Gators and Gamecocks collide in Gainesville

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Florida Gators put a five- game win streak on the line this evening, as the welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Gainesville for an SEC showdown at the O'Connell Center.

Billy Donovan's Gators are very much in the hunt for the conference crown thanks to their recent run of victories. Florida is second in the SEC at 5-1 and enter this contest following a 69-57 win over Mississippi State last weekend.

Darrin Horn's Gamecocks are at the opposite end of the league standings, residing in the league cellar with Georgia at 1-5. South Carolina has lost five of its last six games, including a 66-62 setback at Ole Miss last Saturday.

Florida holds a 38-22 lead in the series with South Carolina and has won nine of the last 12 meetings. The Gators are seeking a regular-season sweep after posting a 79-65 win over South Carolina in Columbia on January 14th.

In a close game throughout, the Gamecocks came up just short in Oxford against Ole Miss this past weekend. Malik Cooke led the way in defeat with 17 points. USC drained eight three-pointers in the game, but still shot just 40 percent from the floor. Brenton Williams added 15 points off the bench for USC, while Anthony Gill chipped in with 10. A lack of consistency on the offensive end has directly contributed to South Carolina's sub par record. The Gamecocks are shooting a mere 41.7 percent from the floor, leading to 62.8 ppg. The roster is void of any prolific scorers, as Cooke and Bruce Ellington are the only reliable double-digit threats at 12.7 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. Gill is just under the mark at 8.3 ppg.

Florida has had no issues with scoring this season, averaging a robust 80.7 ppg, shooting .481 overall, including an impressive .408 from behind the arc. Kenny Boynton is one of five Gators averaging double figures, averaging 17.2 ppg. Boynton is one of the nation's premier snipers, hitting 43.5 percent from three-point range and amassing 70 three-pointers to date. Bradley Beal (14.1 ppg) and Erving Walker (12.6 ppg) add to the perimeter assault. Center Patric Young (11.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Eric Murphy (10.6 ppg) give the team balance up front. The Gators drilled 11 three-pointers in the 12-point win over Mississippi State. Beal led four Gators in double figures with 19 points. Murphy finished with 14 points, while Young and Walker tacked on 12 and 10 points, respectively. Boynton however, struggled in the game, hitting just 1- of-6 from the floor and finishing with just two points.

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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.