Culpepper helps Miners clinch C-USA title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/02/2010 - Huntington, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Culpepper scored a game-high 32 points as 24th-ranked Texas-El Paso hung on to beat Marshall, 80-76, and clinch the Conference-USA regular season title.

Derrick Caracter added 18 points, while Claude Britten chipped in with 14 for the Miners (23-5, 14-1 in Conference USA), who have won 13 games in a row.

Tyler Wilkerson had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Hassan Whiteside added 20 points and 14 boards for the Thundering Herd (22-8, 10-5), who had a seven- game winning streak stopped.

Wwwfunbets NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Ducks send D Boynton to Blackhawks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks shipped defenseman Nick Boynton to the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations on Tuesday. The 31-year-old had one goal and six assists in 42 games for the Ducks this season. H

<< Sharks D Vlasic hits IR; three recalled
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Jose has placed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and recalled three players from Worcester, the Sharks' American Hockey League affiliate. Vlasic has been out

<< U.S. searching for right mix against Dutch
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. coach Bob Bradley assembled the majority of his best players for Wednesday's match at the Netherlands, and the last few spots on the World Cup roster could be decided at Amsterdam ArenA. The Ame

<< Terry won't lead England again under Capello
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England manager Fabio Capello has confirmed that Steven Gerrard will captain his side against Egypt at Wembley on Wednesday in the absence of the injured Rio Ferdinand. The Italian has also confi

<< Trucks back on track at Atlanta
Hampton, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck. Date: Saturday, March 6. Race: E-Z-Go 200. Site: Atlanta Motor Speedway. Track: 1.54-mile oval. Start time: 2:00 p.m. (et). Laps: 130. Miles: 200.2. 2009 Winner: Kyle Busch. Tel

Syracuse clinches Big East title >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins celebrated senior day in style, scoring 21 and 14 points, respectively, and in the process helped top-ranked Syracuse claim its first outright Big East title since 1

Hurricanes dominate Leafs >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Justin Peters was strong with 32 saves while Chad LaRose posted a goal and two assists, as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1, at Air Canada Centre. Peters made only the

Vanderbilt stays in SEC hunt with win over Florida >>
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Jenkins tied a career high with six three-pointers and finished with 18 points, as 13th-ranked Vanderbilt held on for a 64-60 win over SEC rival Florida at the O'Connell Center. A.J. Ogilvy chippe

Canadiens use strong third period to down Bruins >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Glen Metropolit registered a goal and one assist as Montreal scored four times in the third period to down Boston, 4-1, at TD Garden. Maxim Lapierre, Mathieu Darche and Benoit Pouliot also tallied for

'Nova gets back on winning track by clipping Bearcats >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottie Reynolds led six Villanova players in double figures with 17 points, as the ninth-seeded Wildcats edged Cincinnati, 77-73, in Big East play. Corey Stokes added 14 points and Reggie Red

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.