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02/22/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant notched a game-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers stave off a hungry Minnesota Timberwolves squad with a 111-108 triumph at the Target Center.
Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 25 points each, with Odom adding 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and 11 of 12 overall. Los Angeles has also beaten the T'Wolves seven consecutive times and is a league- best 46-10 on the year.
Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes scored 20 points apiece for the T'Wolves, who have dropped two straight and seven of eight overall. Randy Foye and Mike Miller scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Craig Smith totaled 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Telfair's layup brought the T'Wolves within 106-105 with 76 seconds left to play.
Then, following squandered possessions by both teams, Bryant missed a three from the left elbow but Odom grabbed the rebound. He quickly put back a layup to give LA a 108-105 advantage with 20.5 ticks remaining.
On Minnesota's ensuing possession Gomes had an open look from the top of the arc, but threw up an air ball. Bryant grabbed the board and was fouled with 14.1 seconds showing before hitting 1-of-2 for a four-point lead.
The T'Wolves came down and Foye nailed a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Bryant was immediately fouled on LA's next inbounds pass and hit both shots for a 111-108.
Minnesota still had about seven seconds to get a shot off but Foye's bid was off the mark and the Lakers hung on for the victory.
"I think we had a lot of momentum down the stretch," Foye said. "They're a great team, a championship team, and they came in here today and took it to us. You have to give them credit."
The Lakers took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and were on top 54-50 at the break.
The teams traded baskets and the lead through most of the third before the Lakers took a 76-70 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left.
However, Smith's layup with 19.4 ticks remaining closed out a 10-2 T'Wolves run that gave the home team an 80-78 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
Foye's layup and Rodney Carney's dunk opened an 89-84 Minnesota lead with 8:38 left in the game.
"They were on fire as a team and they played really well," said Odom. "We didn't play well enough to stop them, but luckily we still won."
Josh Powell answered with a pair of jumpers and Odom hit two free throws to give the Lakers a brief 90-89 lead.
Up by one point moments later, Derek Fisher nailed a three with 1:44 left to make it 104-100.
Game Notes
The T'Wolves lost their sixth straight home game...LA shot 52.4 percent from the field and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe...Minnesota hit at a 50 percent clip from the floor and 73.7 percent at the foul line...The Lakers are 20-6 on the road this season...Minnesota is 8-19 as the host.
<< No. 9 Duke survives scare from eighth-ranked Wake Forest
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer each notched
career-highs with 35 and 30 points, respectively, and No. 9 Duke survived a
huge comeback effort from eighth-ranked Wake Forest to pick up a much-needed
101-91
<< California Dreamin': Kenseth wins second Cup race in a row
Fontana, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kenseth is perfect so far in the early
2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Kenseth, winner of last weekend's Daytona 500,
picked up his second-consecutive victory by taking Sunday's Auto Club 500 at
Auto Club Spee
<< Harding's big night leads Wild past Blackhawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Harding turned in a superlative effort
between the pipes, making a career-high 44 saves, and Peter Olvecky's first
career goal was the game-winner, as Minnesota escaped with a 2-1 win over
Chicago
<< Blake dishes out 14 first-quarter assists, Blazers destroy Clippers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge tallied a season-high 28
points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Blake tied an NBA record with 14 first-
quarter assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their eighth consecutive
home wi
Leafs win in OT, keep Rangers on the skids >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Hagman scored on the power play three
minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the
New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square
Garden.
No. 14 Arizona State holds off surging Wildcats >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden had 18 points and nine rebounds to
help No. 14 Arizona State edge Pac-10 rival Arizona, 70-68, at Wells-Fargo
Arena.
Rihards Kuksiks donated 17 points for the Sun Devils (21-5, 10-4 Pac-10), w
Warriors' Ellis sidelined at least one week >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis will be
sidelined 1-to-2 weeks because of stiffness in his surgically repaired left
ankle, the team announced Sunday.
Ellis, who missed the first 43 games of the sea
Report: Harrison asks for release from Colts >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a stunning move Sunday, future Hall of
Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison has reportedly asked for his release from
the Indianapolis Colts.
A report on NFL.com said that after Harrison and the Colts
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.
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