Inter and Palermo share points in eight-goal thriller

Soccer Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Diego Milito scored four times for Inter Milan while Palermo got three goals from Fabrizio Miccoli in a 4-4 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Andrea Mantovani started the scoring barrage in the 16th minute when he put Palermo in front. But Milito and Miccoli took over from there, with Milito leveling the contest six minutes later to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Miccoli restored the lead for the visitors by beating Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar at the far post in the 52nd minute, only for the Nerazzurri to come right back and answer from the penalty spot through Milito after Yuto Nagatomo was fouled inside the area by Palermo's Ezequiel Munoz.

Milito completed his hat trick just after the hour mark when he finished off a header from Esteban Cambiasso. But Miccoli responded when he tracked down a cross from Federico Balzaretti to nod the ball past Cesar from six yards.

Inter went back in front in the 68th minute when Milito netted his fourth goal with a bit of luck as Giampaolo Pazzini's scuffed shot deflected off the leg of the Argentina international and found the back of the net.

But with Inter poised to collect all three points, Miccoli finished off his own hat trick five minutes from time by racing on to a through ball from Josip Ilicic and slotting his shot past Cesar.

Inter has now claimed one point from its last two games after winning its previous seven, leaving the club eight points back of leaders Juventus.

Lazio 2, AC Milan 0

Rome, Italy - AC Milan missed out on a chance to move to the Serie A summit on Wednesday as the club sustained a 2-0 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.

Juventus held a one-point lead on second-place Milan and the end of last weekend, but the Old Lady had its match with Parma postponed on Tuesday because of snow, giving the Rossoneri a chance to take over the top spot.

But the visitors failed to take advantage as Lazio scored twice in the final 15 minutes to claim the win and move to within four points of Milan.

Hernanes netted the first goal in the 76th minute after being set up by Tommaso Rocchi, who tallied a goal of his own five minutes from time to seal the win.

Cagliari 4, Roma 2

Cagliari, Italy - Thiago Ribeiro scored a goal in each half as Roma's five- game unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday with a 4-2 defeat at Cagliari.

Ribeiro scored in the sixth minute for Cagliari, but Roma responded with goals from Juan and Fabio Borini to take a 2-1 lead.

Mauricio Pinilla leveled the match at halftime with his first goal for the club, and Ribeiro put the hosts in front a few minutes after the break before Albin Ekdal put the result away two minutes into stoppage time with a close- range tap in.

Napoli 0, Cesena 0

Naples, Italy - Napoli's struggles continued on Wednesday as the club extended its winless streak to four games after a 0-0 home draw with relegation- battling Cesena.

Napoli now trails third-place Udinese by 11 points, with Cesena sitting in 19th place and three points from safety.

The hosts created the better chances throughout the match but were denied by some good goalkeeping from Cesena's Francesco Antonioli.

And Napoli was a bit unlucky in stoppage time not to claim all three points as Goran Pandev had a goal called back by referee Luca Banti seemingly for a foul in the build up.

Udinese 2, Lecce 1

Udine, Italy - Udinese gained ground on the Serie A leaders on Wednesday courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Lecce at the Stadio Friuli.

Michele Pazienza put the home side on the scoreboard inside of two minutes, with Lecce's David Di Michele answering back for his team midway through the opening half.

But Antonio Di Natale's 15th goal of the campaign came nine minutes before the break when Antonio Floro Flores played a square ball to the striker, who beat goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Udinese came close to adding to its lead in the second half, but still held on to move to within three points of Juventus at the top of the league.

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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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