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03/13/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Up next for the winner of this game is a trip to tomorrow's championship showdown against either Vanderbilt or Mississippi State.
Tennessee, the East Division's third seed, knocked off LSU by 10 points in the first round on Thursday. In quarterfinal action yesterday, the Vols pulled away in the second half for a 76-65 victory over a solid Ole Miss squad. They have won the SEC Tournament four times, but it has been 31 years since their last title. Last season, Tennessee reached the title game only to fall to Mississippi State in a 64-61 final. This team is 25-7 overall and has won five straight games dating back to the regular season.
The Wildcats have won this event 25 times and own an incredible 111-22 record in SEC Tournament games. Still, they haven't cut down the nets since 2004 and haven't reached the title game since 2005. Kentucky is a sensational 30-2 overall under first-year head coach John Calipari, and the 'Cats are the top seed from the loaded East Division of the SEC. Yesterday, they survived a scare against Alabama (W-4), erasing an 11-point deficit en route to a 73-67 victory.
Tennessee is one of the only two teams that has beaten Kentucky this season. The programs split a pair of meetings during the regular season, and the Wildcats own a 143-66 advantage in the all-time series.
Wayne Chism was tremendous for Tennessee in yesterday's win over Ole Miss, as the standout forward had 16 points and 15 rebounds. J.P. Prince led the Vols with 17 points, and Cameron Tatum posted 15 points. Bobby Maze rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points, and his Tennessee squad scored 20 points off Ole Miss turnovers. A 26-12 advantage in points from the foul line was key for Tennessee. Through 32 games, the Vols are generating 74.5 ppg while holding foes to 64.7 ppg. Chism is now averaging 12.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg, and he has blocked more than twice as many shots as any other player on the roster. Scotty Hopson, who shot 2-of-11 yesterday and finished with six points, is also netting 12.5 ppg.
Star point guard John Wall of Kentucky recently became just the second freshman ever to receive SEC Player of the Year honors, and he proved worthy of the award with a stellar performance against Alabama yesterday. Wall scored 23 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists to lead his team. Patrick Patterson checked in with 20 points, and Eric Bledsoe tallied 10 points. The Wildcats connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the tilt and earned a 22-16 edge in points from the foul line. The positives helped the team overcome a 45-33 rebounding deficit and a 1-of-13 shooting effort from three-point range. Overall this season, Wall is scoring an even 17.0 ppg to go along with 6.2 rpg. DeMarcus Cousins, another sensational rookie for Kentucky, was quiet yesterday, but he is scoring 15.4 ppg while ripping down 10 boards per contest. Patterson provides 15.1 ppg, and Bledsoe adds 10.4 ppg. The Wildcats are posting 79.5 ppg this season while permitting 65.7 ppg to foes.
<< Terriers and Catamounts clash in America East title tilt
Burlington. VT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A berth in the NCAA Tournament is on the
line in Burlington today, as the second-seeded Vermont Catamounts battle the
fourth-seeded Boston University Terriers in the 2010 America East Conference
Championship Ga
<< Home sweet home: Canucks return to GM Place to battle Senators
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The wait is finally over.
After playing 14 straight times on the road over a span of six weeks, the
Vancouver Canucks finally return to GM Place for tonight's interconference
showdown with the slumping Ottawa Senators.
<< Blues hope to continue surge versus Blue Jackets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong road trip has put the St. Louis Blues back in
contention for a postseason berth. The surging club continues its critical
swing with tonight's visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who'll be seeking a
third consecutive
<< Red Wings aim to get back in playoff picture against Sabres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally healthy, the Red Wings' offense has looked like a
dangerous unit that could give teams trouble in the playoffs. However,
Detroit still needs to get there first.
The Red Wings will try to leap into the eighth spot i
Cougars and Miners duke it out for C-USA crown >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two programs trying to claim their first
Conference USA Tournament titles come together at the BOK Center in Tulsa, as
the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas-El Paso Miners clash with the seventh-
seeded Houston Couga
Rams and Owls square off in A-10 semifinals >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded and 17th-ranked Temple
Owls continue their run for a third straight Atlantic 10 Tournament title
today, as they clash with the fifth-seeded Rhode Island Rams in the semifinals
at Boardwalk Hal
Hoyas and Mountaineers square off for Big East crown >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament title is up for grabs
this evening, as the 22nd-ranked Georgetown Hoyas take on the seventh-ranked
West Virginia Mountaineers at famed Madison Square Garden.
The Hoyas were thought to b
Huskies and Coyotes square off for first-ever Great West title >>
Orem, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An automatic bid to the Collegeinsider.com
Tournament is on the line tonight as the Huskies of Houston Baptist challenge
the South Dakota Coyotes in the first-annual Great West Conference Tournament
Championship Game
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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.
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