Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Boudreau scored 18 points off the bench to lead the fifth-seeded Buffalo Bulls to a 72-54 victory over the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Calvin Betts netted 13 points for Buffalo (18-11), which moves on to battle fourth-seeded Miami-Ohio in the quarterfinals. The Bulls also got 12 points from Sean Smiley.

Justin Anyijong tallied 14 points in defeat for Toledo (4-28), which closed out its season with losses in 21 of the last 22 outings. The Rockets also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Jake Barnett, as well as 12 points from Malcolm Griffin.

Buffalo shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-22 at intermission.

The Bulls registered more field goals in the second half (15) than the first stanza (14), enabling them to cruise to victory.

Buffalo earned a 39-26 rebounding advantage in the clash and finished with 19 assists against only eight turnovers.

Final Score: Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73

Kalamazoo, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Kool racked up 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to lift the seventh-seeded Western Michigan Broncos over the 10th-seeded Bowling Green Falcons by a 75-73 final in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Flenard Whitfield added 19 points off the bench for Western Michigan (17-14), which will battle second-seeded Central Michigan in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Broncos also got 12 points from Martelle McLemore.

Scott Thomas scored 23 points in defeat for Bowling Green (14-16). Marc Larson posted 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons, who received 11 points and seven assists from Joe Jakubowski.

Bowling Green led 39-38 at halftime after shooting a stellar 17-of-25 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Still, Western Michigan was able to prevail because it earned a 10-4 edge in points from the foul line in the second half.

The Broncos finished the tilt with 17 assists against only six turnovers, impressive by any standards.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 65, Northern Illinois 59

Ypsilanti, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Bowdry posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the sixth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles to a 65-59 victory over the 11th-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

Justin Dobbins tallied 13 points for Eastern Michigan (17-14), which will attempt to upset the third-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round. Carlos Medlock added 11 points for the Eagles, who got 10 points from Jay Higgins.

Xavier Silas poured in 20 points in the narrow defeat for Northern Illinois (10-20), which received 15 points and 11 rebounds from Sean Kowal.

Northern Illinois led by a 22-8 margin early on, but the Huskies slowed down an owned less impressive 29-23 lead at halftime

Over the final 20 minutes, the Eagles connected on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts and held the Huskies to 30.8 percent shooting.

Northern Illinois finished the game with 18 turnovers, overshadowing a 39-27 rebounding advantage.

Final Score: Ohio University 85, Ball State 77 (OT)

Muncie, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats to a hard-fought 85-77 overtime victory over the eighth-seeded Ball State Cardinals in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

DeVaughn Washington and Tommy Freeman both scored 15 points for Ohio (18-14), which moves on to the quarterfinal round to do battle with the top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes. D.J. Cooper contributed 12 points. nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats.

Randy Davis scored 21 points in the heart-breaking loss for Ball State (15-15). Jauwan Scaife tallied 17 points, Terrence Watson added 14 points and Jarrod Jones pitched in 12 points.

Neither team was able to build a double-digit lead in the first half, and Ball State owned a narrow 36-33 edge at intermission.

Bassett hit a layup for Ohio with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 69-69. Bassett was fouled on the play and could have given the Bobcats the lead with a free throw, but his attempt missed its mark. Neither team was able to score again down the stretch, and an extra session was needed to decide the outcome.

Ball State scored the first two points of overtime, but Ohio closed the game on a 16-6 run.

A 27-11 advantage in points from the foul line was key to the victory for the Bobcats.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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