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02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks try to avoid a fourth straight loss this evening when they open a brief two-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
The Bucks played hard on Tuesday to no avail, as they overcame a 21- point deficit, but eventually fell to the Phoenix Suns, 107-105.
Drew Gooden had 25 points for the Bucks, while Ersan Ilyasova and Mike Dunleavy each tallied 17 points, with the former adding 12 rebounds.
Milwaukee put itself in such a large hole, as it allowed a season worst-tying 67 points in the first half. The Bucks actually held a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Phoenix fought back and grabbed the lead for good on a Steve Nash jumper with five seconds remaining.
The Bucks were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
"We just need to come out with a better sense of urgency from the start," said Dunleavy. "Most of our games the last week or so, we've been real bad to get going, to get off the jump. Hopefully we can get off to a good start and play a good four quarters (Wednesday)."
The Raptors, meanwhile, suffered their second straight loss on Monday in Washington, as the Wizards beat them in overtime, 111-108.
It was a miraculous feat that the Raptors even got that game to overtime, as they trailed by 10 after the opening period, by 15 at the half and found themselves down by 18 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
"That was a bad exhibition of basketball. We had an unprofessional start," coach Dwane Casey said. "You have to go off on them at halftime to get them to play. It shouldn't have to ever get to that, and that's why I was disappointed, even with the second-half comeback."
Jerryd Bayless and Linas Kleiza led the way for the Raptors, netting 30 points apiece. DeMar DeRozan added 15 but it wasn't enough for Toronto, which has now lost four of its last five.
"We were not able to make plays at the end, but it's the effort thing," said Kleiza about his team falling behind early. "We just have to come out harder."
Toronto is still without Andrea Bargnani, who is nursing a strained left calf.
Milwaukee swept the four-game season series with the Raptors last season and has won six of seven and eight of the last 10 overall matchups. However, the Bucks have dropped six of their last 10 north of the border.
<< Motoring: Red Wings seek 18th straight home win vs. Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will put the NHL's longest home
winning streak since the mid-1970s on the line tonight, as they welcome the
Edmonton Oilers for a battle at Joe Louis Arena.
It's been over three months since the Red W
<< Penn State comes calling on No. 11 Michigan State
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten
Conference standings meet in East Lansing this evening, as the Penn State
Nittany Lions challenge the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin
Center.
P
<< Demon Deacons and Cavs meet in ACC affair
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will
attempt to snap their four-game losing streak tonight as they head to the John
Paul Jones Arena for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle against the 19th-
ranked Virginia
<< Top-25 matchup pits Orange against Hoyas
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas will attempt
to tarnish the second-ranked Syracuse Orange's perfect home record tonight as
the two square off in a Big East battle at the Carrier Dome.
This will be the 87th en
Spurs continue Rodeo Road Trip in Philly >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs were able to get their annual Rodeo
Road Trip off to a promising start, but must face a pesky Philadelphia 76ers
squad that hasn't backed down from any team tonight at Wells Fargo Center.
San Antonio
Sharks, Flames clash in San Jose >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Staring at a two-week long road trip, the San Jose Sharks
would love to pick up four big points before leaving the friendly confines of
HP Pavilion.
They'll look to accomplish step one of that plan this evening and extend
Nuggets entertain Mavs at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders mired in losing
streaks square off in the Rockies tonight when the Denver Nuggets play host to
the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.
The Nuggets dropped their third in a r
Heat and Magic battle for Sunshine State bragging rights >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since their heart-to-heart meeting among players and
coaches following a loss at Milwaukee last week, the Miami Heat haven't
suffered defeat and hope to continue that trend tonight against the Orlando
Magic in the opener of a
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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