New Mexico wins 15th straight, advances in MWC tourney

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darington Hobson erupted for 28 points and 15 rebounds, carrying No. 8 New Mexico to a hard-fought 75-69 victory over Air Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Dairese Gary returned from an early injury and made 14-of-15 free throws to account for most of his 20-point effort for the Lobos (29-3), who set a single-season school record for wins thanks to their 15th straight victory.

New Mexico, the top seed in the tournament, moves on to play the winner of the Colorado State/San Diego State battle.

Tom Fow and Michael Lyons scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the ninth-seeded Falcons (10-21), whose win over Wyoming on Wednesday was their second in MWC tourney history.

The Falcons, who lost a 59-56 decision at New Mexico less than three weeks ago, again gave the Lobos all they can handle at the Thomas & Mack Center.

A Roman Martinez three-pointer had the favorites up 58-49 with less than 7 1/2 minutes to play, but Lyons' jumper two minutes later cut it to a 61-58 game.

New Mexico pulled away with five straight from the free throw line, and Hobson's acrobatic tip-in provided a 68-58 margin.

Mike McLain's offensive foul followed by two Gary free throws capped the game- sealing 11-0 run with 1:13 remaining, helping New Mexico grind out the surprisingly tough win.

Air Force was on top 13-12 when Todd Fletcher capped a 9-0 run with a three- pointer six minutes into the game. The Falcons went the next seven minutes without scoring, though the Lobos only scored eight during that stretch.

New Mexico's largest lead in the first half was 10, but Evan Washington beat the halftime buzzer with a long deuce to pull the underdogs within 38-31 at halftime.

Fow made two free throws and a three-pointer before Washington's three-point play cut Air Force's deficit to 48-47 with 12:48 to play.

Game Notes

This is New Mexico's second-longest winning streak in school history behind a 17-game streak set in 1967-68...The Lobos have won seven straight over Air Force...Grant Parker, the Falcons' leading scorer with 13.1 ppg, scored just six, while Fletcher and Washington netted 12 and 11, respectively, in defeat...Air Force outshot New Mexico 54.0 percent to 46.8 percent from the floor but were outscored on the foul line, 25-8.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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