Tide puts perfect home record on line

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa is the site of today's SEC battle between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Not much has gone right for Arkansas lately, as the team has lost four of its last five games to fall to 13-7 overall and 2-4 in league. All five of the team's true road tilts have resulted in defeat, including a 66-60 setback to South Carolina on Wednesday.

Alabama is undoubtedly eager to get back to action after getting crushed by Auburn on Tuesday by an 81-57 final. It is hard to justify the Tide's high national ranking, as the team has lost three of its five SEC tilts, all by more than 20 points. There is reason for confidence tonight, however, as 'Bama is 10-0 at home this season.

Arkansas holds a 23-20 edge in the all-time series with Alabama, and the Razorbacks have won the last two meetings.

Arkansas is scoring 72.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 63.5 ppg, but that positive differential has much more to do with the team's play against non-league foes than against conference opponents. Patrick Beverley is the leading scorer for the Razorbacks, as he is netting 13.3 ppg on the strength of his 42.9 percent shooting from three-point range. Charles Thomas adds 12.2 ppg and 5.4 rpg to the mix, and Sonny Weems rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers with 11.8 ppg. In the six-point loss to South Carolina last time out, the Razorbacks turned the ball over 17 times, overshadowing a 15-8 edge in points from the foul line. Darian Townes led the way in defeat with 17 points off the bench, while Weems contributed 11 points. As for Beverley, he finished with 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

Alonzo Gee continues to pace Alabama in scoring with 14.7 ppg on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor, and while his offensive output has been strong in league play, his shooting percentage against SEC foes is down considerably. Richard Hendrix is netting 13.8 ppg overall, and Jermareo Davidson checks in with 14.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg. Mykal Riley (12.6 ppg) and Ronald Steele (10.8 ppg) round out one of the most talented starting units in the nation. In the ugly loss to Auburn earlier this week, Alabama shot just 38.3 percent from the floor, including 5-of-19 from three-point range. Also, the squad finished with six assists against 17 turnovers and scored a mere six points from the foul line. Steele scored 19 points on the strength of his 5-of-9 shooting from three-point range, and Davidson finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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