Prahalis helps Ohio State outlast Purdue
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/12/2012 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored 26 points, including a clutch three-pointer in the final minute to help No. 10 Ohio State fend off No. 16 Purdue, 80-71, in a Big 10 clash.
Amber Stokes and Ashley Adams chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Buckeyes (22-3, 9-3 Big Ten), who lost to Illinois on a last-second shot on Thursday.
Sunday was another close finish, but Prahalis' three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining pushed Ohio State's lead to 76-71. Prahalis then forced a turnover and the Buckeyes, who connected on 20-of-27 at the foul line, made four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the win.
Purdue (19-6, 9-3) was led by Brittany Rayburn's 22 points and Sam Ostarello's double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Boilermakers committed 18 turnovers in their third loss in four games.
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry recorded his second hat trick of the season and fifth of his career, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Bobby Ryan scored and added a
<< Wizards use big second half run to top Pistons
Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Wall dished out a career-high 15
assists and scored all nine of his points during a game-changing run in the
second half as the Wizards earned their second road win of the season with a
98-77 t
<< Nolan scores winner as Kings top Stars
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Nolan capped his first NHL game with his
first career goal, the game-winning tally in the third period as Los Angeles
doubled up Dallas, 4-2, at American Airlines Center.
Justin Williams, Dwight King
<< Tsonga lifts France to win over Canada
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga breezed past
Frank Dancevic on Sunday and sent France to a Davis Cup quarterfinals meeting
with the United States.
Tsonga needed just around two hours to knock off Dancevi
<< Rondo has triple-double, Celtics top Bulls
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo recorded his ninth career triple-
double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, helping the Boston Celtics
hold off the Chicago Bulls, 95-91, on Sunday.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves to record his sixth shutout of the season and 22nd of his career as the St. Louis Blues kept rolling at home with a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at Scottrade Center. Alex
Malkin scored twice as Pens double up Lightning >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp twice and the
Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.
The Penguins bounced back from the two quickest goals b
Heat breeze past Hawks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored all 21 of his points in a
lopsided first half, and the Miami Heat cruised past the Atlanta Hawks,
107-87, in a Southeast Division showdown at Philips Arena.
LeBron James chipped i
20! Red Wings tie home winning streak mark >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings tied the NHL record with
their 20th straight home win, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Sunday.
The Red Wings tied the record set by Boston during the 1929-30 season and
matched by P
Malkin scores twice, Pens double up Lightning >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp twice and the
Pittsburgh Penguins scored four unanswered goals Sunday night to beat the
Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2.
The Penguins bounced back from the two quickest goals b
What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.