Limiting Opponents State Name Highlight For Poll

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse remained a solid No. 1 Monday in the Associated Press college basketball poll. The undefeated Orange (13-0) received 54 first-place votes, up one from last week, after beating Bucknell and Tulane in their final non-conference games.

 

No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 Louisville all received first-place votes and remained in their positions from last week. So did No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Baylor and No. 7 Duke.

 

San Diego State was also a new addition to the poll this week, while Xavier and Illinois fell out.

 

As for the Badgers, they too have spent the majority of their non-conference slate at home, ensconced in the Kohl Center where they have recorded eight wins in nine tries. On December 23, the team crushed Mississippi Valley State in a 79-45 final for their fifth consecutive win. Wisconsin, which has lost only to Marquette (61-54) and North Carolina (60-57), moved up two spaces yesterday in the most current AP top-25 rankings.

 

Against Mississippi Valley State, a team which had won just one of 10 games heading into last week's matchup, the Badgers allowed just 29.2 percent field goal efficiency, while the hosts made good on a solid 50 percent of their total shots. Jordan Taylor showed why he is considered one of the top performers at the collegiate level as he tallied 17 points, while teammates Jared Berggren and Josh Gasser chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively. Although he shot just 1-of-6 from the field and finished with a mere five points, Ryan Evans made an impact with his team-high 11 rebounds in the triumph. Evans leads the way on the glass overall for the program with an even seven boards per outing, his 19 blocked shots also tops on the unit. Berggren, who is second in blocks with 18, accounts for a team-best 12.5 ppg, followed by Taylor (12.2 ppg) who is responsible for 65 assists in 13 games and already has more than three times as many dishes as he does turnovers (20). Clearly the key to this team's success has been a defense which has held foes to a meager 44.7 ppg on 33.5 percent shooting from the floor and 24.2 percent behind the three-point line. Needless to say, Wisconsin entered the week ranked first in the nation in scoring defense, with only one other team (Virginia) holding opponents to less than 50 ppg.

 

The Huskers made good on 58.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but then dropped down to 40.9 percent in the second half against Central Michigan last week. Luckily, Nebraska saved itself by connecting on 19-of-25 at the free-throw line after the break as it dealt with not having two of its top scorers in action. All five starters scored in double figures as Bo Spencer and Brandon Richardson both delivered 15 points, the former also handing out nine of the team's 17 assists. Brandon Ubel, Toney McCray and Caleb Walker all tossed in 11 points for the group, with McCray clearing eight boards as well. Without Brian Jorge Diaz (10.9 ppg) and Dylan Talley (9.1 ppg) the Huskers are leaning more heavily on Spencer who is putting up a team-leading 16.0 ppg in his first season with the program. Spencer has also handed out 47 assists and made 17 steals which helps to compensate for his 41.5 percent shooting from the floor thus far. While the Nebraska defense isn't anywhere near as powerful as that of the Badgers, the Huskers have to be pleased with the fact that they've been able to limit opponents to only 61.1 ppg to this point.

 

As for Notre Dame, it is a rather mediocre 8-5 overall this season, but all eight home games have resulted in victory. The team has been idle since December 19 when it crushed Sacred Heart in a 106-65 final, the third win in the last four outings for the squad.

 

Notre Dame lost its best players, Tim Abromaitis, at the very beginning of the season, and several players have been asked to step up in his absence. Eric Atkins has emerged as the leading active scorer for the club with his 13.9 ppg, and he is second with 44 assists. Jerian Grant, who is tops with 57 assists, ranks second in scoring with 12.7 ppg. The Fighting Irish are generating 72.7 ppg while limiting opponents to 65.2 ppg on 41.5 percent field goal efficiency. In the 41-point romp over Sacred Heart last time out, five UND players reached double figures in scoring, and Jack Cooley led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. Grant tallied 15 points and seven assists, while Atkins netted 13 points. The Irish shot 61.4 percent from the field and finished with 25 assists against only four turnovers in what was a tremendous offensive performance.

 

As for Virginia, it has reeled off eight consecutive victories since its only loss of the season, a two-point setback to TCU on a neutral court. The Cavaliers beat Seattle in an 83-77 final last Wednesday and enter tonight's clash with a 10-1 overall record, including a 6-0 mark at home.

 

Virginia crushed UMES in the only previous meeting between the programs back in 2007.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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