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03/08/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 39th annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament will begin on Tuesday, and the Morgan State Bears will look to claim their second straight tournament title. Morgan State, which defeated Norfolk State (83-69) in last season's title game, continued its dominance over league opponents by posting a 15-1 ledger in conference action this year. The Bears have participated in the last two tournament title games, but fell to Coppin State in 2008.
Along with Morgan State, Delaware State, South Carolina State, Norfolk State and Hampton will each enjoy a bye through the opening round of action. Delaware State edged out South Carolina State for the second seed, as the Hornets finished with an 11-5 mark, while the Bulldogs posted a 10-6 ledger. As for Norfolk State, the team was just 11-18 over on the year, but still managed to collect a 9-7 record in league action. The Pirates of Hampton avoided opening round play thanks to the fifth-seed, which was collected with an 8-8 mark on the season. Surprisingly those four teams were the only schools to finish the regular season with winning records in league play. The remainder of the teams in the MEAC will collide on the hardwood in opening round competition.
Tuesday night starts the opening round when the 10th-seeded Florida A&M Rattlers take on seventh-seeded Bethune-Cookman. The Rattlers claimed the MEAC Tournament title back in 2007, but since then the team has combined for just 19 total victories over the past two seasons. Florida A&M finished with just five league wins, but was able to close the regular season with three wins in its last five games. The Wildcats earned the seventh seed in the tournament with a 7-9 ledger in league action. However, down the stretch the team struggled, losing six of its last eight matchups. These two schools closed out the regular season against each other on Florida A&M's homecourt. The Rattlers won the matchup, but earlier in the year, the Wildcats clawed their way past Florida A&M at home.
The second contest on Tuesday will have the ninth-seeded North Carolina A&T Aggies square off against the eighth-seeded Howard Bison. The Aggies have the most MEAC titles amongst the team's currently in the league with 15, but have not claimed the tournament's top prize since 1995. This year the Aggies finished 6-10 in conference action, but closed the regular season with four consecutive losses. As for the Bison, they also finished 6-10 in league play, and finished with just seven victories overall. Howard has claimed this title on three different occasions, but the last time occurred back in 1992. These two schools collided twice on the hardwood, with both matchups favoring Howard, including a 59-49 victory at home back in February.
The third and final opening round game will be played on Wednesday when the 11th-seeded Coppin State Eagles battle the sixth-seeded Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. The Eagles did not soar high this season, collecting just eight total wins, while finishing with a meager 3-13 ledger in conference action. Coppin State closed its year with five losses in its last six contests. In 2008 the Eagles grabbed the conference title, making it the team's fourth in the MEAC, but grabbing a fifth will be an uphill battle. As for the Hawks, they finished with an 8-8 mark in MEAC action, but dropped two of the last three regular season matchups. UMES has not enjoyed much success in this tournament, posting a meager 11-34 ledger. The season series between the two schools was dominated by the Hawks, who won both meetings in convincing fashion.
Over the past couple of seasons the Bears have been an elite team in this conference, and this year was no different, as Morgan State claimed the top seed by finishing the season with an amazing 15-1 league mark. Last year Morgan State posted a 13-3 league ledger and went on to win the tournament title a year after falling short in the championship contest. Morgan State only lost twice in its last 18 matchups, and enters this tournament as the team to beat. For Morgan State to claim its third MEAC Tournament title the team will need to continue to play at a high level offensively, as the Bears come into this event averaging an impressive 76.9 ppg.
The second seed belongs to Delaware State, which finished the regular season with an 11-5 mark against league foes. The Hornets won five of their last seven games heading into this event with a strong chance to grab their second MEAC Tournament title. The only other time Delaware State reigned supreme in this event was in 2005, but overall the team is a meager 18-37 in tournament play. The Hornets will be successful in this event if they can enforce their style of play on their opponent, as Delaware State clearly feels comfortable playing at a slower pace. The Hornets are only posting 58.3 ppg, but at the same time the team is limiting the opposition to just 58.0 ppg.
The Bulldogs of South Carolina State stumbled down the stretch this season, losing five of their last eight games, but even with the late struggles the team still finished 10-6 in conference action, which was good enough for the third seed. South Carolina State was not overwhelming at either end of the floor this season, averaging just 70.1 ppg, while allowing 70.3 ppg. The Bulldogs have won this event on five different occasions, but the last title came in 2003.
The fourth seed was claimed by Norfolk State, which is only 7-10 all-time in this tournament. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 9-7 conference mark, but it was the team's success down the stretch that vaulted Norfolk State into the quarterfinals. The Spartans won six of their last seven contests, and eight of their last 10, and that run placed the team in the fourth seed. What will likely hurt the Spartans in this event is their play defensively, as Norfolk State is surrendering 75.4 ppg.
The fifth-seeded Hampton Pirates are no stranger to raising the MEAC Tournament trophy, as the team has accomplished the feat three times in the school's history. The last time Hampton was crowned tournament champion was back in 2006. This season was a struggle for the Pirates as the team finished with 17 overall losses. However, the squad picked up its play down the stretch, winning its last five matchups, four of which were league games that pushed Hampton into the fifth slot with an 8-8 mark.
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odds would be
<< Mountaineers battle Terriers for SoCon title
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wofford Terriers make their first-ever
appearance in the title game of the Southern Conference Tournament tonight as
they tangle with the Appalachian State Mountaineers for the right to move on
to the NCAA T
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appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship
game as they clash with the Fairfield Stags tonight in familiar surroundings
at Times Union C
<< Gaels and Zags duke it out for West Coast Conference crown
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As expected, the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs
and the second-seeded Saint Mary's-CA Gaels will meet this evening in the
championship game of the 2010 West Coast Conference Tournament.
This game is a rematch of
2010 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Preview >>
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Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Championship games and the top-
seeded Tigers have a strong chance to reach that point again in the 33rd-
annual SWAC Tou
Mighty Caps host sliding Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals were struggling heading into the
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Kings try to bounce back against Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Kings will try to avoid a three-game losing
streak when they host the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at Staples
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The Kings won their first game following the Olympic break, pounding Dallas,
5-1
Eagles bring back Avant; Vick next >>
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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.
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