Reeling Wolves visit Magic

Basketball Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves try to avoid a fourth straight loss this evening when they visit the Orlando Magic

That may be easier said than done, though, as the Magic have won the last six, seven of the last eight and eight of the last 10 meetings in the series.

Minnesota's latest came on Saturday at the hands of the New York Knicks and sensation Jeremy Lin, who nailed the go-ahead free throw in the waning seconds of the T-Wolves' 100-98 setback.

Kevin Love had a game-high 32 points to go with 21 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards for Minnesota, which had won three in a row prior to this slide.

After Lin hit one of two free throws to give the Knicks the lead, Minnesota had the ball with 4.9 seconds remaining. However, Ricky Rubio got the inbounds pass at the other end, but lost the handle and the ball rolled out of bounds to give possession over to New York.

After Bill Walker pushed the lead to two by making one of two, Minny had yet another shot, but Love's desperation three-point attempt was way off the mark.

"I was very disappointed, we had 23 turnovers," said Love about his team's effort. "We just need to continue to learn from this situation. We all just need to come together."

Tonight's matchup will pit the league's top two rebounders in Love, who comes in averaging 13.9 boards a came, 1.6 less than Orlando's Dwight Howard. Love, of course, led the league in that category last season.

Howard's heroics were not needed on Saturday in Milwaukee, as Jason Richardson made 9-of-11 from long range, including four in the last five minutes of the game, to lead Orlando with 31 points as the Magic defeated Milwaukee, 99-94, at the Bradley Center.

"At the end he was just knocking down shots," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy about Richardson's hot shooting. "But as almost always happens when guys go on those runs, he got a couple open ones that get them going. And then you're just feeling it."

Richardson's nine threes ties him for second-most all-time in Magic history behind only Dennis Scott, who knocked down 11 on April 18, 1996.

Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and Dwight Howard contributed a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who have won five of their last seven.

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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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