Brandon Roy has a bright future in Portland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy is having a very solid rookie campaign for the Portland Trail Blazers, who are 23-32 and sit in fourth place in the Northwest Division.

Roy, who is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, is averaging 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 35 contests this season. He has scored in double-digits in three straight games and has registered 20.3 points per game in that span. The 6-6 Roy is shooting 44.4 percent from the field, including 31.2 percent from beyond the arc.

All-Star Game MVP Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers return to the court on Wednesday, as they welcome the Trail Blazers to the Staples Center. Bryant scored 31 points, dished out six assists and had six steals to lead the West to an easy 153-132 win over the East in the 56th annual All-Star Game on Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

It is the second of three meetings between the Trail Blazers and Lakers this season. On November 8th, Zach Randolph posted 36 points and 10 rebounds as the Trail Blazers started picked up a 101-90 victory over the Lakers at the Rose Garden. Portland has lost three straight and nine of its last 10 at the Lakers. The Trail Blazers have won two of the last three contests in the series.

The Lakers are scheduled to host the Trail Blazers on March 16th at the Staples Center.

Portland plays its second game since the All-Star break against the Lakers. On Tuesday, rookie Brandon Roy poured in 27 points and dished out seven assists as the Trail Blazers edged the Utah Jazz, 103-100, in the first game for both teams coming out of the All-Star break.

Randolph scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the win over the Jazz for Portland, which snapped a two-game skid, but began the second half of the schedule with one more win than they had all of last season. Ime Udoka ended with 15 points, while Dan Dickau netted 11 and Jarrett Jack finished with 10 points and six assists for the Blazers.

The Trail Blazers, who have dropped two in a row as the visitor, are 10-18 on the road this season. They return home to host the Seattle SuperSonics on Monday at the Rose Garden.

Portland is 11-4 when it scores 100 or more points this season.

Socceronlinechance Basketball Betting News

<< Saskachewan Roughriders (CFL)
Signed running back Hakim Hill to a one-year plus an option contract.

<< Spurs need to put together some big winning streaks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs own a solid 36-18 record, but that is not good enough in the Southwest Division. Dallas, which is the defending Western Conference champion, is at the top of the division, 8 1/2 games a

<< Warriors return from All-Star break to host Grizzlies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors play their first game back from the All-Star break, as they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies tonight to ORACLE Arena. Golden State went into the break on a winning note. On February 14th, Stephen J

<< Miami's Pat Riley returns to bench in Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat welcome head coach Pat Riley back to the bench tonight when they travel to Houston to battle the Rockets at the Toyota Center. Riley announced before the Heat's 104-85 win over Portland last Tuesday he wo

<< Kobe, Lakers get back to work against Portland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - All-Star Game MVP Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers return to the court tonight, as they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to the Staples Center. Bryant scored 31 points, dished out six assists and had six steals to

Angels agree to terms with Kendrick, four others >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim agreed to terms on contracts for this upcoming season with infielder Howie Kendrick and four other players on Wednesday. In his rookie season last year, Kendrick appear

Extra Point: Recruiting - A look back at the class of 2004 >>
Chattanooga, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Senseless. Useless. Waste of time. The list could go on and on, but the point remains the same. Theres nothing worse than trying to determine how 17 and 18-year-old athletes will progress over the next four or

Dolphins sign Holliday to four-year deal >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Dolphins announced on Wednesday the signing of veteran defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday to a four-year contract. Holliday started all 16 games last season for Miami and was a key component for a

Loit, Vinci reach Bogota QFs >>
Bogota, Colombia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Frenchwoman Emilie Loit and sixth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the $175,000 Copa Colsanitas Santander tennis tournament. Loit held

Spring Training Preview: AL Central >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League Central was one of the best divisions in baseball last season. This year it has the potential to be even better. The Detroit Tigers shocked the baseball world a year ago, as it represented the AL as a

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.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.