Wolverines and Spartans add another chapter to bitter rivalry

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/05/2012 - East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Michigan Wolverines will try to be the first team to knock off the ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center when the two rivals square off in a Big Ten Conference battle.

This will be the 169th meeting in the all-time series and second encounter this season. Michigan holds a 94-74 advantage over the Spartans after its 60-59 victory on Jan. 17th last month. The first matchup between these two provided a thrilling finish, which is highly likely to happen again in this one.

Michigan head coach John Beilein led his team to a crucial 68-56 home victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday to stay just a game back of first place in the conference. Despite defeating Purdue recently on the road, Michigan is still only 2-5 in games away from home this year. The Wolverines still own an impressive 17-6 overall record which includes a 6-3 mark in league play. The Wolverines submitted a stellar shooting performance from three-point range against Indiana, as they made 9-of-22 from long range to power the victory. The Wolverines provide a challenge for their opponents as they allow a mere 60.9 ppg, which is fourth best in the league.

Michigan has one of the best backcourts in the nation as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke are two of the top guards in the Big Ten. Hardaway is the team's leading scorer with an average of 15.1 ppg. The sophomore guard has scored in double-figures in three-straight outings after his 13 point outing in the win over Indiana. Hardaway Jr., has a big impact every time he steps on the floor due to his athleticism, which he utilizes at both ends. Despite being a freshman, Burke is third in the conference in assists (5.0 apg) and second on the team in scoring (14.3 ppg). Jordan Morgan is leading Michigan on the boards with 5.6 rpg and Zack Novak is a third scoring option as he is netting just under 10 ppg.

Tom Izzo's team fell to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten action on Tuesday when it dropped a 42-41 decision to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Michigan State is 1.5 games back of first place and would like nothing more than to move past Michigan in the standings as it avenges its loss from last month. The Spartans will be looking to bounce back from their horrendous performance their last time out, as they shot a season-low 24.1 percent from the floor against Illinois. Michigan State also dished out a season-low of four assists against the Fighting Illini. Despite the atrocious showing its last time out, Michigan State is still ranked third in the league with a scoring average of 74.1 ppg.

Draymond Green is pacing Michigan State with 14.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The senior forward will try to recover from Tuesday, when he scored only five points and committed five turnovers his last time out. Keith Appling is second on the team in scoring with 12 points per game while he leads the squad with 3.9 assists per game. Brandon Wood and Branden Dawson are solid contributors with scoring averages above eight points per game.

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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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