AZ out to play spoiler

Soccer Betting Lines

05/01/2009 - Enschede, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar's victory lap continues on Sunday when the club travels to Arke Stadion to meet second-placed Twente, which is in a heated battle for second place.

AZ clinched the Eredivisie title two weeks ago, and despite having no real incentive last week against third-placed Ajax, still held the Amsterdam side to a 1-1 draw.

Now, AZ will try to spoil Twente's hopes of finishing in second place and putting themselves into the qualifying round of the Champions League next season.

Twente enters the match having lost 1-0 to Feyenoord two weeks ago and then playing to a 1-1 draw with Heerenveen last time out.

But despite the club's recent struggles, manager Steve McClaren believes that his team is capable of taking all three points against the champions and that all of their hard work to this point will not go unrewarded.

"Back in August, if I said that Twente, at this stage of the season, would compete for awards, you would have said I was mad," McClaren said. "The team has gradually grown over the season and it is because of hard work that we are in this position."

"We know what we should do on Sunday and that is win," the manager said. "The game against Ajax showed that AZ are very good and that they can win. In this game, there will be many eyes on AZ, who would like to show that they are the best."

Ajax faces a less daunting task when they visit 14th-placed Sparta, who still is not safe from the bottom three.

Sparta is three points above 16th-placed Volendam, but they are running into a motivated Ajax team that needs three points to keep its Champions League hopes on track.

Marco Van Basten's side has also stumbled in the past two weeks, losing 6-2 to PSV Eindhoven two weeks ago before finishing 1-1 with AZ, prompting the manager to vent a bit of frustration after last week's draw.

"Last week we waisted a chance to overtake Twente and basically we did that again," Van Basten said. "Thankfully we still have control over what's going to happen."

The reason why Ajax still controls its own destiny is that Twente will visit Amsterdam Arena next week on the final day of the season, and as long as Ajax remains within touching distance, they will have a chance to clinch second place on home soil.

PSV hosts NEC with an eye towards wrapping up a top-four spot, while fifth- placed Heerenveen, which is two points back of PSV, entertains Den Haag.

Groningen has already secured a spot in the top eight, giving them a chance to pick up a European spot, and they will meet Volendam, while Feyenoord travels to Utrecht in a match that will go a long way towards determining who joins Groningen.

The relegation battle is still ongoing with Roda just one point from safety and hosting Willem II, while last-placed Graafschap travels to NAC just two points from safety and Heracles, which is three clear of the bottom three, visits Vitesse.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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