Blake Griffin watches from bench, as Abrams, Texas top Sooners

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2009 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Abrams had 23 points and scored 16 straight for Texas down the stretch, as the Longhorns notched a signature 73-68 victory over second-ranked Oklahoma in a heavyweight Big 12 tussle.

Abrams buried five three-pointers with four of them coming over the final eight minutes as the senior guard took over the game with 18 second-half points.

Damion James had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Dogus Balbay logged 10 points, a game-best nine assists and eight boards for Texas (18-8, 7-5 Big 12), which had lost four of six and was coming off a thorough 81-66 dismantling at the hands of Texas A&M.

Ranked as high as seventh early in the season, the Longhorns fell on hard times since starting their Big 12 slate at 4-1, enduring a three-game losing streak that precipitated a tumble from the Top 25. However, Saturday's performance will make it hard for NCAA committee members to keep Texas out of the big dance come Selection Sunday.

Texas has now won six straight home games against top-five teams.

Freshman Willie Warren connected for six three-pointers en route to 27 points and helped fill the huge void left by an injury to standout sophomore Blake Griffin.

Griffin was struck over the bridge of his nose by Texas' Dexter Pittman with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Visibly woozy and his nose bloodied, Griffin remained on the bench following a timeout a short time later at the insistence of OU trainers. At halftime it was decided he would not return due to a suspected concussion. He had to be helped to the locker room by trainers at the break.

Tony Crocker netted 14 points with seven rebounds and Taylor Griffin, Blake's brother, scored nine with eight boards for the Sooners (25-2, 11-1), who saw their 13-game win streak come to an end at the most inopportune of times.

Oklahoma's recent dominance coupled with No. 1 UConn's loss to Pitt earlier this week had the Sooners positioned to take over the top spot in the polls next week. OU's lone defeat coming in was to Arkansas back on December 30.

Blake Griffin finished 1-of-5 from the field with two points and three rebounds in 11-plus minutes.

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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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