Surging Hokies take on Seminoles in Sunshine State

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/17/2007 - Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams sitting at opposite ends of the ACC landscape get together in Tallahassee this evening, as the red-hot 23rd-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, take on the Florida State Seminoles in league action from the Donald L. Tucker Center.

What a week the Hokies have had, as Virginia Tech thrust itself into the national spotlight with wins over powerhouses Duke and North Carolina in a seven-day span. In all, Virginia Tech has won four straight games and nine of the last 10, including knocking off then top-ranked North Carolina this past weekend, 94-88. With the win, the Hokies moved to 13-4 overall and a perfect 3-0 in league play.

The Seminoles are still in search of their first league win (0-3), having dropped three games in a row, including last weekend's 88-80 shootout loss at George Tech.

Florida State leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 21-16. Tech won the last game however, a 72-61 decision in Blacksburg a year ago.

The win over North Carolina halted an 18-game losing streak to the Tar Heels and was Tech's first home win over UNC since 1949. The Hokies fell behind early, but went on a 17-0 run in the first half to take a 10-point lead at the break. North Carolina made a run of its own in the second half, but clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch preserved the win for the home team. Five Hokies finished in double figures, led by Zabian Dowdell's 23 points. Fellow starters Jamon Gordon (17 pts) and Coleman Collins (12 pts) got in the act as well, while key reserves A.D. Vassallo (17 pts) and Nick Munson (10 pts) did the rest. Tech is an obvious dangerous team that has gotten the job done at both ends of the court this season. The team is averaging 74.4 ppg on a solid .473 shooting. Defensively, Tech is yielding just 59.7 ppg, while holding opponents under 40 percent shooting (.397). Dowdell, who was named the ACC Player of the Week recently, leads the team in scoring at 17.0 ppg. His backcourt partner, Gordon, adds 12.4 ppg, while adding a team-high 73 assists. Vassallo is one of the ACC's top reserves, with 11.6 ppg and is followed in the scoring column by Deron Washington (10.8 ppg, team-high 5.1 rpg).

The Seminoles are similar to Virginia Tech in many statistical categories, but have failed to put it all together in league play yet. The team has done a nice job at the offensive end of the court, averaging a solid 75.1 ppg, while shooting a healthy .486 from the floor. Defensively, the team has thrived at forcing turnovers, averaging almost 19 takeaways per game (18.9). Al Thornton is one of the conference's most under appreciated performers. He is shooting .547 from the floor and leads the Seminoles in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and blocked shots (23). Auburn transfer Toney Douglas has fit in nice with his new team, averaging 13.6 ppg, while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor (.497). Jason Rich rounds out the double-digit threats with 10.5 ppg. The Seminoles jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but could not sustain the momentum, as Georgia Tech went on an 18-4 run to take the lead for good. Douglas led the way with 22 points, followed closely by Thornton's 20. Uche Echefu added 13 points to the losing cause, as FSU shot a respectable .509 from the floor, including 50 percent from behind the arc (8-of-16). However, the 'Noles turned the ball over a costly 18 times in the game.

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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