Aztecs seek return to win column in MWC clash with Falcons

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - USAFA, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs try to work their way back into the win column this afternoon as they tangle with the Air Force Falcons in Mountain West Conference play at Clune Arena.

Up until late January, the Aztecs were humming along with just a pair of setbacks on the season, but since then the team has bowed in three of the last five and is now tied for second place in the MWC standings with UNLV at 6-3 because of it. On Wednesday night, the team was beaten at home by New Mexico in a 77-67 final, which means SDSU is now chasing the Lobos in the standings heading into the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Falcons had a surprise of their own three nights ago when they finally picked up that first conference win of the season, a 58-53 triumph over Wyoming on the road no less. The victory snapped a seven-game slide by The Academy and was the first for interim head coach Dave Pilipovich who took over for Jeff Reynolds who was dismissed the week prior.

SDSU won the first meeting of the season last month by a score of 57-44 at home, which means the all-time series now numbers 47-20 in favor of the Aztecs.

The Aztecs had plenty of trouble hitting their marks from three-point range on Wednesday night, connecting on just 3-of-14 attempts out on the perimeter, which was enough to keep the team out of the win column once again. Jamaal Franklin tried to keep the group competitive with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but he would have been smart to remain in the paint where he was serving some good, rather than leaking out to beyond the arc where he missed all four of his shot attempts. Tim Shelton and James Rahon chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively, in the setback as well. Jamaal Franklin has at least held a share of the scoring lead for the Aztecs in five of the last six outings and that has pushed him to 17.4 ppg in league play, although his mere 26.7 percent shooting behind the three-point line is nothing to be proud of. Chase Tapley (15.8 ppg) is the one who deserves more attention for his three-point prowess, hitting on 43.5 percent of his attempts on the season, but as a whole San Diego State is connecting on only 33.7 percent on the outside for the year and 30.5 percent in conference.

Michael Lyons erupted for 24 points as the Air Force Falcons captured the five-point road win over Wyoming at Arena Auditorium earlier this week. Lyons finished the night shooting 6-of-8 behind the three-point line for the Falcons. Also scoring in double figures for the visitors was Taylor Broekhuis with 12 points. Air Force, which held the Cowboys to a mere four field goals through the first 17 minutes of the second half, picked up the win even though it failed to record a single offensive rebound for the first time since posting an 80-75 win over Colorado State on the same date back in 2003. Lyons has now scored 24 points in each of the last two games and has led the team in scoring in four of the last five outings, en route to 15.4 ppg which paces the program overall. Mike Fitzgerald checks in with 11.1 ppg and Broekhuis 10.2 ppg in conference play, but still this is a group that is scoring just 55.6 ppg versus the rest of the MWC and a mere 61.9 ppg overall in 2011-12.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.