jeff benton friday
1-1 last night minus 35 dimes Minus $400
Jeff Benton FRIDAY'S ACTION
20 Dime college football selection on Boise State as a road favoriteas they make the short trip for an insaate showdown with Idaho. The Broncos are a huge 35-point favorite both here in Vegas and offshore, with a couple of places showing 35. Clearly, I believe Boise State is going to win in a complete rout, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shop around for the best possible price, espelcially with 35 points being five full touchdowns.
10 Dime NBA selection on the 76ers as a road underdog as they make their one and only visit to Dallas this season. Philadelphia is a 9½-point underdog both here and in Vegas. Again, make sure you shop around and for the best possible price, and because of the Mavericks’ struggles covrring spointspreads at home (see analysis below), I actually believe we’ll see money come in on the 76ers. So don’t get stuck with a bad number.
BOISE STATE
Don’t care that we have to lay an extra seven points tonight (and make no mistake, we are); after what I saw out of Boise State last week in its 42-7 dismantling of Hawaii – holding one of the nation’s most prolific offenses to a single meaningless touchdown – I have no problem baaking the Broncos as a five-touchdown road chalk in an instate rivalry game.
Boise State didn’t just rout Hawaii as a 21-point chalk on Saturday, it completely dismantled the Warriors. Here are the numbers to back that up: The Broncos had 30 first downs, 507 passing yards, 230 rushing yards and went 8-for-12 on third down; Hawaii had 11 third down, 151 passing yards, 45 total yards and went 3-for-14 on third down. And get this: Boise put up those statistical discrepancies despite possessing the football for 1 minute, 16 seconds more than Hawaii had it.
If the Broncos hadn’t lost the turnover battle 3-0 – a rarity for this team – they would’ve won that game by 55 points, EASILY!
And again, this is a Hawaii squad that arrived in Boise on a roll, having won and covered six straight games while averaging 46 points per game. That included a 27-21 win over Nevada (at the time ranked in the Top 25 and perceived by many as the second-best team in the WAC behind Boise State). And a week before getting crushed in Boise, Hawaii lambasted Idaho 45-10 as a 15-point home favorite.
How did Idaho follow up its debacle in Hawaii? With Saturday’s 63-17 home loss to Nevada as a 12-point underdog, getting outgained 844-339 – no, that’s not a typo; Nevada gained 844 yards and rolled up nine touchdowns on the Vandals’ home field (which is supposed to be a difficult place for visitors. Add it up, and Idaho in the last two weeks has been outscored by a margin 108-17 while giving 1,338 yards, including more than 700 passing yards. Now the Vandals are running into a team that’s is one of the four best in the entire country, averaging 47 points and 534.5 yards per game while yielding 12.6 points and 231.4 yards per game. And the Broncos are led by a quarterback (three-year starter Kellen Moore) who since the start of last season has passed for 5,908 yards with 60 TDs against 7 INTs.
I think you get the point. But here are some more reasons to love Boise tonight: 1) Idaho comes into this contest having lost three of four overall (0-4 ATS), with the only win coming against New Mexico State; 2) Not only are the Broncos a perfect 8-0, but they’ve cashed in six of those eight contests despite laying massive pointspreads, most of them inflated like tonight; and 3) Not only has Boise completely owned this rivalry, but it has shown zero mercy against the Vandals.
Proving that latter point, beginning in 2000, Boise State has put up the following point totals against Idaho: 66, 45, 38, 24, 65, 70, 42, 58, 45 and 63. Average margin of victory over this 10-game stretch? 33.1 points. Composite final score in the last three meetings? Boise State 166, Idaho 49, including a 63-25 rout as a 32-point home favorite exactly one year ago when Idaho actually finished 8-5 and won its first bowl game in more than a decade!
Bottom line: We know Boise State can name the score here, and if the past three meetings with the Vandals are any indiclation (58-14, 45-10, 63-25), there will be no letting off the gas pedal for the Broncos – especially since they remain on the outside looking in as far as the BCS standings are concerned. They need to win and win big each and every week to try to improve their national championship odds. And the fact they committed three turnovers last week against Hawaii (and forced none) gave coach Chris Peterson a flaw to focus on as he got his team prepared for this contest.
Boise rolls, 62-21.
76ERS
NBA betting 101: If you want to make easy money, you go against the Mavericks when they’re a sizeable home favorite (like they are tonight against Philadelphia). So far, Dallas has played four games at American Airlines Center and gone 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS. This includes three straight non-covers against the Grizzlies (91-90 loss as a 9½-point chalk), Nuggets (103-92 loss as a 6½-point favorite) and Celtics (89-87 win as a 3½-point chalk) since a season-opening 15-point win over Charlotte.
How horrid have the Mavs been when laying big points at home lately? Since starting last year 4-1 ATS at home (all as a favorite), Dallas is 4-27-1 ATS when spotting visitors 4½ points or more – and that includes a meaningless 96-89 win as a five-point favorite over the Spurs in the regular-season finale last year. Even if you throw in games where they’ve been a short home favorite, the Mavericks are in a 7-30-1 ATS funk in regular-season action since starting out 4-1 ATS last year.
That’s A LOT of money the Mavericks have cost their supporters in the last 12 months. And included among that 38-game of pointspread freefall is last year’s home contest against the 76ers. Dallas escaped with a 104-102 victory on Nov. 30 of last year, but never threatered to cover as a 12-point favorite. And while Philly comes into this one with just two victories in its first six games – alternating wins and losses in its last five contests – the team has been getting the job done at the window, going 4-1 ATS in the last four games, including four consecutive covers as an underdog.
The Sixers are in the midst of a five-game road trip that started with a 106-96 win at the Knicks as a seven-point underdog and continued with Wednesday’s 109-103 loss at the Thunder, cashing as a nine-point pup. With the result at Oklahoma City, Philadelphia has now covered the spread in eight of its last 10 games against Western Conference squads, and it is on a 6-0 ATS run against Southwest Division clubs (think Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans).
On the flip side, adding to the Mavericks’ porous pointspread record at home is their 1-6 ATS mark in their last seven against the Eastern Conference and 0-4 ATS in their last four against the Atlantic Division.
Take the generous points, because if recent history is any indication, this will be a tight ballgame in the fourth quarter.
1-1 last night minus 35 dimes Minus $400
Jeff Benton FRIDAY'S ACTION
20 Dime college football selection on Boise State as a road favoriteas they make the short trip for an insaate showdown with Idaho. The Broncos are a huge 35-point favorite both here in Vegas and offshore, with a couple of places showing 35. Clearly, I believe Boise State is going to win in a complete rout, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t shop around for the best possible price, espelcially with 35 points being five full touchdowns.
10 Dime NBA selection on the 76ers as a road underdog as they make their one and only visit to Dallas this season. Philadelphia is a 9½-point underdog both here and in Vegas. Again, make sure you shop around and for the best possible price, and because of the Mavericks’ struggles covrring spointspreads at home (see analysis below), I actually believe we’ll see money come in on the 76ers. So don’t get stuck with a bad number.
BOISE STATE
Don’t care that we have to lay an extra seven points tonight (and make no mistake, we are); after what I saw out of Boise State last week in its 42-7 dismantling of Hawaii – holding one of the nation’s most prolific offenses to a single meaningless touchdown – I have no problem baaking the Broncos as a five-touchdown road chalk in an instate rivalry game.
Boise State didn’t just rout Hawaii as a 21-point chalk on Saturday, it completely dismantled the Warriors. Here are the numbers to back that up: The Broncos had 30 first downs, 507 passing yards, 230 rushing yards and went 8-for-12 on third down; Hawaii had 11 third down, 151 passing yards, 45 total yards and went 3-for-14 on third down. And get this: Boise put up those statistical discrepancies despite possessing the football for 1 minute, 16 seconds more than Hawaii had it.
If the Broncos hadn’t lost the turnover battle 3-0 – a rarity for this team – they would’ve won that game by 55 points, EASILY!
And again, this is a Hawaii squad that arrived in Boise on a roll, having won and covered six straight games while averaging 46 points per game. That included a 27-21 win over Nevada (at the time ranked in the Top 25 and perceived by many as the second-best team in the WAC behind Boise State). And a week before getting crushed in Boise, Hawaii lambasted Idaho 45-10 as a 15-point home favorite.
How did Idaho follow up its debacle in Hawaii? With Saturday’s 63-17 home loss to Nevada as a 12-point underdog, getting outgained 844-339 – no, that’s not a typo; Nevada gained 844 yards and rolled up nine touchdowns on the Vandals’ home field (which is supposed to be a difficult place for visitors. Add it up, and Idaho in the last two weeks has been outscored by a margin 108-17 while giving 1,338 yards, including more than 700 passing yards. Now the Vandals are running into a team that’s is one of the four best in the entire country, averaging 47 points and 534.5 yards per game while yielding 12.6 points and 231.4 yards per game. And the Broncos are led by a quarterback (three-year starter Kellen Moore) who since the start of last season has passed for 5,908 yards with 60 TDs against 7 INTs.
I think you get the point. But here are some more reasons to love Boise tonight: 1) Idaho comes into this contest having lost three of four overall (0-4 ATS), with the only win coming against New Mexico State; 2) Not only are the Broncos a perfect 8-0, but they’ve cashed in six of those eight contests despite laying massive pointspreads, most of them inflated like tonight; and 3) Not only has Boise completely owned this rivalry, but it has shown zero mercy against the Vandals.
Proving that latter point, beginning in 2000, Boise State has put up the following point totals against Idaho: 66, 45, 38, 24, 65, 70, 42, 58, 45 and 63. Average margin of victory over this 10-game stretch? 33.1 points. Composite final score in the last three meetings? Boise State 166, Idaho 49, including a 63-25 rout as a 32-point home favorite exactly one year ago when Idaho actually finished 8-5 and won its first bowl game in more than a decade!
Bottom line: We know Boise State can name the score here, and if the past three meetings with the Vandals are any indiclation (58-14, 45-10, 63-25), there will be no letting off the gas pedal for the Broncos – especially since they remain on the outside looking in as far as the BCS standings are concerned. They need to win and win big each and every week to try to improve their national championship odds. And the fact they committed three turnovers last week against Hawaii (and forced none) gave coach Chris Peterson a flaw to focus on as he got his team prepared for this contest.
Boise rolls, 62-21.
76ERS
NBA betting 101: If you want to make easy money, you go against the Mavericks when they’re a sizeable home favorite (like they are tonight against Philadelphia). So far, Dallas has played four games at American Airlines Center and gone 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS. This includes three straight non-covers against the Grizzlies (91-90 loss as a 9½-point chalk), Nuggets (103-92 loss as a 6½-point favorite) and Celtics (89-87 win as a 3½-point chalk) since a season-opening 15-point win over Charlotte.
How horrid have the Mavs been when laying big points at home lately? Since starting last year 4-1 ATS at home (all as a favorite), Dallas is 4-27-1 ATS when spotting visitors 4½ points or more – and that includes a meaningless 96-89 win as a five-point favorite over the Spurs in the regular-season finale last year. Even if you throw in games where they’ve been a short home favorite, the Mavericks are in a 7-30-1 ATS funk in regular-season action since starting out 4-1 ATS last year.
That’s A LOT of money the Mavericks have cost their supporters in the last 12 months. And included among that 38-game of pointspread freefall is last year’s home contest against the 76ers. Dallas escaped with a 104-102 victory on Nov. 30 of last year, but never threatered to cover as a 12-point favorite. And while Philly comes into this one with just two victories in its first six games – alternating wins and losses in its last five contests – the team has been getting the job done at the window, going 4-1 ATS in the last four games, including four consecutive covers as an underdog.
The Sixers are in the midst of a five-game road trip that started with a 106-96 win at the Knicks as a seven-point underdog and continued with Wednesday’s 109-103 loss at the Thunder, cashing as a nine-point pup. With the result at Oklahoma City, Philadelphia has now covered the spread in eight of its last 10 games against Western Conference squads, and it is on a 6-0 ATS run against Southwest Division clubs (think Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans).
On the flip side, adding to the Mavericks’ porous pointspread record at home is their 1-6 ATS mark in their last seven against the Eastern Conference and 0-4 ATS in their last four against the Atlantic Division.
Take the generous points, because if recent history is any indication, this will be a tight ballgame in the fourth quarter.
