Purdue downs PSU, captures share of Big Ten title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - JaJuan Johnson finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, as seventh-ranked Purdue claimed a share of the Big Ten title with a 64-60 victory over Penn State.

Keaton Grant added 17 points for the Boilermakers (26-4, 14-4 Big Ten), who pulled even with Ohio State atop the conference standings and claimed a share of their first Big Ten title since 1996. Purdue also secured the second seed for the upcoming conference tourney.

Purdue did so while playing its final three games without forward Robbie Hummel, who suffered a torn ACL on February 24. The Boilermakers fell to Michigan State in their first game without Hummel, but took the final two to close out their regular season.

"It's great, especially for our players who really sacrificed a lot and battled, to be in this position and to get the job done is a great feeling," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We've had a little bit of bad luck here with Rob's injury, so it's good to see so many smiles in that locker room, because they know this was a team effort."

Talor Battle and Chris Babb each scored 17 for the Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15), who were coming off Thursday's two-point loss at Michigan State. Jeff Brooks ended with 12 points and seven boards in the loss.

Battle, Penn State's leading scorer, did not play the final six-plus minutes because of cramps, though the Lions nearly pulled even down the stretch.

"He just got sick. He was just sick in the stomach," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "He was very light-headed and very dizzy. He just felt horrible. He thought he was going to vomit and all of that kind of stuff, so he was back there with the doctor for the last five or six minutes."

Purdue held a 58-49 lead after Grant hit a three-pointer with 4:45 to play, but after David Jackson made 1-of-2 from the line, Babb drained a three. Andrew Jones followed with a layup to get the Lions within 58-55.

E'Twaun Moore's make from beyond the arc pushed Purdue's lead to six with a minute left, but Penn State still nearly came back. After a steal resulted in a Brooks layup with half a minute left, Grant missed the front end of a 1- and-1, then fouled Babb on a three-point try with 19.9 seconds left.

Babb sank all three attempts to bring PSU within 61-60. Two Moore free throws set the Boilermakers' lead at three, and Babb had a chance to tie on the next Lions possession. But his attempt missed, and Lions guard Tim Frazier dribbled the ball off his leg out of bounds after getting the rebound.

Johnson went to the line and made 1-of-2 to seal the victory.

Purdue held an 18-7 lead nearly midway through the first half, after Grant sank consecutive threes and Moore deposited a layup. The Boilermakers went into the break with a 30-22 lead.

Penn State got within 32-28 on a Battle three almost three minutes into the second half, but Purdue followed with the next eight points to restore a double-digit cushion.

Game Notes

Purdue never trailed...Johnson was 11-of-14 from the foul line, but the rest of his team went 2-for-7...Chris Kramer had four steals for Purdue...Penn State sank 9-of-22 three-point tries.

Wwwarcamax NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Wild forward Boogaard suspended again
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wild forward Derek Boogaard was suspended for two games on Saturday by the National Hockey League for an incident during Minnesota's game against Edmonton on Friday. In the first period of Friday's cont

<< Jags sign WR Osgood
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Jacksonville Jaguars signed wide receiver Kassim Osgood to a reported three-year contract on Saturday. The 29-year-old Osgood has played mostly on special teams since breaking into the NFL as an

<< Cardinals acquire S Rhodes from Jets
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals have acquired safety Kerry Rhodes from the New York Jets in exchange for two draft picks. The Jets will receive Arizona's fourth-round selection in 2010 and seventh- round selection in 2

<< Couples cruises to lead at Toshiba Classic
Newport Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fred Couples fired a seven-under 64 on Saturday to move to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds of the Toshiba Classic. Couples finished 36 holes at 12-under 130 and missed Rodger Davis' 2003

<< Dunn leads Baylor over Texas; Bears clinch No. 3 seed
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaceDarius Dunn scored 30 points and grabbed six rebounds, as 21st-ranked Baylor defeated the Texas Longhorns, 92-77, at the Ferrell Center. Quincy Acy finished with 24 points on 12-of-15 shooting for the B

Vols start strong in win over Mississippi State >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - J.P. Prince scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds, and No. 16 Tennessee opened the game with the first 17 points to conclude the regular season with a 75-59 win over the Mississippi State Bulldog

BYU trounces TCU to end season on high note >>
Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Tavernari scored 23 points, as 14th-ranked BYU breezed past TCU, 107-77, at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Jackson Emery and Charles Abouo each added 22 points for the Cougars (28-4, 13-3 MWC), who

No. 25 Xavier downs St. Bonaventure to gain share of A-10 title >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jordan Crawford scored 22 points to lead 25th-ranked Xavier to a 93-72 win over St. Bonaventure in the regular-season finale for both teams at Cintas Center. Jamel McLean poured in 15 points for the M

Misremembered wins Big 'Cap and Alphie's Bet takes Sham >>
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Misremembered, ridden by Martin Garcia, held off Neko Bay down the stretch to win Saturday's 73rd running of the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap (Big 'Cap) at Santa Anita Park. The four-year-old covered the

Celtics add guard Finley >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics officially announced the signing of guard Michael Finley on Saturday. Finley was waived at his request Monday by San Antonio after his playing time dwindled upon returning from a spra

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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