Hayward, No. 16 Golden Eagles down Wildcats

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2007 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lazar Hayward scored a career-high 18 points, and the 16th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles topped the Villanova Wildcats, 80-67.

Dominic James also scored 18 points for Marquette (22-7, 9-5 Big East), which rebounded nicely from an agonizing last-second loss to Louisville on Saturday, and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. Wesley Matthews scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Marquette, and Jerel McNeal finished with 15 points and seven boards.

Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points for Villanova (18-9, 6-7), which has now lost two straight after a four-game winning streak. Curtis Sumpter scored 14 points, and Mike Nardi added 10 points for the Wildcats.

A Nardi three pulled 'Nova to within 68-62 with 2:43 left, but the Wildcats could not cut any further into the Marquette lead. Marquette outscored 'Nova 12-5 down the stretch to seal the much-needed win.

With the game seemingly headed for another down-to-the-wire finish, Marquette took control with a 12-3 stretch midway through the second half. A Will Sheridan jumper for 'Nova tied the game at 41 with 15:51 left, but Marquette responded with a run to pull away. A James three and a Hayward layup closed the stretch, pushing the Marquette lead to 53-44 with 10:16 left.

Reynolds led the 'Nova offense in the first half, netting 16 points before the break, and the freshman guard led a surge midway through the half that vaulted the Wildcats to a nine-point lead. Trailing 12-10, Reynolds drilled back-to- back threes, followed by a Dante Cunningham layup, then Reynolds came back to hit another three followed by a two-point jumper. All told, Reynolds scored 11 points on a 13-2 Wildcats surge, and 'Nova led 23-14 with 10:55 left.

Hayward led the Golden Eagles back, though, and his 13 first-half points helped Marquette erase the early deficit. The Golden Eagles outscored 'Nova 19-10 down the stretch, and knotted the game at 33 by the intermission.

Game Notes

Marquette, which made only 64 percent of its free throws entering the game, made 31-of-35 (89 percent), led by Matthews, who made 12-of-12...'Nova's 18 turnovers were one short of its season high of 19.

Mysportsboo NCAA Basketball Betting News

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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.