BYU puts lengthy home winning streak on line vs. Air Force

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The BYU Cougars put the nation's third-longest home winning streak on the line today as they battle the 16th-ranked Air Force Falcons in Mountain West Conference action from the Marriott Center.

Trailing only Gonzaga and Air Force, BYU has strung together 26 straight victories in the Marriott Center, with the most recent win in the building coming on January 16 against Wyoming in an 89-81 decision. Since then, BYU has split a pair of road tests, losing to Colorado State by 12 points and then taking out New Mexico in Albuquerque on Wednesday night, 70-49. With the triumph against UNM, the Cougars are now 14-6 on the year and 4-2 in conference, compared to a streaking Falcons squad that is already 19-2 and leads the MWC with six wins in seven tries.

Air Force, owner of a 27-game win streak at Clune Arena, topped TCU on Tuesday night in an easy 72-39 performance, marking the team's second straight win and the 15th in the last 16 outings.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, both teams won on their own floor a season ago, which didn't help Air Force gain any ground against the Cougars who now hold a commanding 43-12 edge.

In addition to holding TCU to a woeful 5-of-19 shooting from the field in the first half and 32.6 percent from the floor overall earlier this week, the Falcons themselves knocked down a sizzling 61.9 percent from the field and 7-of-14 behind the three-point line in cruising to the win. The academy put a total of 15 players on the floor in the blowout, with Dan Nwaelele posting a team-high 13 points, while Matt McCraw and Tim Anderson tallied 11 points apiece. With four players having started every game this season, the Falcons generally know what they are going to get from night to night, although Jacob Burtschi (14.3 ppg), 5.6 rpg) failed to score in double figures in the win over TCU. Then again, he really didn't have to seeing as how the outcome was never in doubt. Nwaelele, a 50.5 percent shooter from three-point range, leads the squad with his 15.0 ppg and even though the team has just two losses on the campaign, they are still seventh in the conference in scoring with 72.6 ppg. However, as has been the case in recent years, the defense for the Falcons is unmatched, limiting opponents to a scant 55.2 ppg to again place near the top of the category on a national scale.

New Mexico was no match for the Cougars the last time out, especially with Lobo star guard J.R. Giddens aggravating an injury that had him out of the lineup for a few games earlier this month. Jonathan Tavernari came off the bench to tally 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field for the visiting team, while Trent Plaisted and Jimmy Balderson chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. BYU shot better than 50 percent from the field and made have of its 18 attempts beyond the arc, all while holding the Lobos to just 37.7 percent from the floor and 4-of-16 out on the perimeter. In their home games this season the Cougars have completely crushed the competition with a scoring average of 81.8 ppg, while limiting foes to a mere 62.8 ppg. Keena Young has tallied 16.6 ppg in those meetings, adding a team-high 7.6 rpg as well, while Plaisted contributes 11.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg. Overall, BYU is ranked first in the conference in scoring with 77.6 ppg and is tops in field goal defense, permitting opponents to convert 42.2 percent from the floor. Although the squad doesn't have one dominant man on the inside to clean the glass, Young, Plaisted and Lee Cummard (5.8 rpg) have done well enough to get the team to 38.5 rpg, tops in the conference entering the weekend.

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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.