Louisville seek 20th victory of the season

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Louisville Cardinals gun for their fourth straight win tonight, as they host the St. John's Red Storm in Big East play from Freedom Hall.

The Cardinals moved into the Top-25 this week thanks to an impressive two-game road trip in which they knocked off a pair of ranked teams in Pittsburgh (66-53) and most recently Marquette (61-59) on Saturday. The team has now won seven of its past nine outings en route to 19-8 overall mark and sole possession of third place in the Big East at 9-4. With a victory tonight, Louisville would notch its fourth straight 20-win campaign under head coach Rick Pitino, who has won at least 20 games on 13 occasions.

As for SJU, it enters the tilt on a down note, dropping a 71-66 decision at Providence on Saturday. The loss was the team's second in three games, as it fell to 15-12 overall and 6-8 in conference play. It was also the Red Storm's sixth loss in seven Big East games away from home.

As far as the all-time series goes, Louisville holds a 4-3 edge over SJU, including a 2-0 mark at Freedom Hall.

SJU has been at its best on defense this season, holding its opponents to just 64.0 ppg and only 41.0 percent shooting from the field. The solid defense has helped compensate for the lack of offense, as the Red Storm is netting a just 64.3 ppg. Lamont Hamilton has done a solid job all season long for SJU and he leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.7 rpg). Anthony Mason ranks second to him with 11.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg, while Avery Patterson chips in with 11.1 ppg. In the team's last game, Hamilton poured in 20 points and ripped down nine caroms, but it wasn't quite enough for the Red Storm in a five-point setback at Providence. Mason added 19 points for SJU, which went just 5-of-20 from long range and was dominated on the boards 39-24.

The Cardinals aren't a flashy team by any means, but they are certainly a sound one, averaging 70.8 ppg and giving up just 62.6 ppg. Terrence Williams has done it all for Louisville thus far and he is one of the few players who can say he leads his team in scoring (11.8 ppg), rebounding (7.1 pg) and assists (3.7 apg). Edgar Sosa chips in with 10.9 ppg and he has also been a factor on defense, recording a team-high 42 steals. In the club's previous outing, Jerry Smith played the role of hero, as he knocked down a three- pointer at the buzzer, lifting the Cardinals to a two-point win over Marquette on Saturday. Smith finished the game 3-of-4 from long range with nine points, while Sosa led the charge with 15 points and three steals. Louisville shot a solid 53.3 percent from the field, including a 7-of-17 effort from long distance.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.