Irish and Wildcats meet in Big East clash

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/17/2007 - Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish are a perfect 13-0 at home, but must go on the road this evening, as they take on the Villanova Wildcats in Big East action from the Pavilion.

Mike Brey's squad is a stellar 15-2 on the season and has won 14 of its last 15 games. The lone loss during that span came in the team's only true road contest, dropping a 66-48 decision at Georgetown on January 6th. Since then, the Irish have won two in a row, including an 88-76 victory over Seton Hall on Sunday. The victory moved ND to 3-1 in Big East action.

The Wildcats are the opposite, 1-3 in league play, and have lost three of their last four games, including a 75-64 setback at Syracuse on Saturday. These two teams will meet again in 10 days in South Bend.

Villanova holds a 15-12 edge in the all-time series. In their only meeting with Notre Dame last season, the Wildcats edged out the Irish, holding on for a 72-70 decision.

Notre Dame shot .534 from the floor and hit 10 three-pointers in posting a 12- point win over the Pirates on Sunday. Russell Carter hit all four of his attempts behind the arc and led four Irish players in double figures with 24 points. Carter recorded his first double-double of the season and second in his career by adding 10 rebounds. Rob Kurz just missed his own double-double with 15 points and nine caroms and was followed in the scoring column by Luke Harangody and Zach Hillesland, who added 12 points apiece. Notre Dame is a real surprise this season and a full arsenal at the offensive end is the reason for the success. The team is averaging a hardy 84.1 ppg this year, shooting .492 from the floor and .401 from behind the arc. Carter has been outstanding this season and is one of the Big East's top snipers, shooting .454 from three-point range (49-of-128) and pacing the team with 18.0 ppg. Kurz is a perfect complement down low, adding 14.4 ppg, while grabbing 8.8 rpg. Colin Falls and Harangody provide adequate scoring depth with 12.2 and 12.0 ppg, respectively.

Villanova has done a nice job at the offensive end of the court as well this year. The team is shooting .449 from the floor, resulting in a healthy 75.8 ppg. The scoring pool is not as deep as Notre Dame's, but Curtis Sumpter is a special player that can take over a game inside. The 6-7 senior has returned from a knee injury last year and leads the Wildcats in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per outing. Mike Nardi provides perimeter balance with nearly 14 points per game (13.8) and is responsible for a team-high 39 three-pointers to date. Scottie Reynolds furthers the cause from the perimeter, averaging 9.9 ppg. Sumpter was unstoppable in the low post against Syracuse, finishing with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough in an 11-point loss at Syracuse. Nardi and Reynolds finished with 17 and 14 points, respectively, but the team shot just .361 from the floor and just .286 from behind the arc (8- of-28).

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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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