Bruins try to right ship in clash with Cardinal

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/26/2009 - Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked UCLA Bruins will attempt to bounce back from a shocking loss as they take on the Stanford Cardinal tonight in a Pac-10 Conference showdown.

UCLA has hit a rough patch, as the team has lost three of its last four games to fall behind in the race for the Pac-10 title. No one expected Washington State to beat the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, so the 82-81 setback turned some heads. UCLA is 20-7 overall and 9-5 in league play, and a victory is needed tonight to restore any confidence that may have been lost.

Stanford has lost its last three games to fall to 15-10 overall, a record that is clearly overshadowed by a disappointing 4-10 league mark. Head coach Johnny Dawkins watched his Cardinal fall to Oregon on Saturday by a 68-60 final on the road. The only reason for optimism tonight is that Stanford is 12-3 at home thus far.

UCLA crushed Stanford by a 97-63 final on January 31st, and the Bruins own a 131-89 advantage in the all-time series.

UCLA depends on the veteran duo of Darren Collison and Josh Shipp to lead the way at the offensive end of the floor. Collison paces the team with 15.0 ppg on the strength of his 53.6 percent shooting from the floor, and he has dished out 134 assists against 58 turnovers. Shipp, the only other double-digit scorer in the lineup, provides 13.0 ppg, while Alfred Aboya (9.9 ppg) and Jrue Holiday (9.1 ppg) provide some balance to the roster. UCLA is generating 76.6 ppg while holding opponents to 63.3 ppg. Unfortunately, the Bruins yielded 82 points on 58.8 percent shooting from the field to a Washington State team that typically struggled to score against top competition. Nikola Dragovic posted 23 points in the setback, and Collison added 20 points and eight assists.

Overall this season, Stanford is scoring 72.7 ppg while allowing 67.7 ppg to opponents. In league play, however, those numbers are reversed, as the Cardinal are generating just 67.2 ppg while surrendering 71.6 ppg. Anthony Goods is the leading scorer for Stanford through 25 outings with 15.7 ppg, but his 39.8 percent shooting from the floor isn't exactly impressive. Lawrence Hill provides 13.6 ppg, and Landry Fields rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers with 12.5 ppg. Stanford connected on only 39.6 percent of its field goal attempts against Oregon on Saturday, the most obvious reason for the setback. Fields tallied 19 points, Hill added 18 points and Goods scored 16 points. Unfortunately, the rest of the team tallied a mere seven points.

Wwwwincity NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Boilermakers hope to keep pace in Big Ten title race
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers continue their push toward the Big Ten Conference regular-season title, and they need to beat the Michigan Wolverines on the road this evening. Purdue is hot on the heels o

<< Zags to try and pad stats in clash with Broncos
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already claimed the West Coast Conference regular season title for the ninth consecutive season, the 17th- ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will attempt to add yet another win to their already impressive record

<< Pac-10 showdown pits Sun Devils against Huskies
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils are riding a five-game win streak, and they are set for a Pac-10 showdown with the 21st-ranked Washington Huskies in Seattle. Washington owns the top spot in the Pac-10

<< LeBron leads Cavs into Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams riding five-game winning streaks square off tonight in Houston, as the Rockets welcome LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Toyota Center. The Cavaliers will open a four-game road trip

<< Hong leads by two in Thailand
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jin Joo Hong fired a six-under 66 Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Hong, the 2006 KOLON-Hana Bank Championship winner, leads after one round for the f

Hawks seek upset of 19th-ranked Musketeers >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Xavier Musketeers are trying to hold on to first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, and they will take on the Saint Joseph's Hawks tonight at The Palestra in Philadelphia. Xavi

Butler can claim share of Horizon League crown with win >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Butler Bulldogs can clinch at least a share of the Horizon League regular-season title with a win over the Youngstown State Penguins this evening. Youngstown State has won five of its last

Illini welcome Gophers to Champaign >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Still in the hunt for the Big Ten title, the 20th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini, welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Champaign this evening, for a key conference clash at Assembly Hall. Bruce Weber's Il

Demon Deacons and Wolfpack meet in ACC clash >>
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the oldest rivalries in the ACC adds another chapter this evening, as the NC State Wolfpack invade Winston- Salem to battle the 13th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons in conference action from the Law

Fifth-ranked Tigers put win streak on the line in Birmingham >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers continue their run through their Conference USA schedule, as they invade the Bartow Arena to take on the UAB Blazers in conference action in Birmingham tonight. The Tigers hav

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.