Football Betting

Heath agrees to 5-year contract to coach South Florida

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

04/02/2007 -

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Stan Heath's stint without a job lasted one week.

The fired Arkansas basketball coach agreed Monday to a five-year contract to take over South Florida's struggling program and try to transform the Bulls into a contender in the Big East. Including incentives, the deal is worth up to $4.275 million.

Heath, 42, will be introduced Tuesday at a news conference on the USF campus, said assistant athletic director John Gerdes. He replaces Robert McCullum, who was fired last month after losing 28 of 32 conference games in the school's first two seasons in one of the nation's toughest leagues.

USF athletic director Doug Woolard, who met with Heath during the Final Four in Atlanta, is counting on the new coach's experience rebuilding Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference to benefit the Bulls.

Woolard's three-week search included discussions with Winthrop's Gregg Marshall and South Alabama's John Pelphrey.

Heath was let go last week, despite compiling an 82-71 record in five seasons and taking Arkansas to the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons. He inherits a program that was 40-76 in four seasons under McCullum, including 12-18 this winter.

The Bulls spent the first two years of McCullum's tenure in Conference USA. They moved to the Big East in 2005 and lost their first 15 league games before beating Georgetown in the season finale.

USF won three league games this season, the highlight a home victory over then-No. 21 Notre Dame.

Heath has a reputation as a strong recruiter and his head coaching resume includes a trip to the round of eight in the NCAA tournament with Kent State in 2002. That appearance was a stepping stone to the Arkansas job.

The Razorbacks finished this season with a 21-14 record, losing 77-60 to Southern California in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


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The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

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Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

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Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

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Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

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Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.

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Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

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