Sooners take on Toreros in Great Alaska Shootout

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

11/25/2009 - Anchorage, AK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a disappointing showing the last time out, the 25th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners make an effort to bounce back versus the San Diego Toreros in the first round of the 32nd annual Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

After defeating both Mount St. Mary's (95-71) and UL-Monroe (72-61) at home to kick off the 2009-10 campaign, the Sooners ran into trouble at VCU this past weekend and were turned away in an 82-69 final. Perhaps the Sooners should have known what to expect from the Rams, given that head coach Jeff Capel was the top man on the VCU sidelines for four season before heading to Oklahoma.

The setback nearly bounced Oklahoma from the national rankings, but for the moment the team is still hanging on in the final position as it prepares to compete in this tournament for the third time.

As for the Toreros, they too are sporting a 2-1 record at the moment. The squad defeated Stanford in the season opener, 77-64, and also topped Point Loma Nazarene a week ago. In between those two triumphs, USD was treated to a 56-55 loss by the Pacific Tigers on the road in Stockton, California.

According to Oklahoma records, this is just the second meeting all-time between these two teams and the first since the Sooners posted a 68-61 win during the Sooner Invitational in Norman during the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Sooners could not slow down the perimeter shooting of VCU in the first half last weekend, watching the Rams convert 7-of-15 from three-point range, which is just one of the reasons why Oklahoma and coach Capel suffered the loss. One of four players to score in double figures for the visitors, Tiny Gallon recorded a double-double with his 15 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 5-of-8 from the field in the process. Tony Crocker accounted for a team-best 19 points, Steven Pledger added 11 points off the bench and Tommy Mason- Griffin contributed 10 points to go along with seven boards and six assists. Starting guard Willie Warren missed all eight of his three-point tries and was just 3-of-14 from the floor overall in the setback. After three games Warren has made just one of his 15 three-point attempts, dropping his overall field goal percentage to a mere .361. Nevertheless, he is still the top scorer for the unit with his 15.7 ppg, thanks mostly to his 20-of-23 effort at the free- throw line. Pledger checks in with 13.3 ppg, having made good on 8-of-20 beyond the arc, but the rest of the team is a combined 9-of-39 from the outside, which is why the unit is making only 28.8 percent of those chances right now.

Beating up on Point Loma did nothing more than pad some stats for the Toreros. The starting five for USD accounted for all but 15 of the team's 84 points as De'Jon Jackson tallied a team-best 19 points as he shot 5-of-8 behind the three-point line. Jackson also used his time on the floor to collect five rebounds and hand out five assists. Matt Dorr dropped in 18 points as he combined with Jackson to convert 9-of-15 shots from three-point range. Roberto Mafra responded with 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists for a team that shot better from beyond the arc (.520) than it did the floor overall (.517). A starter in all three games, Jackson is at the top of the scoring list for the Toreros with his 17.7 ppg, thanks in large part to his 7- of-13 shooting behind the three-point line. It also helps that he has missed just two of his 14 free-throw attempts. Brandon Johnson, who missed the game with Point Loma, accounts for another 14.0 ppg, but in his case he has shot just 36.4 percent from the floor for a team that is scoring 72.0 ppg at the present time.

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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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