Barnes, No. 8 UNC top Miami-Florida

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/15/2012 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harrison Barnes had 23 points and six rebounds as No. 8 North Carolina took a 73-64 win over Miami-Florida.

John Henson added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Reggie Bullock contributed 10 points and seven boards for the Tar Heels (22-4, 9-2 ACC), who have won their past two.

Durand Scott had 15 points and Kenny Kadji added 13 points and six rebounds for the Hurricanes, (15-9, 6-5), who have lost their last two.

Miami led by as many as nine points in the first half when Reggie Johnson put in a layup for a 31-22 advantage with under five minutes to play.

North Carolina, though, was able to cut that to five as Henson's layup made it a 35-30 game at the break.

A Scott jumper four minutes into the second half put the Hurricanes up by eight, 44-36, but Harrison Barnes countered with a three-pointer to kick off an 8-0 run that saw P.J. Hairston tie the game with a pair of free throws.

It remained tight for the next several minutes until Kendall Marshall put in a pair of free throws and North Carolina used that to start a 10-2 run. Bullock's three capped the burst and made it a 63-55 game with 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Rion Brown countered with a three, but the offense went cold over the next three minutes until James Michael McAdoo hit a free throw and Bullock buried a three with under two minutes to play for a 67-58 lead.

Miami never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

Game Notes

North Carolina hosts Clemson on Saturday...Miami-Florida hosts Wake Forest on Saturday...The Tar Heels have won 10 straight over the Hurricanes and 18 of 20 overall in the series.

Wwwaesop NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< No. 1 Baylor rolls through Oklahoma State
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner led all scorers with 28 points as top-ranked Baylor dominated Oklahoma State 83-51 at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday. Griner also ripped down 10 boards and turned away six shots,

<< Martin leads Rockets over Thunder
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 32 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 23.6 seconds left in the game, to lead the Houston Rockets to a 96-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Luis Scola

<< Murray State takes care of Redhawks
Cape Girardeau, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donte Poole poured in a game-high 25 points, leading No. 16 Murray State to a 75-66 win over Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday. Ivan Aska netted 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds, wh

<< Cavs handle Pacers in Irving's return
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyrie Irving came back from a three-game absence and scored 22 points, and the Cavaliers never trailed while earning a 98-87 victory over the shorthanded Pacers. Irving, who suffered a concussion duri

<< Gordon, Pistons pull away from Celtics
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Gordon scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Detroit Pistons pulled away to take a 98-88 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Rodney Stuckey paced Detroit with 25 points and Gr

Hornets break road skid with win in Milwaukee >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marco Belinelli led the Hornets with 22 points as New Orleans snapped a six-game road losing streak, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 92-89 at Bradley Center on Wednesday. Chris Kaman added a double-

Anderson, Senators beat Panthers 6-2 >>
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Anderson came back to haunt his old team on Wednesday. The 30-year old goaltender, who used to wear a Panthers sweater, made 42 saves Wednesday to backstop the Ottawa Senators to a 6-2 win over Fl

No. 3 Missouri cruises against Oklahoma State >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Denmon scored a team-high 17 points as No. 3 Missouri rolled past Oklahoma State with an 83-65 victory at Mizzou Arena. Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Phil Pressey and K

Seguin lifts Bruins over Canadiens in SO >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Seguin scored the winner in the shootout as Boston took a 4-3 win over Montreal at Bell Centre. Boston had blown a two-goal lead in the third, but Seguin scored on the second chance of the shootout when

Mavericks cruise at home over Nuggets >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Marion had 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks led by as many as 31 on the way to a 102-84 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. Vince Carter chipped in 15 points, Lamar Odom

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.