Tar Heels put lengthy home win streak on line vs. Yellow Jackets

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith Center.

This will be the 85th meeting in the all-time series. The Tar Heels hold a 60-24 edge in the rivalry despite losing its last four contests with the Yellow Jackets. UNC is 25-6 against Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill.

Head coach Brian Gregory has seen his team drop four straight decisions to arrive at a 8-12 overall record and a 1-5 mark in ACC action. On Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets fell 64-49 to Miami-Florida, which was their eighth loss in nine games. Georgia Tech struggled offensively against the Hurricanes as they shot 35.7 percent from the floor and made only 4-of-15 from three-point range. Georgia Tech has averaged a mere 49.5 ppg in their last four outings.

Glen Rice, Jr. is leading Georgia Tech with 13.6 ppg and 6.6 rpg. The junior wing has averaged 16.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg while connecting on 5-of-13 from beyond the arc in his last two outings. Mfon Udofia is Georgia Tech's second leading scorer as he averages 10.8 ppg. Udofia netted 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Daniel Miller has made an impact on the defensive end of the floor as he leads the team with 2.5 blocks per game.

The Tar Heels are 17-3 after their 74-55 victory over NC State on Thursday. UNC showed off its superb rebounding ability in the contest as it won the battle of the boards 48-21 to help improve its record in league action to 4-1, which places UNC one half game out of first place behind Duke and Florida State. The Tar Heels are the highest scoring team in the nation as they average 84.5 ppg. UNC leads the ACC in average scoring margin, rebounding, assists, and assist-to-turnover ratio. UNC has won a school record 30 straight home games coming into tonight. Head coach Roy Williams has not had a great track record against Georgia Tech as he is 6-8 all-time versus the program.

Harrison Barnes is leading the Tar Heels in scoring with 17.3 ppg. Barnes has been playing very well as of late as he has netted 19 ppg on 50 percent shooting from the field in his last three games. Tyler Zeller and John Henson are a nearly impossible forward tandem to match up with. Zeller is second on the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (9.7) after he recorded his fourth- straight double-double of the year with 21 points and 17 rebounds his last time out. Henson is contributing 14.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg. The junior forward has made an impact on the defensive end as he has blocked 11 shots in his last two outings.

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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

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.