Top-seeded Duke faces upstart Miami in ACC semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils are the top seed in the 2010 ACC Tournament, and they are set to clash with the 12th- seeded Miami-Florida Hurricanes in the semifinal round this afternoon.

The winner of this tilt will do battle in the title game tomorrow against either NC State or Georgia Tech, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament up for grabs. Duke will obviously receive a "dance ticket" regardless, but the Hurricanes seemingly need to win this conference tournament championship to get an invite.

Miami crushed fifth-seeded Wake Forest by an 83-62 final in Thursday's opening round, and the team managed another upset yesterday with a 70-65 triumph over fourth-seeded Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes, a relative newcomer to the ACC, have never won this event. The club is 20-12 overall in 2009-10, a solid record considering a 4-12 finish versus league foes during the regular season.

As for Duke, it earned a bye through the opening round of this event and managed to knock off Virginia by a 57-46 final in yesterday's quarterfinal round. The Blue Devils are now 27-5 overall, including 5-0 in neutral-site affairs, and they have won 10 of their last 11 games overall. Duke has won the ACC Tournament 17 times, tying it with North Carolina for the most titles among all league members. Last season, the Blue Devils captured the crown by defeating Florida State by 10 points in the championship game.

Duke beat Miami by an 81-74 final during the regular season, and the Blue Devils own a commanding 12-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Miami played tremendous defense in the second half of yesterday's game against Virginia Tech, holding the Hokies to 29 percent shooting. The Hurricanes earned a dominant 46-29 rebounding advantage in the tilt and shot a respectable 46.3 percent from the floor. The positives enabled them to overcome 18 turnovers. Durand Scott paced Miami with 17 points, and DeQuan Jones pitched in with 14. As for Reggie Johnson, he pulled down 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who are generating 72.4 ppg while allowing 64.3 ppg to opponents. Dwayne Collins is considered by many to be Miami's best player, but a leg injury is expected to keep him out of this tournament. It is surprising that the club has played so well without Collins and his 12.0 ppg and 7.8 rpg. James Dews (11.7 ppg) is the only active double-digit scorer for the 'Canes, who are averaging 72.4 ppg while allowing 64.3 ppg.

The Blue Devils connected on only 38.2 percent of their field goal attempts against Virginia yesterday, including 4-of-14 from three-point range. Fortunately, they did play tremendous defense, limiting the Cavaliers to 32.1 percent shooting from the floor. As usual, the trio of Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer led the way to victory. In fact, those three players accounted for 48 of the team's 57 points. Singler scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who got 15 points apiece from Scheyer and Smith. Scheyer, the team's standout point guard, is netting 18.8 ppg to go along with 5.2 apg. Smith adds 17.5 ppg, while Singler contributes 17.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg. The fact that no other player on the roster averages more than 5.5 ppg for Duke emphasizes the importance of the "big three". The Blue Devils are generating 78.4 ppg while holding foes to 61.3 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting.

Mysportblog NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Terriers and Catamounts clash in America East title tilt
Burlington. VT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A berth in the NCAA Tournament is on the line in Burlington today, as the second-seeded Vermont Catamounts battle the fourth-seeded Boston University Terriers in the 2010 America East Conference Championship Ga

<< Home sweet home: Canucks return to GM Place to battle Senators
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The wait is finally over. After playing 14 straight times on the road over a span of six weeks, the Vancouver Canucks finally return to GM Place for tonight's interconference showdown with the slumping Ottawa Senators.

<< Blues hope to continue surge versus Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong road trip has put the St. Louis Blues back in contention for a postseason berth. The surging club continues its critical swing with tonight's visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who'll be seeking a third consecutive

<< Red Wings aim to get back in playoff picture against Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally healthy, the Red Wings' offense has looked like a dangerous unit that could give teams trouble in the playoffs. However, Detroit still needs to get there first. The Red Wings will try to leap into the eighth spot i

<< Coyotes hit the road to take on Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes will play their first road game in just over a month this evening when they kick off a four-game swing versus the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center. The Coyotes are among the league leaders with 25 home

SEC Tournament showdown pits Volunteers against Wildcats >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Up next for the winner of this game is a trip to tomorrow's championship

Commodores and Bulldogs do battle is SEC Tournament semifinals >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Mississippi State Bulldogs and the 20th- ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are set to collide in the semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament. Tomorrow, the winner of this contest will take on either Kentuck

Cougars and Miners duke it out for C-USA crown >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two programs trying to claim their first Conference USA Tournament titles come together at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso Miners clash with the seventh- seeded Houston Couga

Rams and Owls square off in A-10 semifinals >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 17th-ranked Temple Owls continue their run for a third straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title today, as they clash with the fifth-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the semifinals at Boardwalk Hal

Hoyas and Mountaineers square off for Big East crown >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament title is up for grabs this evening, as the 22nd-ranked Georgetown Hoyas take on the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at famed Madison Square Garden. The Hoyas were thought to b

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

You've come to the right place if you're searching for a great legal online sportsbook ! The sportsbooks featured on this page accept sports wagers for the NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NCAA, Tennis, Soccer, Auto-Racing, Golf, Boxing, Horseracing, and many more. Using the information displayed on this page, you'll be able to make a wise-decision when selecting an online sportsbook and wagering service.

If you've never wagered at an online sportsbook before, you will find the process of starting to be straightforward. First, you choose a sportsbook from the list provided below. We feature the top sportsbooks on the web, with rankings based on company size, reputation, security, web site usability, and payment options. Once you've chosen the betting site that's right for you, the next step is online registration. You'll need to provide some basic information to create your account and receive a username and password. At this time, you'll also select a payment option. The books reviewed accept Visa, Mastercard, BankWire, and several others. Once you have an account created with the Sportsbook, you're ready to start wagering. You'll want to get familiar with their website and contact their Customer Service department if you have any questions.

Also, make sure you read the terms and conditions, which is usually located at the bottom of the homepage. The terms and conditions will outline all of the rules and regulations for the sportsbook. Once you are comfortable with the website and fully understand all of the rules, you are ready to start betting on your favorite sports teams or even on some hot current events!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.