Spiders attempt to snare Musketeers in A-10 semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded and 24th-ranked Xavier Musketeers do battle with the third-seeded Richmond Spiders in the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament today at Boardwalk Hall. The winner of this game will meet either Temple or Rhode Island in the finals on Sunday.

Winners of eight games in a row, the Musketeers find themselves in the semifinals of this event for the ninth consecutive year. After sharing the regular-season title at 14-2, Xavier earned a first-round bye and began tourney play with a 78-73 victory over seventh-seed Dayton last night. The Musketeers, who have won this event four times, are 4-6 in the semifinals and have lost their last three appearances in this stage.

On the flip side, Richmond went 13-3 during the regular campaign and also earned a first-round bye. The Spiders began their tourney run last night with a 77-72 besting of 11th-seeded Massachusetts in the quarterfinals. It was the third straight victory for Richmond, which is now one win shy of setting the school record for a single season. This is the Spiders' third appearance in the semifinals in their ninth showing in the A-10 tourney.

As for the all-time series, Xavier holds a 11-3 advantage over Richmond and that includes a 78-76 double-overtime decision in late February that helped the Musketeers earn a share of the A-10 title. That is Richmond's only loss in its last 12 games.

The Spiders drained 11-of-20 long-range buckets and held off UMass for a 77-72 win after opening a commanding 38-21 lead at the intermission. David Gonzalvez led a balanced attack with 15 points and six boards, while Ryan Butler and Kevin Smith each had 14 points. Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson also got into the mix, tallying 13 points apiece. For the season, Anderson tops the club in scoring at 17.7 ppg adn he also has 56 steals to his credit. Gonzalvez is another scoring threat at 14.3 ppg and he too is a tenacious defender, racking up a team-high 59 steals. Harper adds 10.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg for Richmond, which is holding foes to 61.7 ppg and recording 8.5 steals per contest.

The Musketeers shot 50.0 percent form the floor and made 21 free throws over the final 20 minutes, as they rallied from a 15-point defeat to top Dayton 78-73 last night. Xavier finished the game 33-of-41 at the stripe, in addition to dominating the boards, 39-28. Terrell Holloway led the charge with 22 points and three steals, while Jordan Crawford posted 20 points. Jason Love also did his part, registering a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. For the season, Crawford averages a hardy 19.7 ppg to pace Xavier and he also grabs 4.6 rpg and dishes out 2.9 apg. Love adds 12.0 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rpg to the lineup, while Holloway contributes 11.7 ppg and a team-best 4.0 apg. As a team, Xavier is netting a healthy 79.9 ppg and ripping down an impressive 40.0 rpg.

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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 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.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.