Sixth-ranked Bears welcome Longhorns to Waco

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue their quest towards the top spot in the Big 12, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Waco for a conference showdown at the Ferrell Center.

Scott Drew's Bears are 5-2 in-conference and would like to stay within striking distance heading down the homestretch. The losses came in back-to- back affairs against Kansas and Missouri within the last 12 days. Baylor found its way back into the win column earlier this week though, topping Oklahoma in Norman, 77-65.

Rick Barnes' Longhorns have struggled to keep their heads above water in league play. The team is just 3-4 in Big 12 games and suffered three straight losses to nationally-ranked foes in Missouri, Kansas State and Kansas. Texas was able to finally able to end the skein this week with a 62-55 win over Iowa State.

Texas has played more games against Baylor than any other in the school's history. The Longhorns hold a 157-79 advantage in the series and have a 64-46 edge in games played in Waco, including a 12-1 mark under Barnes.

The Longhorns are at their best when they play tough defense and put the ball in the hands of standout guard J'Covan Brown. Texas is allowing just 64.9 ppg this year, holding foes under 40 percent shooting (.392) and outrebounding them by 4.1 rebounds per game. Brown knows how to fill up the basket. Despite shooting a modest .410 from the floor, the veteran guard leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.1 ppg and the team in three-pointers (48). Sheldon McClellan and Myck Kabongo provide more perimeter depth with 11.5 and 9.8 ppg, respectively. Kabongo is just a freshman, but the young point guard has doled out a team- high 110 assists on the season, ranking third in the Big 12 (5.5 apg). Texas converted a mere 43.6 percent from the floor, but held the Cyclones to 33.3 percent. Kabongo led the team with 13 points in the win. Brown struggled to a 12-point outing, hitting just 3-of-16 shots from the floor. Freshman Julien Lewis added 12 points as well.

Baylor is a team that can win games at either end of the floor, evidenced by an impressive +15.2 scoring margin. The Bears are converting nearly 50 percent of their shots this year (.496) powered by a .414 showing from behind the arc (sixth nationally). All five starters are averaging double figures. Perry Jones III paces the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). Pierre Jackson (12.8 ppg) is next in the scoring column and is leads the Big 12 in assists (6.0 apg). Quincy Acy (12.7 ppg), Quincy Miller (12.5 ppg) and Brady Heslip (10.0 ppg) round out the quintet. Baylor was sharp offensively against Oklahoma, shooting 54 percent from the floor, 50 percent from behind the arc (9-of-18) and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line (14-of-17). Perry Jones was dominant in the low post, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jackson tacked on 16 points and doled out seven assists. Acy and Anthony Jones chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

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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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