Boise State heads to Sin City to challenge 21st-ranked UNLV

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Las Vegas, LV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Losers of two straight and three of the last four outings, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels find themselves now ranked 21st in the country as they await the arrival of the Boise State Broncos for a Mountain West Conference showdown at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Just a short time ago it was the Rebels and San Diego State fighting for the top spot in the MWC standings and now both of those squads are trying to catch up to New Mexico, the same New Mexico that throttled UNLV on Saturday in a 65-45 final in Albuquerque. The scoring output by the Rebels was easily the lowest of the season for the squad and was a far cry from the 97 points the team tallied against TCU just four days earlier in a five-point overtime loss. Now tied with the Aztecs for second in the conference standings, UNLV is undefeated at home through 14 games so at least the team has that going in their favor after a difficult couple of weeks.

As for the Broncos, this is their first year in the MWC after making the move over from the Western Athletic Conference and early on the transition was clearly a difficult one for the program. However, since dropping seven in a row to begin conference play, BSU has turned the corner and rattled off three straight victories, the latest of those coming against TCU on Saturday in a thrilling 65-64 final. Even though Boise State is still tied for last place in the conference standings, the team certainly has reason to be encouraged.

UNLV leads the all-time series by a count of 3-1, but the Rebels had to go to overtime to take out Boise State on the road at Taco Bell Arena in the first meeting of the season by a score of 77-72.

Anthony Drmic knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining to give the Boise State Broncos a thrilling one-point win over the TCU Horned Frogs in Mountain West Conference action at Taco Bell Arena on Saturday afternoon. Drmic finished the afternoon with 10 points for the Broncos, followed by Derrick Marks who accounted for 13 points and seven rebounds and Kenny Buckner 12 points and six boards for the hosts. BSU survived despite shooting only 4-of-16 behind the three-point line. The epitome of balanced scoring, the Broncos have only one player scoring in double figures this season and still the squad is generating 70.5 ppg. Drmic checks in with 12.3 ppg, although his mere 38.5 percent accuracy from the floor is certainly questionable. Marks (9.2 ppg) and Buckner (9.0 ppg) pick up some of the slack as they convert 51.3 and 60.9 percent from the floor, respectively.

Playing in The Pit is never easy for the competition and the Runnin' Rebels were reminded of that on Saturday as they were crushed by the Lobos. UNLV finished the contest shooting a mere 14-of-45 from the floor and ended up with more turnovers (17) than made baskets. While it would not have made enough of a difference in the outcome, had the Rebels shot better than 11-of-21 at the free-throw line perhaps the visitors could have gone about it another way. Anthony Marshall was the only player in double figures for the Rebels as he dropped in 18 points, adding 10 rebounds to pace the team in that department as well. Completely taken out of his game was Mike Moser who delivered just eight points and four rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Moser is the one who makes this run-and-gun offense move, averaging 14.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, so when he is brought to a halt so is the team. Chace Stanback is responsible for 13.1 ppg as he gives the squad a presence on the perimeter where he is shooting 45.7 percent, but even with the Rebels hitting 62 more three-pointers than the competition running the floor and pushing the ball inside is still what makes this group tick.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.