Friday's Sports Betting Preview From NCAAB to NASCAR

The fear of Friday the thirteenth should be no greater than any other day for the sportsbooks who deal with the sharp bettor. While the fear of March Madness should be even greater, it's a bad night for the bookmakers and a great night for the world's top sports handicappers.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Bruins gun for a road win on the ice in New Jersey, Villanova meets West Virginia, and the NBA starts its All-Star break.

Tipping Off in the NBA

There are no NBA games on the Friday schedule as the league shifts into All-Star mode in Phoenix. Friday offers up the Rookie Challenge and Celebrity Game, and Saturday has the D-League All-Star Game and the skills competition. The All-Star Game itself will take place on Sunday, with tipoff set for 8:00pm ET.

Daytona 500 Betting Odds

It's the biggest NASCAR race of the year, the Daytona 500. The oddsmakers have weighed in and have Jimmy Johnson and Kyle Busch are each posted as the favorite to win it all at +500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is next at +600, followed by Jeff Gordon at +700.

Top sportsbooks have odds on the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and more.

The March to Madness

There are just two ranked teams on the college hoops schedule for Friday night, with No. 13 Villanova at West Virginia, and Illinois-Chicago at No. 15 Butler. The Bulldogs have bounced back from a loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay with consecutive wins over Detroit and Wright State; they're at 21-2 SU and 12-8-1 ATS. The Flames (10-13 SU, 8-12-1 ATS) lost to Youngstown State last time out.

As well, the smart kids will take to the floor in the usual Ivy League matchups on Friday night. This week it's Pennsylvania at Brown, Dartmouth at Columbia, Princeton at Yale, and Harvard at Cornell. The Big Red are undefeated at home with a 9-0 record this season, and they are now sitting at 15-7 SU and 10-6 ATS.

A Trip Around the Rink

There's a key Eastern Conference clash on tap for Friday night with the Bruins hitting the road to take on the Devils. Those two teams last met on January 29, with New Jersey pulling out a 4-3 road victory in overtime. Jamie Langenbrunner scored twice for the Devils in that win, while Scott Clemmensen stopped 24 of 27 shots between the pipes. Phil Kessel chipped in with two helpers for the Bruins.

The only other Eastern matchup on Friday has the Rangers in Florida to play the Panthers. As well, Detroit will visit Columbus, San Jose is in Buffalo, Dallas hosts Vancouver, and Chicago takes a trip to St. Louis. Finally, the Canadians and Avalanche will close out the day's schedule with a 9:00pm ET game in Colorado.

Best Betting Event

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Rounding Out the Slate

Usually we'd be talking about the Arena Football League around this time of year; it has nicely filled the football void between the end of the National Football League season and the start of the college football campaign. However, the AFL has been shut down for 2009, leaving bettors pigskin-free until the Canadian Football League begins its regular-season schedule - that will happen on July 1