Lehigh tops Lafayette for Patriot League title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. McCollum poured in a game-best 20 points to go with seven rebounds, as the top-seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 74-59 victory over the third-seeded Lafayette Leopards in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament at Stabler Arena.

Zahir Carrington added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks (22-10), who won their first Patriot League crown since 2004. The victory propels Lehigh into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history (1985, 1988, 2004).

Dave Buchberger and Michael Ojo donated 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Mountain Hawks, who set a school mark for victories in a single season with 22.

Ryan Willen tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Leopards (19-13), who were making their first appearance in the Patriot League title game since 2000. Jeff Kari added 10 points off the bench in defeat.

Trailing 51-42, the Leopards ripped off eight straight points to get within one. Jim Mower capped the flurry with a three-pointer, making it a 51-50 contest with less than 11 minutes to play in the game.

But Lehigh closed the tilt on a 23-9 run to seal the victory. Carrington tallied 10 points during the burst.

Lehigh led 35-29 at the half.

Carrington's slam had the Mountain Hawks ahead 42-33 early in the second half. The Leopards were able to keep things tight by going on a 9-2 flurry, which Kari ended with a layup to make it 44-42 with 13 1/2 minutes remaining.

Lehigh then went on to score seven consecutive points to create some breathing room again. Buchberger's trey made it a 51-42 contest with 12:15 left.

Game Notes

Lafayette still has a commanding lead in the all-time series with Lehigh, 138-75....McCollum scored 16 points in the first half...Lafayette and Lehigh now hold two Patriot League crowns apiece...The Mountain Hawks shot 49.1 percent from the field, while the Leopards made 36.4 percent of their shots.

Wwdaum NCAA Basketball Betting News

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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.