Robert Morris wins second straight Northeast Conference title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karon Abraham scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Robert Morris secured its second straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 52-50 win over Quinnipiac.

Abraham added three steals for the second-seeded Colonials (23-11), who won their seventh conference championship in school history. Dallas Green and Russell Johnson each provided nine points in the exciting victory.

James Feldeine scored 17 points to lead the top-seeded Bobcats (23-9), who were denied their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since becoming a Division I program in 1998-99. Justin Rutty contributed 12 points and 10 boards in defeat.

This game was played on Quinnipiac's home floor, where the team had been 14-0 this season entering the game.

Feldeine missed a deep two-point jumper with 51 seconds left that would have tied the game, but instead Robert Morris maintained a 50-48 advantage.

Abraham went to dribble up the court but slipped and was called out of bounds with 19.3 ticks on the clock, giving the Colonials another chance. Feldeine again tried a deep jumper, but the shot was blocked and knocked out of bounds by a Quinnipiac player with 9.3 seconds left.

Green and James Johnson traded a pair of free throws, leading to a trip to the line for Abraham with 2.8 seconds left. Normally an 87 percent free throw shooter, Abraham missed both, but a desperation heave from beyond half court fell well short of the basket.

Quinnipiac put together an 11-0 run over about five minutes in the first half to take a 15-10 lead on a pair of Jeremy Baker free throws, but Robert Morris was able to trim that deficit to 25-23 at halftime.

Neither team held more than a four-point lead at any time in the second half, and that margin last came with 16 minutes left on a Feldeine jumper. Robert Morris went back ahead by three, 44-41, on a Rob Robinson basket with 6:12 to play, but Rutty came back to tie the game at 48-all for the Bobcats on a pair from the line with 1:41 on the clock.

Velton Jones followed with a made shot for the Colonials for a 50-48 contest.

Game Notes

Robert Morris beat seventh-seeded Central Connecticut State in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals...Quinnipiac defeated eighth-seeded Monmouth in the quarters and fourth-seeded Long Island in the semis...The Bobcats took the lone season meeting, but Robert Morris leads the all-time series, 15-8...Both teams went 15-3 in conference play during the regular season...By virtue of Quinnipiac's regular season conference title, the Bobcats are guaranteed a bid into the National Invitation Tournament if not selected for the NCAA Tournament.

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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.