Kentucky fends off Gators to wrap up perfect season at home

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe each scored 14 points, as third-ranked Kentucky held off Florida, 74-66, to complete a perfect season at Rupp Arena.

Patrick Patterson added 13 points and John Wall ended with 11 points and eight assists for the Wildcats (29-2, 14-2 SEC), who went 18-0 at home this season.

Kentucky, which had already won the regular season SEC title outright and will likely be a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, heads into the conference tourney on a two-game win streak.

Alex Tyus had 12 points to pace the Gators (20-11, 9-7), who have lost three in a row heading into the SEC Tournament, and might have to make a deep run to earn an at-large berth to the national tourney. Florida also got 11 points from both Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy.

Kentucky held a 49-37 lead a little more than three minutes into the second half, but the Gators got back in the contest with a 9-1 run. Chandler Parsons ended the stretch with a layup, trimming Florida's deficit to 50-46.

The Gators were within a possession multiple times down the stretch, and with 5:23 to go, Murphy's dunk had them within 62-60. But Florida went through a back-breaking dry spell, going more than three minutes without scoring.

In that span, Kentucky stretched its lead to 68-60, until a Vernon Macklin layup got the Gators going again with 1:43 left. Florida had a chance to slash into Kentucky's lead further after Boynton got a steal on the Wildcats' next possession, but on the ensuing fastbreak he was called for an offensive foul. Bledsoe then made two foul shots, and Kentucky sealed the win at the line.

The Wildcats held a small lead throughout the beginning of the first half, then used a 14-0 run to take control. Bledsoe's layup capped the rally with 5:20 left for a 34-16 lead, though Florida scored the final six points of the period to get within 41-31 at the break.

Game Notes

The Wildcats open their SEC Tournament on Friday against the winner of the South Carolina-Alabama contest the day before...Florida plays Auburn on Thursday...Darnell Dodson added 10 points for Kentucky, which shot 46.9 percent, including 8-of-18 from three-point range...Florida made just 12-of-21 free throws and 4-of-15 three-point tries.

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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.

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

Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.