Whoustonrockets NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< No Stoudemire, no Anthony, no problem: Knicks roll past Jazz
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Knicks were playing without Amare Stoudemire and lost Carmelo Anthony to an injury early in the game, but Jeremy Lin had 28 points and eight assists in his first career start to lift New York over th

<< Nash, Suns strike down Hawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash scored 24 points and handed out 11 assists, as the Phoenix Suns downed the Atlanta Hawks, 99-90 at Philips Arena. Channing Frye contributed 19 points and nine rebounds, while Michael Redd and Jare

<< Sixers escape with win over Lakers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Williams scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied late to down the Los Angeles Lakers, 95-90, at Wells Fargo Center. Jrue Holiday added 13 points and si

<< Bulls roll past Nets
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls shot 55.6 percent from the floor, made nine three-pointers and went 19-of-23 from the foul line en route to an easy 108-87 win over the New Jersey Nets on Monday night. But it was not al

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

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

Wizards take down Raptors in OT >>
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 fr

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

Betting Football

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.