Commodores meet Razorbacks in SEC showdown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/31/2012 - Fayetteville, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores hope to continue their rise in the SEC Standings when they travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Vanderbilt has won 10 of its last 11 games and is tied with Florida for second place in the conference standings. The Commodores continued their impressive run on Saturday by defeating 20-win Middle Tennessee, 84-77.

Arkansas has enjoyed a successful season as well and is winners of 10 of its last 13. The Razorbacks are coming off a loss to Alabama though, 72-66, on Saturday, marking their fifth road defeat in five tries.

This bout represents the 26th all-time meeting between these two teams, with Arkansas holding a 16-9 lead. The Commodores had won two straight in the series before the Razorbacks won on January 29, 2011, by a final of 89-78 in Nashville.

Vanderbilt ranks just below national powerhouses Florida and Kentucky in the SEC scoring rankings, netting 74.7 ppg. The Commodores hot shooting continued against Middle Tennessee, as they drained 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the win. John Jenkins continued his solid season, making good on 10-of-18 field goal attempts for 26 points. The junior leads the SEC in scoring with 20 ppg, and he leads the nation in three-pointers made with 78. Festus Ezeli had a season-high 21 points, up from his average of just 8.5 ppg. Jeffery Taylor is a competent scorer in his own right, ranking second in the conference with 17.3 ppg and fourth in field goal percentage at .536. Lance Goulbourne falls just short of the double-digit scorers' club with 9.9 ppg and he grabs a team-leading 7.2 rpg as well. Though its offense has been able to mask its deficiencies of late, Vandy's defense can be a liability, ranking ninth in the conference and the squad gave up 57.4 percent shooting to Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

Arkansas has a similar makeup to Vanderbilt, averaging just a half point less per game on offense (74.2) but the Hogs possess an even worse defense, ranking last in the SEC (66.1 ppg). A poor defensive effort proved to be the difference in a close game with Alabama over the weekend, as the Crimson Tide shot 50 percent from the field and they also went to the foul line 25 times. Rickey Scott had one of his best games in the loss for the Razorbacks, logging 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Scott (10.1 ppg) is one of three Hogs that average double figures in points, joining B.J. Young (14.4 ppg) and Mardracus Wade (10.8 ppg). Young and Wade have both proved to be threats from beyond the arc, making at least 1.5 three-pointers per game apiece with Wade ranking first in long-range efficiency at 47.7 percent. Arkansas is a poor rebounding team, ranking next-to-last in the SEC in rebounding margin (minus-2.5) and the team is without a player averaging five rebounds per game.

Wwwnydailynews NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.