Louisville seeks 20th victory of the season

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Louisville Cardinals gun for their fourth straight win tonight, as they host the St. John's Red Storm in Big East play from Freedom Hall.

The Cardinals moved into the Top-25 this week thanks to an impressive two-game road trip in which they knocked off a pair of ranked teams in Pittsburgh (66-53) and most recently Marquette (61-59) on Saturday. The team has now won seven of its past nine outings en route to 19-8 overall mark and sole possession of third place in the Big East at 9-4. With a victory tonight, Louisville would notch its fourth straight 20-win campaign under head coach Rick Pitino, who has won at least 20 games on 13 occasions.

As for SJU, it enters the tilt on a down note, dropping a 71-66 decision at Providence on Saturday. The loss was the team's second in three games, as it fell to 15-12 overall and 6-8 in conference play. It was also the Red Storm's sixth loss in seven Big East games away from home.

As far as the all-time series goes, Louisville holds a 4-3 edge over SJU, including a 2-0 mark at Freedom Hall.

SJU has been at its best on defense this season, holding its opponents to just 64.0 ppg and only 41.0 percent shooting from the field. The solid defense has helped compensate for the lack of offense, as the Red Storm is netting a just 64.3 ppg. Lamont Hamilton has done a solid job all season long for SJU and he leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.7 rpg). Anthony Mason ranks second to him with 11.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg, while Avery Patterson chips in with 11.1 ppg. In the team's last game, Hamilton poured in 20 points and ripped down nine caroms, but it wasn't quite enough for the Red Storm in a five-point setback at Providence. Mason added 19 points for SJU, which went just 5-of-20 from long range and was dominated on the boards 39-24.

The Cardinals aren't a flashy team by any means, but they are certainly a sound one, averaging 70.8 ppg and giving up just 62.6 ppg. Terrence Williams has done it all for Louisville thus far and he is one of the few players who can say he leads his team in scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounding (7.1 pg) and assists (3.7 apg). Edgar Sosa chips in with 10.9 ppg and he has also been a factor on defense, recording a team-high 42 steals. In the club's previous outing, Jerry Smith played the role of hero, as he knocked down a three- pointer at the buzzer, lifting the Cardinals to a two-point win over Marquette on Saturday. Smith finished the game 3-of-4 from long range with nine points, while Sosa led the charge with 15 points and three steals. Louisville shot a solid 53.3 percent from the field, including a 7-of-17 effort from long distance.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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