Collins, Kansas blow past Texas A&M in second half

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sherron Collins scored 26 points and dished out six assists, and top-ranked Kansas used a big run late in the second half to post a 79-66 victory over No. 23 Texas A&M in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.

Xavier Henry added 15 points, and Markieff Morris scored 10 for the Jayhawks (31-2), who will face either Kansas State or Baylor in Saturday's championship game.

Top-seeded Kansas, which is trying for its seventh Big 12 title, used great defense to shut down the Aggies in the second half, limiting them without a field goal over an eight-minute stretch.

The Jayhawks, who trailed by as many as nine in the second half, used a 21-2 spurt to take control. They've won their last four games since falling at Oklahoma State on February 27.

Donald Sloan had 24 points for the fourth-seeded Aggies (23-9), who had their four-game winning streak broken and will now wait for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Khris Middleton tallied 14 points and B.J. Holmes 12 for Texas A&M, which fell to 1-16 all-time against Kansas. The Aggies are 0-6 against top-ranked opponents.

Texas A&M led 38-35 at the break, and Middleton's three-pointer widened the lead to 47-38 nearly three minutes into the second half. The Aggies led 55-51 following a pair of Sloan free throws with 10 1/2 minutes to go.

Then came Kansas' huge rally, started with a three-pointer by Henry. Morris' layup gave the Jayhawks the lead, but Sloan interjected with a jumper with under nine minutes left. That would be A&M's last field goal until the final minute.

Morris tacked on a jumper, and Collins came up with a steal and layup to give Kansas a three-point edge. Henry then extended the cushion with a three- pointer from the left wing.

Aggies coach Mark Turgeon was visibly upset at Kansas' players on a couple of occasions, jawing at Collins with under seven minutes left. Texas A&M's Bryan Davis and Kansas' Morris where whistled for technical fouls with 6:41 remaining.

Henry's three-ball capped the burst with five minutes left for the dominating 72-57 cushion. Sloan and Naji Hibbert each hit shots in the final minute for the Aggies, but the game was already decided.

Game Notes

Kansas coach Bill Self captured win No. 200 as Jayhawks coach, joining Phog Allen, Ted Owens and Roy Williams to reach the milestone at the school. Self became the fastest coach in KU's history to reach the 200-win mark, doing it in 243 games. Williams won 200 at Kansas in 252 games...Sloan has played in 136 career games, moving past Josh Carter (2005-09) for the most in A&M history...The Aggies, who beat Nebraska on Thursday, played their second straight contest without sophomore guard Dash Harris, who is out with a right wrist injury...Kansas ended 10-of-18 from three-point range.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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