Owls and Explorers meet in clash of Philly rivals
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Temple Owls will try to continue their winning streak as they head across town to take on the La Salle Explorers at Tom Gola Arena in Atlantic 10 Conference action.
The Owls have almost doubled La Salle in the all-time Philadelphia Big 5 series, holding a 71-40 advantage thanks to a six-game win streak that saw Temple post a 76-70 win in the most recent meeting on January 18th last month. The Owls managed to hit 51.9 percent of their field goals in the first encounter this season, which gave them the advantage as the Explorers shot 45.2 percent from the floor.
Fran Dunphy led his Owls to their 10th straight victory on Saturday as they took down the Duquesne Dukes, 78-59, to improve to 21-5 overall. Temple's win gave it sole possession of first place in the A-10 standings as it is an impressive 10-2 in league action. The Owls had a stellar shooting performance against Duquesne on Saturday, as they hit 57.7 percent of their field goals including 10-of-19 from beyond the arc to pick up the victory. Temple is second in the A-10 in scoring offense with an average of 75.5 ppg, and is allowing opponents to net 68.5 ppg on the defensive end.
Khalif Wyatt took over on Saturday as he led the Owls with 24 points on 11- of-17 shooting from the field. Wyatt is the team's second leading scorer for the season with an average of 17.0 ppg. Ramone Moore has been the go-to-guy with a conference leading average of 18.2 ppg. Juan Fernandez does a nice job running the show for Temple, as he is adding 11.5 points and 3.9 assists per game. The Owls are powered inside by Michael Eric and Rahlir Hollis- Jefferson's forward play.
The Explorers ended their three-game losing streak on Saturday with a 72-71 win over the Massachusetts Minutemen, which kept them three games back of Temple in the league standings with a 7-5 A-10 record. La Salle is 18-9 overall. Head coach Dr. John Giannini is one win away from breaking his career-high with the program, which has not seen postseason action during any of his previous seven seasons. La Salle's +8.5 scoring margin this season is second best in the A-10.
Ramon Galloway is a lights out shooter from long range for La Salle. The junior guard is tied for the team's lead with 14.7 ppg while ranking second in the conference in three-point percentage (.468) and made three-point field goals per game (2.5). Earl Pettis, Tyreek Duren, and Sam Mills all possess scoring averages in double figures as well, which makes the Explorers very difficult to defend. Devon White and Matt Sheehan provide energy from the bench for Giannini as well.
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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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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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