Big Sky Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Bozeman, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Melvin Jones sunk a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the sixth-seeded Portland State Vikings to a 68-65 victory over the third-seeded Montana State Bobcats in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament at Worthington Arena.

Julius Thomas led the way for Portland State (13-18) with 19 points and six boards, while Jones finished with 17 points on 5-of-9 three-pointers in the win.

Bobby Howard and Danny Piepoli netted 16 points apiece for Montana State (15-14), while Erik Rush added 13 and seven rebounds.

The Bobcats shot just 36.7 percent from the floor in the opening half, but were lucky to head into the locker room knotted up at 29-29 at the intermission.

The Vikings connected on 50.0 percent of their second-half field goals, including Jones' game-winning shot from beyond the arc.

Portland State will now move on to face top-seeded Weber State in the semifinals on Tuesday night.

Final Score: Montana 81, Northern Arizona 60

Missoula, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Johnson scored a game-high 22 points and the fourth-seeded Montana Grizzlies handled the fifth-seeded Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, 81-60, in a Big Sky Conference quarterfinal-round matchup at the Dahlberg Arena.

Will Cherry and Raason Young each contributed 11 points in the win for Montana (20-9), which will go on to battle second-seeded Northern Colorado in the semifinals on Tuesday evening.

Cameron Jones led the way for Northern Arizona (14-14) with 21 points on the night, while Nick Larson added 11 and seven rebounds.

The Grizzlies took a healthy 39-25 lead into the intermission after shooting 48.4 percent from the floor in the opening stanza, including 5-of-8 from long range.

Montana cruised to the 21-point victory by hitting on 50.0 percent of its field goals in the second half.

The Grizzlies won the battle in the trenches, outrebounding Northern Arizona 41-29, including a 15-5 advantage on the offensive boards.

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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.

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