Ramsey, English help Missouri get past Clemson

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/19/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Keith Ramsey and Kim English each poured in 20 points, as the Missouri Tigers used a big run in the second half to take down the Clemson Tigers, 86-78, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

English made four three-pointers and Ramsey pulled down eight rebounds for Missouri (23-10), which had lost two straight games and three of four coming into the tourney. Laurence Bowers donated 15 points.

Missouri, the 10th seed in the East Region, will next play second-seeded West Virginia, which handled 15th-seeded Morgan State, 77-50, earlier on Friday.

Demontez Stitt made four three-pointers on his way to 21 points for seventh-seeded Clemson (21-11), which was appearing in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year. Andre Young was good on five shots from beyond the arc en route to 19 points, while Jerai Grant scored 12 in defeat.

Down 50-47 with over 14 1/2 minutes left in the game, Missouri put together an impressive 18-5 run to gain some breathing room. The flurry was started with two English three-pointers and a J.T. Tiller free throw. Tiller later ended the burst with a layup to make it 65-55 in favor of Missouri with under eight minutes to go.

Clemson slowly chipped away at the deficit and Trevor Booker's layup had them within five, 76-71, with three minutes remaining. But English responded with a three-point play at the other end to extend Missouri's margin to eight.

Stitt drained a three-pointer with 39.8 seconds left to get Clemson within four, 82-78. However, Clemson's fate was sealed when Ramsey made a slam and a pair of free throws around Young's missed trey.

Trailing 14-11 with over 14 1/2 minutes to play in the first half, Clemson went on a 17-5 run to build a nine-point lead. Young made a trio of three- pointers during the spurt, which Noel Johnson capped with a trey to make it 28-19 with nine minutes remaining.

Missouri fought right back with a 14-3 burst to go back in front. Ramsey had eight points during the stretch, including a layup to give Missouri a 33-31 edge with five minutes to go. The score was 39-39 at the half.

Game Notes

Missouri shot 52.6 percent from the field, while Clemson made 45.9 percent of its shots...Missouri went 5-of-17 from beyond the arc, while Clemson made 12- of-24 three-pointers...Missouri and Clemson had split their only two previous meetings coming into Friday...Clemson had a 9-7 ledger against teams from the ACC this season...Clemson was making its 10th appearance in the tourney and it owns an 8-10 record...This is the 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance for Missouri, which owns a 22-22 record at the event...Last season, Missouri reached the Elite Eight...Missouri finished 10-6 versus Big 12 Conference opposition during the regular season.

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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.