Rivals meet up in Starkville for SEC action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2012 - Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate rivals collide in Starkville this evening, as the 20th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs play host to the Ole Miss Rebels in an SEC affair at the Humphrey Coliseum.

Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs can't afford to fall any further behind in the SEC standings, as the team comes into this contest at 5-3 in league play, currently fourth in the conference standings. MSU has won three of its last four games, including a thrilling 91-88 shootout against Auburn last weekend.

Andy Kennedy's Rebels are six games over .500 at 14-8, but are even in the SEC at 4-4. Ole Miss has lost two of its last three games, including a heart- breaking 69-67 double-overtime game at Alabama on Saturday.

Although, Mississippi State holds a 138-106 series advantage, it is Ole Miss seeking the regular-season sweep after posting a 75-68 win in Oxford on January 18th. The last time Ole Miss swept the season series was in 1998.

Nick Williams led the way with 19 points, including some key baskets down the stretch, but Ole Miss was unable to secure a win in Tuscaloosa, falling to the Crimson Tide by two points in double-overtime. Williams was joined in double figures by forwards Terrance Henry and Reginald Buckner, who finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Fellow forward Murphy Holloway added eight points and nine rebounds to the cause, but could not prevent the team from falling to 4-4 in league play.

The Rebels strong in the frontcourt with Henry, Holloway and Buckner. Henry is a player that can score both inside and out and currently leads the team in scoring at 12.2 ppg. Holloway is strong in the paint, averaging a near double-double with 10.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game (third in the league). Buckner isn't much of a scorer (6.9 ppg) but is a force defensively, grabbing 8.5 rpg and leading the team with 51 blocks. He is the SEC's active leader in blocked shots with 210 in his career (school record). Williams (10.4 ppg) and Jarvis Summers (9.9 ppg) are backcourt complements and complete the starting five.

The Bulldogs enjoy a more balanced attack, with a dominant star down low and plenty of perimeter firepower in the backcourt. Junior forward Arnett Moultrie has been unstoppable this season and is certainly on the short list when talking about candidates for SEC Player of the Year. The 6-11 veteran is averaging a double-double, leading the team in both scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (11.1 rpg). He gets help along the frontline from fellow forward Renardo Sidney (10.2 ppg). Balance comes in the form of guards Dee Bost and Rodney Hood. Bost, a 6-2 senior, is both a prolific scorer (15.8 ppg) and deft distributor (4.7 apg). Hood, a 6-8 freshman, creates mismatches with his size and adds 11.3 ppg to the scoring deluge. Overall, MSU is averaging 73.8 ppg, doing so on a healthy .465 shooting.

Auburn put up a season-high 88 points, but the Bulldogs were more than up to the challenge, posting 91 in a thrilling victory this past weekend. Overall, MSU drained just over 60 percent of its shots in the game, as five Bulldogs finished in double figures. Moultrie was once again strong down low, leading the team with 21 points. Sidney poured in 17 and Bost fiished with 15 points and seven assists. Jalen Steele added 13 points off the bench, while Hood chipped in with 11.

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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.

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