Badgers rally past Illini for 15th straight win

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/21/2007 - Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kammron Taylor scored 20 points and Alando Tucker added 17, as second-ranked Wisconsin notched its 15th straight win with a 71-64 triumph over Illinois at Assembly Hall.

Greg Stiemsma chipped in 12 points for the Badgers (19-1, 5-0 Big Ten), who closed the game with a 12-2 run and haven't lost since a 66-64 decision against Missouri State on November 24.

Wisconsin owns the nation's longest winning streak and it is the longest for the school since a 15-game run to end the 1940-41 season. The Badgers are also 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 1961-62.

Shaun Pruitt scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Illinois (14-7, 2-4), which has lost five of its last seven games. Rich McBride contributed 15 points in defeat.

Illinois used a 10-1 run late in the second half and took a 60-57 lead on a three-pointer by McBride with 5:07 to play. A trade of baskets still left the Illini ahead by three with 4:01 remaining, but they would not hit another shot from the field the rest of the way.

Stiemsma buried a 14-foot jumper to make it a one-point game and followed with a pair of free throws with 2:06 left to put the Badgers ahead for good at 63-62.

After Chester Frazier missed a shot for Illinois, a couple of calls went Wisconsin's way.

Taylor had a three-point try partially blocked and Tucker appeared to go over the back of an Illinois player to grab the loose ball. As both players fell to the floor and no foul was called, Tucker freed the ball up for Taylor, who drained a jumper from the elbow to give Wisconsin a 65-62 edge with just over a minute left.

McBride then made one of two free throws for Illinois and Marcus Landry hit a tough shot at the other end. He was also called for an offensive foul on the play and Brian Randle made one free throw to leave the Illini down 67-64 with 32.6 seconds remaining.

Taylor then hit two from the stripe for the Badgers and Frazier misfired on a three-point attempt before Michael Flowers converted two more from the line for the final margin.

Wisconsin missed just three of its 21 free throws to offset a poor 3-for-16 effort from three-point range. Taylor was 8-for-8 from the stripe.

In a tight first half, Wisconsin scored six straight points to ignite a 12-2 run and two free throws by Taylor with 7:01 to play in the half gave the Badgers a 27-18 edge. The Illini responded with a 10-4 burst to pull within three, then went into the break down 35-31.

Illinois tied it at 39-39 on a jumper by Frazier early in the second half, but Wisconsin followed with 12 of the next 16 points and took a 51-43 lead on a free throw by Brian Butch with 9:42 remaining.

Game Notes

Illinois was just 14-of-23 from the line and made only 6-of-19 three-point tries...Frazier scored nine points for the Illini...Landry had six points for the Badgers, Butch finished with five and Flowers scored four...Wisconsin improved to 4-0 on the road.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.