Bearcats hope to clip wings of 18th-ranked Golden Eagles
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles will try to keep pace in the race for the Big East Conference regular-season title, as they entertain the Cincinnati Bearcats today at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Cincinnati comes in sporting a solid 17-7 record, and its 7-4 conference mark has it in the upper half of the Big East standings. The Bearcats are riding a modest two-game win streak, with their most recent triumph coming in a 76-54 rout of St. John's on the road this past Wednesday. It was the sixth road win of the campaign for UC, and a nice way to bounce back following losses in their previous two trips (West Virginia, Rutgers) away from the Queen City.
As for the Golden Eagles, they are one of only two teams in the Big East to have won at least 20 games to this point in the campaign, Syracuse being the other, and their 9-3 conference mark has them just two games behind the first- place Orange. Marquette is an impressive 12-1 at home this season, the only setback coming against SEC foe Vanderbilt back on December 29.
Cincinnati owns a 25-18 lead in the all-time series with Marquette, but things are all square in Milwaukee (9-9). The Bearcats won the last meeting, 67-60, at the Bradley Center last March, and the road team has won four of the last five meetings.
Yancy Gates and Sean Kilpatrick scored 14 points apiece, Cashmere Wright logged his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Dion Dixon chipped in 10 points, as Cincinnati dominated St. John's from start to finish in what turned out to be a 22-point win for the visiting Bearcats. The team knocked down 51.7 percent of its field goal attempts, which included a 7-of-16 showing from three-point range, and it easily won the battle on the boards, 49-29. The Red Storm were limited to 32.8 percent field goal efficiency, actually shooting better from beyond the arc (.417). About the only thing UC coach Mick Cronin could complain about was the fact that his team committed 16 turnovers. Kilpatrick (15.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is one of four starters averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Bearcats, who net 69.7 ppg on the strength of their .362 three-point FG percentage. Defensively, the club allows just 60.1 ppg, with foes shooting a mere 41.1 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from downtown. Gates is close to averaging a double-double, as he accounts for 12.7 points and 9.2 caroms per contest.
Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points, while Jae Crowder and Jamil Wilson both produced double-doubles in helping push Marquette past DePaul earlier this week. In all, five players scored in double digits for the Golden Eagles, who battled from behind by shooting 52.5 percent from the field, despite missing seven of their 10 three-point attempts. Wilson finished with 18 points and 10 boards, the team coming up with 35 rebounds in the game. DePaul's reserves outscored Marquette's, 25-8, but the Golden Eagles outscore the Blue Demons at the free-throw line (22-10), in the paint (50-36) and out on the break (16-6). Johnson-Odom (18.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Crowder (16.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg) are the only two players averaging double figures in scoring for MU, although three others are close to joining the ranks as they net a minimum of 8.5 ppg. As a collective unit, Marquette is lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of 75.9 ppg, while the opposition does so for 65.1 ppg. Foes are shooting just 40.5 percent from the field, and they've committed nearly 100 more turnovers than have the Golden Eagles to this point in the season.
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Louisville Cardinals take aim at their sixth straight win today, as they pay a visit to the West Virginia Mountaineers in Big East Conference action. Louisville is coming off an 80-59 rout of
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the Winnipeg Jet
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Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As if they could squeeze any more drama out of
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No.1 Kentucky takes act on the road >>
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John Calipari's Wildcats are you
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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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