to change schools and be eligible immediately, but they did not apply to Division I basketball until this year.

Thiero is a native of Mali in West Africa.

Everhart's recruiting class is one of the biggest in major college basketball history - he has replaced nearly an entire team - but it will not include Destin Damachoua, a 6-1 shooting guard from The Master's School in West Simsbury, Conn.

Damachoua, one of Everhart's first four recruits and considered possibly the second best signee to 6-7 forward Stuard Baldonando, did not meet eligibility requirements. He is enrolled in Polk Community College in Florida.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

<< Pennington wins starting quarterback job; Martin staying on PUP
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -Jets quarterback Chad Pennington won the starting job Tuesday, but he will be missing a key member of the offense when the regular season starts.Running back Curtis Martin will start the year on the physically-unable-to-perform

<< Redick's DWI court appearance delayed until Oct. 24
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -J.J. Redick's court appearance to face drunken driving charges was delayed Tuesday until Oct. 24.Redick, a former Duke star and first-round draft pick of the Orlando Magic, was also charged with unlawful use of highways for making

<< Ortiz to return to Boston for medical tests
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was scheduled to leave the team Tuesday and return to Boston to be examined again for an irregular heartbeat.Big Papi was a late scratch for Boston's game at Oakland at Monday night for what was firs

<< UNDATED: infield single.
AL CapsulesUNDATED: infield single.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Ass

<< Notes from Monday's games
TORONTO: OF Alex Rios, who entered the series in a 2-for-19 slump, has seen his batting average fall to .296, the first time all season he's been under .300. He's batting .200 (19-for-95) since coming off the disabled since on July 28 (leg infection

Warriors drop Montgomery, re-hire Nelson >>
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -Coach Mike Montgomery was dismissed by the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, and Don Nelson was ready to step in.Golden State will re-hire Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history and the last coach to lead the downtr

Tuesday's MLB Transactions >>
MLB-Suspended RHP Chales Dasni (L.A. Dodgers) 50 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The

3,000 Hits >>
Player No.1. Pete Rose 4,2562. Ty Cobb 4,1913. Hank Aaron 3,7714. Stan Musial 3,6305. Tris Speaker 3,5146. Carl Yastrzemski 3,4197. y-Cap Anson 3,4188. y-Honus Wagner 3,4

NFL 2006: Dawkins is getting better with age >>
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -The ball arrived just before Brian Dawkins caught up to the receiver. So Dawkins threw his body in the air, extended his arm and knocked the pass away.It was the first quarter of Philadelphia's third preseason game. For Dawkins, i

Tuesday's NFL Transactions >>
BALTIMORE RAVENS-Placed S B.J. Ward and WR Matt Cherry on injured reserve.CAROLINA PANTHERS-Placed CB Marcus Cassel, OL Scott Peters and DE Devan Long on injured reserve. Waived TE Sean Mulcahy, DE Otis Grigsby.CINCINNATI BENGALS-Released LB Hanniba

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.