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Jayhawks host Buffaloes in Big 12 clashNCAA Basketball Betting Lines01/27/2007 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big 12 standings meet this afternoon in Lawrence, as the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks host the Colorado Buffaloes in conference action from the Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are sitting in a four-way tie atop the Big 12 at 4-1. The team distanced itself from its only league loss of the season, a 69-64 setback at Texas Tech, with an 82-56 pasting of Baylor in Waco on Wednesday. The Buffaloes have just one conference win in six tries and have dropped two straight games and five of their last six overall. The team was home on Wednesday, but suffered a 14-point loss to Missouri. Kansas holds a 111-39 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado and has won seven straight meetings coming into this contest. When a team is averaging just 68.2 ppg and allowing a little more than 10 points more per outing (78.8 ppg), it isn't hard to figure out why wins are hard to come by. The Buffs are shooting a mere .403 from the floor, with the woes continuing from long range as well (.278). Richard Roby is without a doubt, the team's top option at the offensive end, averaging 16.7 ppg. He is followed in the scoring column by Xavier Silas and Dominique Coleman, who add 11.3 and 10.8 ppg, respectively. In the loss to the Tigers this week, Silas led three players in double digits with 16 points. Freshman Jeremy Williams scored a career-high 15 points, while Roby notched 11, despite shooting just 4-of-12 from the field. Despite being one of the youngest teams in the conference, Kansas is getting the job done at both ends of the court and is enjoying a +17.3 scoring margin. The team is shooting .485 from the floor, leading to 76.8 ppg. Defensively, Kansas is allowing a mere 59.5 ppg, on well under 40 percent shooting (.372). Sophomore Brandon Rush leads four Jayhawks in double figures with 13.7 ppg. Fellow sophomore Mario Chalmers and freshman Darrell Arthur are tied for second with 11.5 ppg, while yet another sophomore, Julian Wright adds 11.4 ppg, while leading the team on the boards (8.0 rpg). Kansas made light work of Baylor this week, as the team led by 22 points at halftime. KU shot 50 percent from the floor and just over 47 percent from behind the arc (8-of-17) in the game. Rush led the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. Wright added 16 points and six boards, while freshman Sherron Collins came off the bench to tally 13 points in 22 minutes of work.
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Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. |
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