Cyclones blow into Waco seeking upset of Bears
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/13/2012 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The tie for third place in the Big 12 Conference Standings will be broken tonight, as the Iowa State Cyclones square off with the Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
The Cyclones have played Baylor 20 times leading up to tonight's clash, and Iowa State leads the all-time series 12-8. As mentioned, the Cyclones and Bears are tied for third place in the Big 12 standings with identical 8-4 league ledgers, two games behind both Kansas and Missouri.
Iowa State won its fourth game in five tries on Saturday as it handled Texas A&M on its home floor, 69-46. The decision improved ISU's overall record to 18-7. The Cyclones were able to knock down 10 three-pointers in the contest, which put them in a tie for seventh in the nation in three-pointers made per game (8.9). Head coach Fred Hoiberg had to be pleased with his squad's dominant 38-22 rebounding advantage. Iowa State has the fifth-best scoring offense in the Big 12 (73.8 ppg), and the seventh-best scoring defense (66.0 ppg).
Royce White is the go-to-guy for Iowa State, and he is the only player in the country to lead his team in points (13.2 ppg), rebounds (9.4 rpg), assists (4.8 apg), steals (1.2 spg), and blocks (1.1 bpg). Chris Allen is ISU's second-leading scorer with 12.7 ppg, and he has been deadly from three-point range, going 17-of-29 from downtown in his last four games. Scott Christopherson and Chris Babb both produce for the Cyclones as well, and both demand extra attention when out on the perimeter.
Baylor head coach Scott Drew can't be criticized too harshly for his team's current two-game slide, as it went up against the talented Kansas Jayhawks prior to suffering a 72-57 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Baylor lost to Kansas and Missouri in consecutive games earlier this season as well, which has contributed all of the losses to its 21-4 overall record. BU shot the ball poorly against Mizzou, as it connected on only 36.2 percent of its field goal attempts, which included a dismal 4-of-17 showing from three-point range, while the Tigers were able to hit 14-of-28 from beyond the arc to run away with the victory. Baylor is third in the Big 12 in scoring margin (+11.4).
Baylor has a deep attack as five players average double figures in the scoring column. The Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Perry Jones III leads the team with 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Quincy Miller was excellent in the recent loss to Missouri, as he poured in a 20 points. Quincy Acy and Pierre Jackson are both contributing just under 13.0 ppg. Acy is an exciting high-flyer who leads the team with 53 blocks. Brady Heslip is a serious threat from long range as he has knocked down 43.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc coming into this contest.
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunflower State rivals square off in Manhattan this evening, as the Kansas Jayhawks pay a visit to the Kansas State Wildcats in an important Big 12 Conference clash. After a December 19 loss to Davidson, Kans
<< Heat try to solve Bucks at Bradley Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat resume a hectic three games in three nights
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<< Jazz continue hectic stretch in NOLA
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Hornets.
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<< Canucks host streaking Coyotes in Vancouver
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<< Habs aim to stay hot vs. Hurricanes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly-hot Montreal Canadiens will try to extend
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Carolina Hurricanes for tonight's battle at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens have scored 15 times
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Suns start tough stretch in Oakland vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix will begin a grueling three games in three nights
stretch in Oakland tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
The Suns have won three straight on the road, including Saturday's 98-84 win
in Sacramento, and 11 of
Clippers finish road trip in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers hope to tie a bow on a successful
road trip by securing their first win in over five years in North Texas when
they take on the reigning NBA champion Mavericks.
The Clips have lost nine straight in
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The whole sports world seems to be
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Revs add French forward Sene >>
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution announced on
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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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