A top-25 SEC showdown on tap in Gainesville
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/04/2012 - Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 foes collide in Gainesville this afternoon, as the 12th-ranked Florida Gators play host to the 25th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores in an SEC affair at the O'Connell Center.
Billy Donovan's Gators are peaking at the right time. Florida enters this contest with a six-game win streak in tow and moved to 6-1 in conference play with a 74-66 victory over South Carolina on Thursday. The win was also the 18th straight at the O'Connell Center, tied for the fourth longest streak in program history.
Kevin Stallings' Commodores are just a game behind the Gators in the SEC, following Tuesday's 82-74 loss at Arkansas. Vanderbilt has split its last four games and is 16-6 overall on the year.
This represents the 123rd meeting in this longstanding series. Vanderbilt holds a narrow 63-59 series advantage. These two teams have traded sweeps in the season series in each of the last three years. Florida is 12-3 against Vanderbilt at home under Donovan.
The Commodores have a fighting chance in any game thanks to the dynamic duo of John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor. Jenkins leads the SEC in scoring at 19.9 ppg and is shooting .481 from the floor overall, including 82-of-186 from three- point range. Taylor is fourth in the conference in scoring at 17.4 ppg and can also hit the long ball at a .463 clip (37-of-80). Scoring depth can be found in the form of Lance Goulbourne (9.6 ppg), Brad Tinsley (9.4 ppg) and Festus Ezeli (9.0 ppg).
Vanderbilt shot a solid 50 percent from the floor at Arkansas, but fell victim to the Razorbacks' hot shooting in the second half (6-of-12 from three-point range) in an eight-point loss. Jenkins hit four three-pointers himself and was right on his season averaging with a game-high 19 points. Taylor poured in 18 points, Ezeli had 14 and Steve Tchiengang chipped in 10 in the loss.
One of the top offensive teams in the nation, Florida has a number of scoring options at its disposal, leading to an impressive 80.4 ppg. The Gators rely heavily on its long range acumen, delivering on 40 percent from behind the arc. Kenny Boynton plays a big role in that regard, averaging 17.5 ppg , fueled by a .438 clip from three-point range (74-of-169). Perimeter help comes in the form of Bradley Beal (14.2 ppg) and Erving Walker (12.7 ppg), who also serves as the team's primary distributor (5.1 apg). Center Patric Young (11.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Erik Murphy (10.3 ppg) provide the frontcourt balance.
The Gators jumped all over the Gamecocks early, building a 17-point lead in the first half, but South Carolina battled back to trail by only nine at the break. UF was able to hold off USC however, to remain unbeaten at home. The Gators knocked down a season-high 23 free-throws in the win. Boynton led the way 24 points, while Beal recorded his fourth career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Walker tacked on 14 points and dished out seven assists. The team got the win despite shooting under 40 percent from the floor and a season-low .250 from three-point range.
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of top-25 teams meet up in Tallahassee this afternoon, as the 21st-ranked Florida State Seminoles and 16th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers take care of some ACC business at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Le
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Auditorium in La
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an Ohio Valley Conference battle with the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals will collide this afternoon in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the New Jersey Devils for a battle at the Wells Fargo Center. This marks the fourth of six scheduled tilts between the c
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Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves aim to reach the .500 mark
tonight versus the Houston Rockets at the Target Center.
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including Friday's 108-1
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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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