Gators and Gamecocks collide in Gainesville

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Florida Gators put a five- game win streak on the line this evening, as the welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Gainesville for an SEC showdown at the O'Connell Center.

Billy Donovan's Gators are very much in the hunt for the conference crown thanks to their recent run of victories. Florida is second in the SEC at 5-1 and enter this contest following a 69-57 win over Mississippi State last weekend.

Darrin Horn's Gamecocks are at the opposite end of the league standings, residing in the league cellar with Georgia at 1-5. South Carolina has lost five of its last six games, including a 66-62 setback at Ole Miss last Saturday.

Florida holds a 38-22 lead in the series with South Carolina and has won nine of the last 12 meetings. The Gators are seeking a regular-season sweep after posting a 79-65 win over South Carolina in Columbia on January 14th.

In a close game throughout, the Gamecocks came up just short in Oxford against Ole Miss this past weekend. Malik Cooke led the way in defeat with 17 points. USC drained eight three-pointers in the game, but still shot just 40 percent from the floor. Brenton Williams added 15 points off the bench for USC, while Anthony Gill chipped in with 10. A lack of consistency on the offensive end has directly contributed to South Carolina's sub par record. The Gamecocks are shooting a mere 41.7 percent from the floor, leading to 62.8 ppg. The roster is void of any prolific scorers, as Cooke and Bruce Ellington are the only reliable double-digit threats at 12.7 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. Gill is just under the mark at 8.3 ppg.

Florida has had no issues with scoring this season, averaging a robust 80.7 ppg, shooting .481 overall, including an impressive .408 from behind the arc. Kenny Boynton is one of five Gators averaging double figures, averaging 17.2 ppg. Boynton is one of the nation's premier snipers, hitting 43.5 percent from three-point range and amassing 70 three-pointers to date. Bradley Beal (14.1 ppg) and Erving Walker (12.6 ppg) add to the perimeter assault. Center Patric Young (11.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Eric Murphy (10.6 ppg) give the team balance up front. The Gators drilled 11 three-pointers in the 12-point win over Mississippi State. Beal led four Gators in double figures with 19 points. Murphy finished with 14 points, while Young and Walker tacked on 12 and 10 points, respectively. Boynton however, struggled in the game, hitting just 1- of-6 from the floor and finishing with just two points.

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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.

Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.

If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.

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