Jefferson, Jazz outlast Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson scored 34 points with 12 rebounds and the Utah Jazz snapped a two-game losing streak with a 114-100 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

The Jazz also stopped a two-game slide to the Wizards, getting 14 points and 12 rebounds from Paul Millsap and 13 points off the bench from Alec Burks.

John Wall scored 24 points to lead Washington and Jordan Crawford had 21, but the Wizards dropped their second straight and fell to 2-2 on a five-game road trip. The two straight losses have come after Washington defeated Detroit and Portland for its first back-to-back wins of the season.

Mindgaming Basketball Betting News

<< Nowitzki, Mavs pull away to beat Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points, including 24 in the second half as the Dallas Mavericks completed a comeback victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, 82-75, at Wells Fargo Center on Friday. Nowitzki's 24

<< Love leads Timberwolves over Rockets
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love had 33 points and 17 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic scored a career-high 30, as the Timberwolves downed the Rockets, 111-98, on Friday. Ricky Rubio added 18 points and nine assists for the

<< Hornets beat Knicks; no last-minute luck for Lin
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Ariza scored 25 points, Marco Belinelli had 17 and the New Orleans Hornets beat Jeremy Lin and the Knicks on Friday night, 89-85, to snap New York's seven-game winning streak. There wasn't any late-

<< Caps get best of Cats thanks to third-period surge
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin each scored in the third period to lift the Washington Capitals over the Florida Panthers, 2-1, in a key Southeast Division battle. Tomas Vokoun made 22 saves aga

<< Wheeler sets in motion a Jets victory over Bruins
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Wheeler totaled a goal and two assists as Winnipeg bested Boston, 4-2, at MTS Centre. Bryan Little tallied twice and Alex Burmistrov once for the Jets, who have won two in a row and four of the last si

Avalanche top Oilers >>
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Olver and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist, as the Colorado Avalanche handled the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1. Erik Johnson also lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who improved to 1-1-1 on a

Truex Jr. picks pole position for Budweiser Shootout >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Truex Jr. selected the pole position for the Budweiser Shootout during Friday night's random drawing at Daytona International Speedway. Truex Jr., driver of the No.56 Toyota for Michael W

Bryant paces Lakers over Suns >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant had 36 points, nine rebounds and six assists, as the Lakers downed the Suns, 111-99, in the opener of a home-and-home at Staples Center. Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 14 rebounds f

Roddick upset in straight sets in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Andy Roddick lost to Russia's Denis Istomin in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday at the $531,000 SAP Open. Roddick. a three-time San Jose titlist (2004-05, 2008), was the

Miyazato tops strong leaderboard in Thailand >>
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato fired a seven-under 65 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Miyazato, the 2010 winner, finished three rounds at 14-under-par 202. She will go for her

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.