Struggling SEC foes meet in Knoxville

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/20/2007 - Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Volunteers are currently ranked 22nd nationally, but they will undoubtedly fall out of the Top-25 regardless of what happens in today's SEC clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Tennessee has lost three straight games, surprising considering that the team had won nine straight prior to the current slide. The three losses have come by a total of six points, including an 83-80 setback to Auburn on Wednesday. Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl had never before lost three consecutive games in his 15-year career, and he hopes that his Vols can remain undefeated at home by winning today over a struggling opponent.

South Carolina has absolutely no reason to enter this game with confidence. The Gamecocks are in the midst of an ugly four-game losing skid, and all four setbacks have been lopsided. In fact, all three of the team's SEC games have resulted in losses by 24 or more points, including an 87-49 setback to Kentucky at home on Tuesday.

Tennessee leads the all-time series with South Carolina by a 25-22 margin, including wins in two of three meetings with the Gamecocks last season.

South Carolina guard Tre' Kelley's play on Tuesday represented the lone bright spot for the Gamecocks in the humiliating home loss to Kentucky. Kelley scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, but the rest of the team combined to score a mere 30 points on 8-of-44 shooting from the floor. The Gamecocks even struggled from the foul line in a game in which they were outscored by 28 points in the second half alone. Kelley is averaging 16.5 ppg and 4.5 apg this season, while Brandon Wallace adds 11.0 ppg and 8.8 rpg to the lineup. South Carolina is scoring a mere 62.6 ppg on 41.7 percent shooting from the field through 16 outings, and it is obvious that Kelley can't carry the load alone.

Tennessee finished 7-of-15 from the foul line on Wednesday, while Auburn was able to make good on 20-of-28 free throws. Clearly, that differential proved to be the major factor in the loss for the Vols. Chris Lofton nailed 6-of-12 three-pointers and led Tennessee with 22 points. Ramar Smith pitched in a career-high 19 points, and JaJuan Smith posted 16 points. Lofton is without question one of the top backcourt performers in the nation, and he has led Tennessee in scoring in 14 of 18 games this season. The standout guard is averaging 22.5 ppg on 50.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 46.7 percent from three-point range. Smith checks in with 14.2 ppg for the Vols, who are posting 84.2 ppg while allowing 75.1 ppg to the opposition.

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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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.