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02/23/2012 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamaal Franklin scored the first five points of overtime and finished with 12 points all together to help No. 24 San Diego State sneak past Wyoming, 67-58, at Viejas Arena on Wednesday.
Garrett Green came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Tim Shelton and Chase Tapley each chipped in 10 points apiece as the Aztecs (21-6, 7-4 MWC) snapped a three-game losing streak.
"We have to find a way to win. We can't be excuse-makers," said San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher. "We've got to make a play. We've got to dig and dig and dig and dig and make a play. That's what this team has done. We have fought and fought and fought and not given up. And I like the way we have fought."
Arthur Bouedo led Wyoming (18-9, 4-7) with 11 points and Adam Waddell netted 10 to go with six rebounds for the Cowboys, who lost their fourth straight contest.
Franklin scored the first five in the extra session, as his three-point play gave the Aztecs a 60-55 lead less than a minute into overtime.
Tapley managed a steal and a layup, but Francisco Cruz quickly answered with 1:44 remaining to make it a 62-57 contest.
Green responded with a thunderous dunk down the heart of the defense to press the lead back to seven.
The Aztecs held on down the stretch, going 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to secure the overtime victory.
The Cowboys took a 44-35 lead with 11:13 left, but went the next six-plus minutes without a field goal as the Aztecs reeled off a 10-1 to tie the game at 45.
Leonard Washington would end the drought by nailing a three but Franklin answered with a triple of his own to tie the game at 48 with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.
Leading 53-52, the Aztecs got two free throws from Green to take a two-point lead after a Luke Martinez missed foul shot, but Martinez responded with a three from the wing that hit nothing but net to tie the game at 55 with 29.2 seconds left, allowing the Aztecs to hold for the final shot.
Tapley drove the lane but came up short on the left-handed layup and Wyoming corralled the rebound with 1.7 still showing on the clock, but Wyoming came up empty on a desperation attempt at the buzzer.
"The critical thing tonight was we missed foul shots with 45 seconds left to take the lead and they came down and made two," Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt said. "We had two chances to win it in regulation, but couldn't get them. I thought we shot the ball better in the second half tonight, which has been a nemesis for us the last five games."
Wyoming used an 11-2 run to jump out to an early 13-4, but San Diego State countered with a 12-3 run of its own to take a 26-24 lead.
The Cowboys took a 30-26 lead into the locker room after scoring the final six of the half.
Game Notes
The Aztecs have defeated Wyoming in five straight games for the first time during the all-time series which now stands at 37-34 in favor of Wyoming...The Cowboys finished 9-of-22 from long range, while the Aztecs made 3 of their 11 three-point attempts.
<< UNLV handles Boise State
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chace Stanback drained four three-pointers en
route to a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds as No. 21 UNLV took care of
business on Wednesday with a 75-58 victory over Boise State.
Brice Massamba contrib
<< Gasol, Lakers edge Mavericks
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds on
Wednesday night, as the Lakers escaped with a 96-91 win over the Mavericks.
With the narrow victory, the Lakers improved to 2-0 this season against
Dallas,
<< Roddick ousted in Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belgian Xavier Malisse knocked off second-
seed and defending champion Andy Roddick 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 in first-round
action at the $1.155 million Regions Morgan Keegan Championships on Wednesday.
Rodd
<< No. 4 Kansas tops Texas A&M
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Elijah Johnson scored a team-high 21
points to lead No. 4 Kansas past Texas A&M, 66-58, in the final Big 12 clash
between the two schools.
Tyshawn Taylor added 12 points, Jeff Withey contribute
Let's be Frank: Don't overlook Discreet Dancer this weekend >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the top two early Kentucky Derby favorites - Union
Rags (trainer Michael Matz) and Algorithms (Todd Pletcher) - lining up for
Sunday's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, it is easy to forget
about another of Pl
Ducks close out successful swing at Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to close out a successful road
trip on a positive note when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes for tonight's
interconference battle at RBC Center.
The Ducks are 4-1-2 so far on an eight-game trip
Panthers bring fresh legs into meeting with Wild >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The well-rested Florida Panthers will try to avoid matching
their longest losing streak of the season when they welcome the Minnesota Wild
for tonight's encounter at BankAtlantic Center.
Florida is 0-3 at the start of a fo
Canucks set to challenge Red Wings' home record >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting pushed below the .500 mark on the road in
their last game, the Detroit Red Wings will try to extend the longest home
winning streak in NHL history when they host the Vancouver Canucks at Joe
Louis Arena in tonig
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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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.
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