Jayhawks clash with Cowboys in Big 12 action
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks return to Lawrence following a two-game road trip, as they play host to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 action from the Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas has been a model of consistency for over two decades. At 19-5 overall, the Jayhawks need one more win to post their 23rd straight 20-win campaign. The team is coming off an impressive 68-54 road win at Baylor this week, moving to 9-2 in conference play. KU's next league win will mark the 18th straight season the team has reached double figures in conference wins.
Consistency is not a word used to describe the Cowboys this season, as they come into this contest at an even 12-12 overall and 5-6 in-conference. OSU does enter this contest with wins in two of its last three games, including a tight 69-67 win this week against Iowa State.
Kansas holds a huge 104-53 edge in the all-time series with Oklahoma State and has won the last three meetings overall and 15 straight at the Allen Fieldhouse in the series.
The Cowboys are averaging a modest 66.8 ppg, while allowing almost the same (66.4 ppg). The result is a .500 record. The team has struggled in terms of shooting the ball, delivering on a meager .419 from the floor overall. Keiton Page leads three players in double figures with 14.2 ppg, but is shooting under 40 percent from the floor (.383), despite a team-high 57 three-pointers. Le'Bryan Nash is one of the better freshmen in the league, ranking second in scoring at 13.4 ppg. Markel Brown rounds out the top threats with his 10.3 ppg.
Nash drilled a jumper with under five seconds to play and then blocked a shot by Iowa State at the buzzer to lead the Cowboys to victory this week in Stillwater. Brown led four Cowboys in double figures with 19 points. Nash was right behind with 18, while Page and Brian Williams chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
A funny thing happened on the way to what was supposed to be a nail-biter in Waco, as the Jayhawks made light work of Baylor, shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. The team got a huge performance from an unlikely source, as center Jeff Withey erupted for a career-high 25 points. Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor had big games as well, with Robinson recording his 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Taylor pouring in 19 points, fueled by a 4-of-7 showing from behind the arc.
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second half of the Mountain West Conference schedule kicks off today with a clash of the titans in the desert, as the 14th-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels play host to the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs at th
<< Wichita State visits Creighton in MVC showdown
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top two teams in the Missouri Valley
Conference square off in Omaha this evening, as the Wichita State Shockers
have come calling on the 17th-ranked Creighton Bluejays.
Both teams are 21-4 on the year, with W
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas will kick off a three-game homestand tonight by
welcoming the Portland Trail Blazers to American Airlines Center.
The reigning NBA champion Mavericks have won two straight after an
uncharacteristic three-game skid,
<< Howard, Magic visit Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard and the Magic visit Brew City and the
Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday hoping to bounce back from their second overtime
loss this week.
Orlando, which also fell to the Clippers on Monday in OT, lost to the Hawks i
<< Kings and Suns square off in Sac-Town
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After unseating the Western Conference-best Oklahoma City
Thunder, the Sacramento Kings hope to keep the momentum going this evening
versus the Pacific Division-rival Phoenix Suns at Power Balance Pavilion.
The Kings recor
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Florida Gators return to Gainesville looking to regain their swagger, as they play host to the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC action at the O'Connell Center. Billy Donovan's Gators headed int
Second-ranked Orange host Huskies in Big East affair >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their sights still set on a Big East
crown, the second-ranked Syracuse Orange welcome the defending national
champion Connecticut Huskies to the Carrier Dome this afternoon.
The Orange won their fourth st
ACC matchup pits top-25 foes in Chapel Hill >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a deflating last second loss to
rival Duke, the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels seek a quick turnaround,
as the welcome the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers to Chapel Hill this
afternoon for a k
Gaels seek redemption in WCC clash with Broncos >>
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the West Coast
Conference spectrum meet in Moraga, California tonight, as the Santa Clara
Broncos have come to challenge the 16th-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels.
Santa Clara has had a
Americans again stun Federer-led Swiss for Davis Cup win >>
Fribourg, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States Davis Cup team
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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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