Wizards take down Raptors in OT

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Wall scored a game-high 31 points as the Washington Wizards held on for a 111-108 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors at Verizon Center on Monday.

Washington got season-high point totals from Nick Young (29) and Trevor Booker (19) as the Wizards snapped a four-game skid and got revenge for a 106-89 loss to Toronto on Friday.

Jerryd Bayless and Linas Kleiza led the way for the Raptors, netting 30 points apiece. DeMar DeRozan added 15 but it wasn't enough for Toronto, which has now lost four of its last five.

The Raptors trailed by as many as 18, but Bayless was able to knock down three three-pointers around two DeRozan free throws to put the Raptors down just two, 98-96, with 2:27 remaining in the game.

Kleiza then scored five straight for the Raptors, including a trey to give Toronto a one-point lead with 57 seconds left.

Wall drove on Bayless, drew the contact, and made the layup to give Washington the 104-103 lead. Wall missed the free throw, but Jordan Crawford came up with a big offensive rebound.

Crawford hit 1-of-2 from the line giving Bayless an opportunity as he drove left and missed the layup hard off the glass, but Amir Johnson was there for the putback dunk to tie the game, 105-105.

Washington got the last shot, but Young's final attempt was blocked and the two teams entered overtime.

In overtime, Washington again capitalized on a missed free throw as Young came up with a huge offensive rebound off of a Booker missed free throw. Young then went 1-of-2 from the line to leave the door open for Toronto.

The Raptors inbounded the ball down three with 1.5 seconds to play, but Jose Calderon airballed a three from the top of the key as Washington held on for the overtime victory.

Wall and Young got going early as they scored 21 of the team's 29 first- quarter points to give the Wizards a 29-19 advantage.

Kleiza finished the first half with 16 points off the bench for the Raptors, but they continued to struggle, trailing 57-42 at the break.

Kleiza and James Johnson hit back-to-back three's around two Wall free throws to get the Raptors within 10, 82-72, going into the final stanza.

Game Notes

Washington will host New York on Wednesday in the third game of a four-game home stand, while Sacramento returns home on Wednesday to face the Bucks... Washington's Rashard Lewis did not play with a sore left knee...Toronto shot 50 percent from three-point range.

Wwwgotocasino Basketball Betting News

<< Duncan's double-double lifts Spurs over Grizzlies
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan had 19 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks as the San Antonio Spurs held on for an 89-84 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Tony Parker added 21 points, seven assists and three steals for the Spur

<< Mariners sign Camp, Kuo
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed relief pitchers Shawn Camp and Hong-Chih Kuo to one-year contracts. Camp appeared in a team-high 67 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, posting a 6-3 record w

<< Hawkins, Thomas lead Maryland over Georgia Tech
Duluth, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tianna Hawkins and Alyssa Thomas scored 23 points apiece as No. 8 Maryland downed No. 22 Georgia Tech, 64-56. Hawkins added nine rebounds while Lynetta Kizer netted 10 points for Maryland (20-3, 7-3 ACC),

<< Ohio State continues its dominance over Wisconsin
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Samantha Prahalis scored a career-high 34 points as 10th-ranked Ohio State pulled away in the second half to down Wisconsin, 72-58. Tayler Hill added 18 points and Ashley Adams pulled down 10 reb

<< Paul helps Clippers beat Magic in OT
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul filled the stat sheet with 29 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to go with eight assists and seven rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers took down the Orl

Alabama's Mitchell suspended indefinitely >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama's second-leading scorer, Tony Mitchell, has been suspended indefinitely. Per the Tuscaloosa Bureau on Monday, Alabama coach Anthony Grant said Mitchell was being benched for conduct detrimenta

Coyotes get by road-weary Red Wings >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Hanzal scored twice to lead Phoenix over Detroit, 3-1, on Monday. Boyd Gordon also tallied and Mike Smith turned in a 30-save performance for the Coyotes, winners in three of their last four.

Kings handle skidding Hornets >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with a season-high 28 points to go with 19 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings over the New Orleans Hornets, 100-92, at New Orleans Arena on Monday. Tyreke Evans

Showtime to Lob City; Lakers are playing second fiddle in LA >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time you can make a very strong argument that the red-headed stepchild across the hall at Staples Center has more star power than the mighty Lakers. Adding Chris Paul to Blake Griffin has off

No. 18 Marquette downs DePaul >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Johnson-Odom netted a game-high 23 points and all five Marquette starters finished in double figures, as the 18th-ranked Golden Eagles shook off a slow start and defeated DePaul, 89-76. Jamil

College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

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.

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