Wofford beats Appalachian State, earns first NCAA berth

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameron Rundles had 20 points to help Wofford capture the Southern Conference Tournament title with a 56-51 win over Appalachian State.

The Terriers (26-8) captured their first title and gained the automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament for their first appearance in the Big Dance.

Noah Dahlman had 10 points while Tim Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds for Wofford, which defeated UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina to reach the title game.

Andre Williamson had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Ryann Abraham added 11 points for the Mountaineers (22-12), who were looking for their first crown since 2000.

Trailing by 18 points early in the second half, the Mountaineers clawed their way back into the game with 10 straight points. Williamson capped the run on a pair of buckets, with the last coming with just under 13 minutes to play to make it a 36-28 game.

Wofford continued to lead by two or three possessions for the next several minutes, but Abraham was fouled as he buried three-pointer and he hit the free throw to make it a four-point game, 48-44 with 2 1/2 minutes to play.

Rundles followed with a free throw, and both sides missed several attempts at either end.

Williamson put in a free throw with just under a minute to play to again make it a four-point game, but Terry Martin followed with two from the line for Wofford.

After Abraham quickly sank a layup, Rundles was fouled and drained his two attempts.

A Williamson slam was countered by 1-of-2 from Brad Loesing, but Rundles stole the ball from Abraham and hit a free throw to make it a six-point game with 19 seconds left to essentially seal the win.

The Terriers scored 17 of the first 20 points in the game, and maintained a significant lead through the remainder of the first half. A Rundles free throw followed by a Jamar Diggs jumper closed out the scoring in the half to give Wofford a 33-18 lead after 20 minutes.

Game Notes

Appalachian State leads the series, 22-11...Wofford shot 35.2 percent in the game while Appalachian State hit 28.8 percent of its shots.

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Betting Football

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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.