Streaking Heat take on Bucks at Bradley Center
Basketball Betting Lines
02/01/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James and the streaking Miami Heat will take a five- game winning streak on the road to Milwaukee tonight.
The Heat weren't all that impressive on Monday but James finished two assists shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight helpers, while Dwyane Wade netted 22 points to go with five assists as Miami took care of business against a struggling New Orleans Hornets team with a 109-95 win.
Mike Miller finished with 14 points of 6-of-8 shooting, while rookie Norris Cole and Chris Bosh had 12 points each for the Heat, who have won eight of their last nine overall and lead the Southeast Division by one-half game over Atlanta.
The Bucks, meanwhile, will be trying to finish up a three-game homestand in perfect fashion.
After topping the LA Lakers to start the residency Milwaukee routed Detroit on Monday when Brandon Jennings led all scorers with 21 points as the Bucks never trailed en route to a 103-82 win.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. dropped in 20 points off the bench and Drew Gooden added 16 points as the Bucks have now won three of their last four and improved to a solid 6-2 at the Bradley Center this season.
"Obviously we want to shoot the ball well every night and when we do it gives us the ability to spread the court," said Dunleavy about his team's performance. "It's important right now for us because with [Andrew] Bogut out, we're limited in our offensive low-post ability."
Gooden has been impressive, averaging 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds, in three games since joining the starting lineup to replace Bogut, who is out two to three months with a fractured left ankle.
Meanwhile, Stephen Jackson's status remains up in the air. The veteran swingman, who hasn't seen eye-to-eye with coach Scott Skiles this season, missed the win over the Lakers while serving a one-game league suspension and Skiles opted to keep him on the bench against the Pistons.
"I liked the way we've played the past couple games," Skiles said. [Jackson] will have an opportunity to work himself back in there."
The Bucks have won two straight over the Heat, including a 91-82 win in South Beach earlier this season.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will hit the road to the Big Easy tonight for a showdown with the New Orleans Hornets. The Suns have lost four of five games and are coming off Mondays 122-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Marcin Gortat le
<< Improved Wolves entertain Pacers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers target their third straight win tonight,
when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.
Indiana has won two in a row and five of its last seven games, including
Tuesday's 106-99 triumph o
<< Celtics kick off homestand vs. Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears the Boston Celtics are back on track and will
commence a five-game homestand tonight versus the Toronto Raptors at TD
Garden.
Boston will also host the Knicks, Grizzlies, Bobcats and Lakers, and is 6-6 in
Beant
<< Pistons finish road trip against Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons hope to solve their road issues tonight
in the finale of a four-game trek against the New Jersey Nets.
Detroit is 0-3 so far on the road trip and has lost six straight as the guest,
including Tuesdays 1
<< Stars, Ducks rematch in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Stars entered the All-Star break with a 1-0 win over
the Ducks and Dallas will try to duplicate that result, ideally with more
goals, when it visits Anaheim for tonight's Pacific Division battle at the
Honda Center.
K
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue their quest for a Big 12 title, as they invade College Station this evening for a conference matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Scott Drew's Bear
Jayhawks host Sooners in Big 12 affair >>
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first Big 12 loss of the
season, the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks return to the friendly confines of
the Allen Fieldhouse for a league bout with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Bill Self's Jayhawks had
Georgia Tech hits road to tangle with No. 21 Florida State >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the ACC
standings meet in Tallahassee tonight, as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
challenge the 21st-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Georgia Tech's first season under head coac
Feathers are sure to fly in clash between Redbirds and Bluejays >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Creighton Bluejays continue one
of their most memorable seasons ever, as they play host to the Illinois State
Redbirds tonight in Omaha in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Illinois State is 14-8
Hoosiers and Wolverines meet in Big Ten showdown >>
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of ranked foes in the Big Ten
Conference square off in Ann Arbor this evening, as No. 20 Indiana comes
calling on No. 23 Michigan.
Indiana started the season impressively, jumping out to a 12-0 record
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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.