Magic win eighth straight, top Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard put up 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and even dished out five assists, as Orlando overcame a sluggish start to upend lowly Washington, 109-95.

J.J. Redick netted 18 points, and fellow reserve Brandon Bass contributed 16 points and nine rebounds for the Southeast Division-leading Magic, winners of eight straight. Vince Carter scored 18 points for the victors.

Andray Blatche posted 32 points for the Wizards, who actually led by 15 before stumbling to their seventh consecutive loss. Shaun Livingston provided 18 points and eight assists, and Al Thornton chipped in 15 points in defeat.

Orlando took control in the third, scoring the first eight points of the frame. Howard had a pair of inside buckets and hit a free throw two minutes in for a 69-55 cushion.

The difference was 88-76 with a quarter to play, and a Bass jumper and Redick three-pointer pushed the Magic lead to 93-76 early in the final stanza.

The visitors led comfortably the rest of the way.

Washington scored the final 12 points of the first quarter to take a healthy 33-20 margin. By the midway point of the second frame, the Magic had already battled back to take the lead, 44-41, behind a 10-0 run.

Howard's slam in the closing second of the half gave Orlando a 61-55 lead.

Game Notes

This is Orlando's first eight-game win streak since April of 2006...Jameer Nelson added nine points and eight assists for the Magic, who made 51.9 percent from the floor and 8-of-14 from three-point range...Washington, which had won the first two meetings against the Magic this season, was beaten on the glass, 46-30.

Wwwkcasino Basketball Betting News

<< San Diego State handles UNLV in MWC title game
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kawhi Leonard scored 16 points and set a Mountain West Conference Tournament record with 21 rebounds as San Diego State punched its ticket to the Big Dance with a 55-45 win over UNLV on the Runnin' Rebels'

<< Ohio upends Akron in OT, gains MAC's automatic bid
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points and made the go-ahead jumper late in overtime, as the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with an 81-75 victory over the t

<< Huskies edge Cal to take Pac-10 crown
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quincy Pondexter had 18 points to lead Washington to a 79-75 win over California, as the Huskies won their second Pac-10 Conference Tournament title. Isaiah Thomas had 16 points and Venoy Overton

<< Kansas captures Big 12 title with third win over K-State
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris donated 18 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 1 Kansas to its seventh Big 12 Tournament championship behind a 72-64 victory over ninth-seeded Kansas State. The Jayhawks (32-2) never

<< Sidney's Candy garners San Felipe Stakes
Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sidney's Candy, winner of the San Vicente Stakes, made it two straight Saturday by winning the $150,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The colt covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:42.30. Ridden by

Bryzgalov, Coyotes shut out Hurricanes >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves to record his NHL- leading eighth shutout, and the Phoenix Coyotes won their fourth straight game with a 4-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes. Lee Stempniak and Martin Hanzal each

Rafalski's OT tally lifts Detroit over Buffalo >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Rafalski's power-play goal 31 seconds into overtime gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Buffalo at Joe Louis Arena. Buffalo's Tyler Myers was called for delay of game late in regulation and the penalty carr

Smith's 11 helpers paced Atlanta over Detroit >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson finished with 26 points, as the Atlanta Hawks used an efficient offensive performance to take a 112-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Josh Smith added 18 points and a career-high 11 assis

Blues keep rolling, top Blue Jackets >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy McDonald had a goal and a pair of assists, and Chris Mason stopped 24 shots, as the surging St. Louis Blues topped Columbus, 5-1, at Nationwide Arena. Alexander Steen, B.J. Crombeen, David

Bergenheim, Islanders double up Devils >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean Bergenheim scored a short-handed goal late in the third period as the New York Islanders took down the New Jersey Devils, 4-2 at Nassau Coliseum. Freddy Meyer, Jon Sim and Mark Streit also scored f

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.