Cavs and 'Noles square off in ACC tussle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2009 - Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in less than three weeks, the Virginia Cavaliers and the Florida State Seminoles will meet in an ACC tilt, this time in Tallahassee.

On January 24th, Florida State beat Virginia in Charlottesville by a 73-62 final, cutting the Cavaliers' lead to 17-16 in the all-time series.

Virginia limps into this evening's tilt with a seven-game losing streak that has dropped the club to 7-12 overall and 1-7 in conference. The Cavs have lost by double digits in five of the seven setbacks, including a 76-61 loss at North Carolina on Saturday. Virginia is 1-6 in true road games, not exactly a reason for optimism tonight.

As for Florida State, it has won its last two outings, including an impressive 65-61 road win over an extremely talented Clemson squad on Saturday. At 18-5 overall and 5-3 in conference action, the Seminoles, who are ranked 25th in the country this week, are in outstanding position to claim an NCAA Tournament bid, although plenty of regular season challenges await in the loaded ACC.

There are a few obvious reasons that Virginia lost to North Carolina on Saturday. The Cavaliers connected on only 36.5 percent of their field goal attempts in the contest, and they were outrebounded by a 46-34 final. An 11-5 deficit in points from the foul line also helped the cause. Jeff Jones scored 19 points for Virginia in the setback, and Sylven Landesberg pitched in 16 points. Sammy Zeglinski rounded out a trio of double-digit scorers with 11 points off the bench. Through 19 outings, the Cavaliers are posting 72.3 ppg, slightly less than the 73.7 ppg that the team is surrendering. Landesberg is just a freshman, but he is scoring 17.9 ppg. Mike Scott adds 10.5 ppg and 7.6 rpg, while Zeglinski is netting 9.5 ppg.

Toney Douglas was outstanding in the thrilling triumph over Clemson last time out, as the standout guard led Florida State with 23 points. Solomon Alabi came through with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Seminoles, who earned a 36-28 rebounding advantage in the clash while also forcing 18 turnovers. FSU actually trailed by eight points at intermission after shooting 30 percent from the floor in the first half, but 51.7 percent field goal efficiency over the final 20 minutes enabled the Seminoles to claim the come-from-behind win. Douglas is racking up 20.3 ppg this season, and no other player on the roster is scoring more than 8.4 ppg. With that in mind, it is fair to say that no other player in the ACC means more to his team than Douglas.

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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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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.