NBA Odds – Still no love for Mavericks in Golden State

Golden State fans may be watching March Madness odds to see how the possible top picks are faring, but they’ll definitely be watching their Warriors on Friday night, as the Dallas Mavericks come to town, and they’ve had problems, to put it mildly, in Golden State lately.

Mavericks vs Warriors odds – Saturday, March 27, 10:30 PM ET

The Mavericks fell 101-89 in Portland on Thursday night for their third loss in four games, and they wasted a great effort from Caron Butler, who dropped 25 points, but it’s clear that the Mavericks are still trying to play with Butler in the lineup with Dirk Nowitzki, who had 15 points. Jason Terry also had a rough night, going 4-of-14 from the floor for 11 points for the Mavericks, who went to the foul line just nine times, making eight of their attempts. The Mavericks have now given up an average of 106 points in their last three losses, and for a team that is allowing 99.6 points on the year, that is a quick way to watch your sports betting odds go down the drain.

The Warriors stopped their losing streak at three games with a 128-110 win over Memphis at home on Wednesday, and Stephon Curry overcame his seven turnovers with 30 points, 11 assists, five boards and four steals on the night. Curry has a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Monta Ellis, who had 21 points, eight assists, six boards and three steals for the Warriors, who have to make a decision: are they going to stick with Curry and Ellis in the backcourt, or will they try to move one, likely Ellis? They should also have a solid pick in the draft, and things could be looking up in Oakland soon.

The Warriors should be favored at home by sportsbook odds (sportsbook reviews), given the Mavericks’ recent struggles in Golden State, where they’ve lost eight of their last 10, although they did win 127-117 in Oakland on December 8th. They’ll also remember their 2007 playoff series with the Warriors in which they became the first top seed to lose to a No.8 seed in the first round. The Mavericks have to get their act together going into the playoffs, especially on defense, but they’re going up against a Golden State that practically forces you to play an up-and-down game, and they’ve scored 100 points or more in nine straight games. Look for them to push the pace with Dallas’ Jason Kidd trying to keep up with Ellis and Curry, who will have big nights against the Mavericks. Take the Warriors at home on Saturday before checking in on your college basketball betting odds.

NASCAR Drives Into Martinsville

NASCAR bosses must be screaming at the idea of fighting with March Madness odds coverage for an audience after having their ratings fall in each of the first three races while battling the Olympics including the Canada-USA mens hockey gold medal game. That’s the reality however as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drives in to Virginia, and Martinsville Speedway for the sixth race of the season. The shortest track on the Cup schedule has an even shorter list of winners over the past few years. Only five different racers have captured the checkered flag at Martinsville since 2003, with three of them capturing 12 of 14 first place-finishes.

Online betting enthusiasts already know that two of those three price per head winners belong to Hendrick Motorsports including who else but four-time Sprint Series winner Jimmie Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon. The list of winners becomes even shorter when looking at the last seven races. The 48-car has won five of the last seven races at the half-mile paper clip the other two were won by Denny Hamlin including the most recent race there last October. Beyond Johnson, Gordon, and Hamlin, only Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart have sped to victory at the only original track still on the schedule, over the past seven years.

JJ48 has already accomplished something that no driver ever has in winning four-consecutive Sprint Cup Series titles since 2006, and is looking like the favorite to win again this year. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have already captured the checkered flag at three of the first five races including last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track comparable to Martinsville in regards to contact, although not nearly as fast. Johnson is in the lead on the list of this year’s money list, and in third place in points, just 17 back of the lead.

Kevin Harvick currently leads the sportsbook Sprint Cup Series standings despite having not one a race this year. Harvick has placed in the top-10 in four of the first five races, but holds just a one point lead over Matt Kenseth, who has yet to finish outside of the top-10 this year. While Harvick placed ninth in points earned at Martinsville last season, Kenseth has driven to an average finish of 16.6 in 20 races. Both could fall down a spot after Johnson earned 365 points in two races combined at the 526-mile oval in 2010.

This race couldn’t come sooner for Hamlin, who has not finished in the top-10 in any of the first five races. Joe Gibbs Racing’s top dog was expected to contend with Johnson for the Cup title after an excellent 2009, but has struggled with his best finish coming back at the opener in Daytona where he placed 17th. Hamlin ranks 19th in the standings, but after registering the most points at Martinsville a season ago could benefit from driving on one of his favorite courses.

Still, Jimmie Johnson will be the favorite to win his fourth race of the season this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, in the midst of NCAA March Madness.

College Basketball Betting – Kansas State Will Send Xavier Packing

No. 6 Xavier Musketeers vs No. 2 Kansas State Wildcats

Thursday, March 25th – 9:37 PM ET

Energy Solutions Arena – Salt Lake City, UT

West Region

March Madness Odds: Kansas State -4.5

There are many sports betting enthusiasts who have been ensconced in college basketball betting for the last week. The NCAA Tournament started on Thursday and after a weekend of crazy upsets, we’re left with 16 teams of the sweet variety.

Two teams that were semi-expected to still be there - Xavier and Kansas State – will meet up in the West Region for a berth in the Elite Eight.

Xavier knocked off Minnesota rather easily in the first round but then had a close shave in a 71-68 win over Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have been rolling as they had a 20-point win over North Texas in the opening round followed by a 12-point win over BYU in round two.

Speaking of that matchup against BYU, this should be a similar matchup for the Wildcats as they are dealing with a similar opponent.

The Cougars were led by Jimmer Fredette, who scored a whopping 34 points in the first round but couldn’t come close to that in the second round. With Wildcats guard Jacob Pullen on him, Fredette managed just four field goald.

The same can’t happen to Xavier or they won’t even be in this contest. The Musketeers are led by guard Jordan Crawford, who has scored 55 points in the first two games of this tournament. He needs to have another big game for the Musketeers to pull the upset and if the lock down defense wins, so will Kansas State.

The Musketeers are not a team with a ton of depth, so they rely on their leaders more than most teams. They also don’t play a signature brand of defense, so they will need to fill it up regularly to win this game.

If that’s the key matchup for the Wildcats on defense, the key matchup when their on offense will be the perimeter. Against BYU, Pullen and guard Denis Clemente feasted. Pullen had 34 points, including seven three-pointers, and he could have another big game as Xavier doesn’t cover the perimeter very well.

The Musketeers have been to the Sweet Sixteen for three straight years but this is as far as they’ll get this year as the Wildcats will send them packing.

Sportsbook Reviews Pick: Kansas State -4.5