Bluejays go in search of 12th straight win
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/04/2012 -
Cedar Rapids, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Creighton Bluejays take
aim at their 12th straight victory, as they fly into Cedar Rapids for today's
Missouri Valley Conference showdown with the Panthers of Northern Iowa.
Creighton picked up its 11th consecutive win on Wednesday night by blasting
visiting Illinois State in a 102-74 final. It was the second time this season
the Bluejays soared above the 100-point mark, and it improved their overall
record to 21-2, and their league ledger to 11-1. It was also the 12th win in
13 home games for a Creighton club that is clearly the class of the MVC this
season.
Northern Iowa is coming off a win of its own, as the Panthers took care of
visiting Southern Illinois on Tuesday, 58-49. As a result, UNI improved to
15-9 on the season and 5-7 in conference play. The Panthers own a 10-3 home
record, but they've strung together consecutive wins just once since opening
the season an impressive 10-1.
Creighton owns a 29-15 lead in the all-time series with Northern Iowa, and the
Bluejays have won the last three meetings, which includes a 63-60 decision in
Omaha back on January 10.
Doug McDermott poured in 25 points to lead six players in double figures, as
the Bluejays could do no wrong in their recent win over Illinois State. The
other five guys scored between 10 and 12 points apiece, and the team as a
whole made good on 13-of-25 three-point attempts (.520) while shooting 56.4
percent from the floor overall. A 27-13 edge in points from the foul line
helped the cause, as did a 35-23 rebounding advantage. Creighton is one of the
highest scoring teams in the country, averaging 81.8 ppg behind outstanding
shooting percentages of .516 overall and .453 from three-point range.
McDermott (23.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg) is one of the top performers in not only the
MVC, but the country as well, and the team's only other double-digit scorer is
Antoine Young (11.0 ppg, 4.5 apg). Defensively, the 'Jays are giving up 68.0
ppg with foes shooting 42.6 percent from the field. Creighton is +5.8 in
rebounding margin, but -1.3 in turnover differential.
Freshman Deon Mitchell scored a career-high 17 points, and Chip Rank came off
the bench to net 13 more, as Northern Iowa got past Southern Illinois earlier
this week. The Panthers overcame a slow start (.286 FG percentage in the first
half) by shooting 55.0 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes to
earn the victory. The Salukis were limited to 35.3 percent field goal
efficiency, and a 20-8 deficit in points from the free-throw line also proved
costly. UNI claimed significant advantages in points in the paint (22-12), off
turnovers (16-2) and from its reserves (18-5). Through 24 games, Anthony James
(13.4 ppg) is the only player averaging double figures in scoring for coach
Ben Jacobson's club, but he is hitting just 38.4 percent of his field goal
attempts. Overall, the team is averaging 66.0 ppg in dropping 43.3 percent of
its total shots and 38.2 percent of its long-range bombs, while the opposition
is netting 60.8 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 43.1 percent overall and
35.0 percent from beyond the arc.
<< Tigers and Bulldogs square off Starkville
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meeting in the first of two games scheduled
over the next two weeks, the Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs
square off at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville this afternoon for an SEC
tussle.
Auburn i
<< Ward, Hurricanes try to shut down Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes may be tied for the fewest points
in the Eastern Conference, but they showed again on Thursday that they can
still hang with the best the NHL has to offer.
Hoping to win two in a row for just the se
<< Bulls charge into D.C. to take on 14th-ranked Hoyas
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the postseason rapidly approaching, a
pair of Big East Conference teams hoping to improve their prospects meet in
the nation's capital this morning, as the South Florida Bulls take on the
14th-ranked Geo
<< Minus Howard, Red Wings visit healthy Oilers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings seem to finally be hitting their
stride on the road, but they'll be without the league's leader in wins for the
rest of their swing.
Minus goaltender Jimmy Howard, the Red Wings look for their third s
<< Sharks, Coyotes engage in the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks aim to push their win streak to four
straight games this evening as they begin a tough stretch of road games with a
matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Sharks halted a three-game slide with a 1-0 w
Hoosier State rivals square off in West Lafayette >>
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of in-state rivals jockeying for
position in the competitive Big Ten Conference meet at Mackey Arena in West
Lafayette this evening, as the 20th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers tangle with the
Purdue Boilerm
Waves hope to crash down on 24th-ranked Bulldogs >>
Malibu, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Coast Conference foes meet in Malibu
tonight, as the 24th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs pay a visit to the Pepperdine
Waves.
Gonzaga was recently re-admitted into the AP Top-25 after winning four in a
row from J
Sixth-ranked Bears battle Cowboys in Big 12 affair >>
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears will attempt
to stay within striking distance in the Big 12 Conference, as they invade
Stillwater this afternoon for a conference matchup with the Oklahoma State
Cowboys at Gallagh
Marquee matchup pits Jayhawks against Tigers >>
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated game in the Big 12 has
finally arrived, as top-10 foes Kansas and Missouri collide in Columbia, with
positioning atop the conference standings at stake.
The eighth-ranked Jayhawks lead the
Irish set sights on Golden Eagles >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles
continue their push towards the top of the Big East standings, as the begin a
two-game road trip this afternoon, taking on a dangerous Notre Dame team at
the Joyce Center
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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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