Cougars and Gators collide in West Regional action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back in the NCAA Tournament after a two- year absence, the Florida Gators open first-round play of the 72nd annual event this afternoon as they tangle with the BYU Cougars in the West Regional at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

Florida is a 10 seed in the tourney, and the team kicked off the 2009-10 campaign with eight straight wins, but then hit the wall against SEC foes. The team nearly locked itself out of the NCAA Tournament with three straight losses to close out the regular season, but picked up a victory in the SEC Tournament before bowing to Mississippi State in a 75-69 final last Friday.

The Gators have made the Final Four four times in school history, with three of those coming with Billy Donovan as the head coach. In fact, it was Donovan who led Florida to back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. The program is 22-7 in the tourney under his direction and 29-12 overall in 15 previous appearances.

As for the Cougars, they were named the seventh seed in the West Region as they make their 25th appearance in the tournament. BYU is in the tourney for the fourth straight year, but the team has failed to get out of the first round since 1993 when it defeated SMU in the Midwest Regional by a final of 80-71. Taking into account the squad's 90-76 setback to Kansas that year, the Cougars have dropped eight in a row in the tournament.

This season the Cougars were one of the teams to beat in the Mountain West Conference, putting together a 13-3 league mark and a 29-5 record overall, which is a new school record for wins in a single season and marks the fourth straight campaign in which the squad has reached at least 25 victories.

As far as the all-time series between these two teams is concerned, BYU has won both previous meetings, the most recent of those coming in Orlando back in 1991 by a score of 79-73. Prior to that, the first meeting was back in 1959 with the Cougars posting a 74-65 triumph.

The winner of this game will be back in action on Saturday against the survivor of the North Texas/Kansas State bout.

Thanks to some early wins over weak opponents, the Gators were able to pad their defensive stats a bit and after 33 games are showing that they are giving up just 65.4 ppg. From an offensive standpoint the squad boasts five double-digit scorers, beginning with Kenny Boynton and his 13.6 ppg, and even though he has made more three-pointers than anyone else on the roster (67), his mere 28.5 percent accuracy out on the perimeter is poor to say the least. Add to that his 37.1 percent shooting from the floor overall and it is easy to see why the squad shot a collective 44.4 percent this season. Erving Walker (12.6 ppg) was a key to getting the offense into gear with his team-best 162 assists and not so much his 34.3 percent shooting from the field. Chandler Parsons (12.1 ppg) and Alex Tyus (12.0 ppg) each shot at least 50 percent from the field and cleared 6.8 rpg, while Vernon Macklin (10.4 ppg) proved to be picky with his shot selection, resulting in his 60.1 percent effort from the floor.

Jimmer Fredette, who scored 18 points and logged four steals in the loss to Texas A&M in the first round of this tournament last year, is clearly the top threat for the Cougars again this time around. An All-MWC First-Team selection for the second time in his career, Fredette might be the most explosive offensive player the Gators will have seen all season as he became the first player in BYU history to have two 40-point games in his career, with both of them coming this season. Fredette put up 21.7 ppg over the course of his 32 appearances, shooting a staggering 89.6 percent at the free-throw line and 44.8 percent behind the three-point line, all while handing out a team-best 151 assists. Jackson Emery (12.6 ppg) and Tyler Haws (11.3 ppg) were also key starters for BYU this season, combining to average almost nine rebounds per outing as well. Bringing Jonathan Tavernari (10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg) off the bench now means the Cougars have one of the best reserves in the MWC for a team that has outscored the opposition by almost 18 ppg this season.

Ganblenet NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.