Booker leads the way as Clemson stays perfect

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/07/2009 - Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Booker scored 19 points and the 12th- ranked Clemson Tigers remained undefeated by surviving a pesky Alabama squad, 66-59.

K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby netted 12 points each for the Tigers (15-0), who are looking to equal their 17-0 start from two years prior when they were the last unbeaten team to fall.

It won't be an easy feat to duplicate as a duo of tough ACC foes are next on the schedule with home dates against NC State and No. 4 Wake Forest followed by a trip to Chapel Hill to face third-ranked North Carolina.

The Tigers shot only 34.5 percent from the floor in finishing the first half with a narrow four-point edge but improved to 44.8 percent over the final 20 minutes and held 'Bama to 29.4 percent shooting in that same stretch to come away with the victory.

Alonzo Gee and Senario Hillman logged 12 points apiece for the Crimson Tide (10-4), who had a five-game win streak halted in playing their first true road game this season. Ronald Steele chipped in 10 points while JaMychal Green had seven points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

A Gee layup early in the second half gave 'Bama the lead and the teams played it close until the Tigers exploded for a 17-1 run with Andre Young's triple capping the surge for a 58-43 lead with just under six minutes to play.

The Tide came back, though, with a 9-2 spurt with Steele's layup pulling the visitors to within six with 30 seconds left. Booker followed by hitting just 1-of-2 at the line but Steele misfired on a three and Booker made both of his next two attempts from the stripe to seal the win.

The visitors jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the early going but Clemson used a 20-8 run through the middle stages of the half to go up by five, 25-20, with 6 1/2 minutes left.

The Tigers extended their lead to six on a slam from Demontez Stitt later in the frame before a jumper by Demetrius Jemison cut the Tide's deficit to 33-29 at the break.

Game Notes

Clemson holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series with Alabama, including an 87-61 romp over the Crimson Tide last season...This contest marked the final non-league clash of the season for the Crimson Tide, who will begin SEC play Sunday against LSU...'Bama won the boards 46-35 but hit on just 4-of-19 three- point attempts...Clemson connected on 7-of-20 from long distance.

Wwnytimes NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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