20th-ranked Seminoles play host to Hokies

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/16/2012 - Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Florida State Seminoles will try to stay in the race for the Atlantic Coast Conference's top spot as they welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies to the Donald Tucker Center for a league battle.

This will be the second meeting this season and 46th in history between the Hokies and Florida State. The Seminoles lead the all-time series 26-19 after their 63-59 triumph in the first matchup this season on Jan. 10th. Virginia Tech had to have felt like it let one get away against Florida State in the first bout, as it shot only 30.5 percent from the field in the four-point loss.

Virginia Tech picked up a 66-65 victory over the Boston College Eagles on Sunday to improve to 3-7 in ACC action. Head coach Seth Greenberg has led the Hokies to a 14-11 overall record so far. Virginia Tech was lucky to get past the Eagles, as Boston College shot a season-high 55.8 percent from the field in the contest. The Hokies have a knack at slowing down their opponents, as they allow only 62.2 ppg. Virginia Tech leads the ACC in free throw percentage with a 74.6 percent rate from the charity stripe, and averages 66.6 ppg.

The Hokies' Erick Green has been consistently torturing opponents on the offensive end. Green leads the team with 15.5 ppg and carries an ACC leading streak of 26 straight games with double-figures scoring finishes. Dorian Finney-Smith played a huge role in the win over Virginia Tech, as he had 17 points and eight rebounds. Dorenzo Hudson chipped in 11 points and Victor Davila netted 10 points in the same contest to help Virginia Tech avoid back-to-back losses.

Head coach Leonard Hamilton has led Florida State to its best start in ACC play in school history, as it is 8-2 in league action. The Seminoles are a tough adversary at home, as they are 5-0 in Tallahassee in conference games. Florida State improved to 17-7 with its 64-59 victory over the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. The Seminoles hit 46 percent of their field goals and held Miami under 40 percent shooting to find success. Florida State is capable of frustrating its opponents, as it has held opponents to 61.3 ppg this season.

Michael Snaer is pacing Florida State with a team-best 13.8 ppg. The junior guard has made just 10-of-29 of his field goal attempts to average 14 points to go along with six rebounds per game over the span of his last two outings. Bernard James took a step into the spotlight versus the Hurricanes, as he scored a team-high 18 points and blocked four shots. Deividas Dulkys showed off his versatility in the same contest, as he netted seven points, grabbed six boards, and pulled down six rebounds.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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