Mountain West showdown pits Aztecs against Rebels
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02/11/2012 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second half of the Mountain West Conference schedule kicks off today with a clash of the titans in the desert, as the 14th-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels play host to the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Aztecs have lost just once since the end of November and because of that they are off to a 6-1 start in the MWC to pace the league. Since that lone setback to Colorado State on the road last month (77-60), SDSU has posted a pair of conference wins over the likes of Boise State and TCU in order to move to 20-3 overall. With the win over the Horned Frogs last weekend, the Aztecs secured their record-setting seventh straight season with at least 20 victories.
As for the Runnin' Rebels, they were finally knocked out of a tie for first place in the MWC with the Aztecs when Wyoming stepped up and stunned them in a 68-66 final in Laramie last weekend. The victory snapped a five-game win streak for UNLV, but a couple of those triumphs were rather shaky as the team went to overtime in back-to-back decisions against Boise State and Air Force, two of the weaker programs in the Mountain West.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Rebels are ahead by a 32-21 count, but in the first meeting of the season last month the Aztecs scored a thrilling 69-67 triumph in the final moments thanks to a three-pointer by Jamaal Franklin with 0.3 seconds remaining. With that victory, SDSU has not won six in a row in the series, the second-longest active streak against the Rebels behind only New Mexico which has posted nine straight wins.
The Horned Frogs gave it all they got in the meeting with San Diego State on the road at Viejas Arena last week, shooting close to 50 percent from the floor and 12-of-24 behind the three-point line, but still the Aztecs prevailed by double figures. Jamaal Franklin tallied a game-high 24 points for the hosts, adding career-high 11 rebounds, while James Rahon logged 16 points after combining for a mere 18 points in the four previous games combined. Chase Tapley added 14 points, while DeShawn Stephens chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds off the bench as the team shot just over 50 percent from the floor. Jamaal Franklin is scoring a team-best 16.0 ppg at the moment, only slightly better than Tapley who has delivered 15.9 ppg thanks to his 43.3 percent shooting behind the three-point line. Franklin is also the top rebounder for the squad with more than seven per game and with extra chances at the offensive end of the floor, it is easy to see how the team outscores the competition by more than 10 points per game.
It was bound to happen again, and it did against Wyoming on the road last weekend as the Rebels fell to another league foe, this time by two points at Arena Auditorium. UNLV had four players score in double figures, but so did the Cowboys, but in the case of the visitors they shot just 3-of-14 behind the three-point line, making just 1-of-10 in the second half of the tight contest. Quintrell Thomas came off the bench to tally 15 points, followed by Anthony Marshall and Oscar Bellfield who both posted 12 points and combined for 11 rebounds and just as many assists. Mike Moser logged another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but not a single board at the offensive end as he shot 4-of-12 on the day. Moser has been a tremendous addition to the UNLV roster, averaging 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, both of which pace the group. MArshall is responsible for 11.8 ppg and, with his 119 assists, gas combined with Bellfield (9.8 ppg, 133 assists) to become one of the most productive passing duos in the country. In fact, as a team the Rebels are ranked third in the nation with 18.3 apg and fourth in overall assists with 458, something that was bound to happen since they began to open up the offense and run like the old days.
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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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