Utah trips up Zags, sends No. 16 Gonzaga to third straight loss
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
12/31/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Nevill scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots to help Utah upend No. 16 Gonzaga, 66-65, at the Huntsman Center.
Luka Drca chipped in 14 points and seven assists for the Utes (8-5), who have won two in a row and three of four overall. Lawrence Borha had 11 points in the win.
Jeremy Pargo and Josh Heytvelt had 14 points apiece for the Bulldogs (8-4), who have dropped three straight games and four of five overall following a 7-0 start to the season. Will Foster had 10 points and 10 boards.
Down by three, the Bulldogs inbounded the ball and worked it to Matt Bouldin down low, who poured in a layup with 25.3 ticks showing.
Utah then inbounded the ball and Carlon Brown was fouled with 19.7 seconds left to play. He hit both shots to make it 66-63.
Pargo missed a layup, grabbed the board and then worked the ball out to Gray, who was fouled with 7.3 seconds left. It was a one-point game after he hit both shots.
As Utah inbounded, Bouldin stole the ball but his jumper was off the mark. Austin Daye grabbed the rebound but his tip-in wouldn't fall and finally Nevill grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Borha's layup capped a 9-0 Utah run to open the game and Kim Tillie's layup gave the Utes a 22-11 lead with 11:11 left in the first half.
Down by nine late in the first half, Demetri Goodson's two free throws sparked a 10-2 Bulldogs run that helped Gonzaga get back in the game. Heytvelt's dunk closed out the run and brought the visitors within 30-29 with 3:13 left before the intermission.
Utah managed to escape to its locker room with a 36-32 lead at the break.
Down by 11 late in the second half, Heytvelt's tip-in sparked a 10-0 Gonzaga run that brought the Bulldogs within 54-53 with just over six minutes left.
Still up by one with 2:02 showing on the clock, Nevill was fouled. He hit both shots to make it 62-59.
Drca was then fouled 35 seconds later and made it a five-point game with two shots.
Gray was fouled with 1:11 left to play and hit both shots to make it a three- point game and Gonzaga got the ball back before calling timeout with 33.1 ticks left.
Game Notes
Gonzaga next plays at Tennessee on January 7 while Utah will host Wyoming Saturday...The Utes are 5-2 at home thus far...Utah and Gonzaga met last New Year's Eve as well, with the Bulldogs notching a 61-59 victory in Spokane.
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charles Scott ran for three touchdowns and LSU, the reigning national champs, steamrolled the 14th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 38-3, in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Scott finished with 64 yards on 15 carries
<< Thunder post rare win, top Warriors
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Green had 26 points and Kevin Durant
gave 25 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 107-100 victory over the Golden
State Warriors.
Durant also had 10 rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, wh
<< Samsonov propels Hurricanes past Thrashers
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sergei Samsonov collected a pair of goals and
one assist as Carolina topped Atlanta, 3-1, at RBC Center.
Joe Corvo also tallied for the Hurricanes, who have won three of five.
Cam Ward needed to make just 2
<< Mueller scored twice as Coyotes shut down Avs
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Mueller scored twice and Mikael
Tellqvist made 28 saves, as the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Colorado
Avalanche, 3-1.
Olli Jokinen also scored and Shane Doan collected two assist
<< Nene, Nuggets fend off Raptors
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nene had 21 points and seven rebounds to help
lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-107 win over the Toronto Raptors at Air
Canada Centre.
Carmelo Anthony went for 20 while Chauncey Billups scored 18 and
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Mueller scored twice and Mikael Tellqvist made 28 saves, as the Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 3-1. Olli Jokinen also scored and Shane Doan collected two assist
Notre Dame beats DePaul >>
Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Harangody posted game-highs with 26
points and 16 rebounds as seventh-ranked Notre Dame cruised past DePaul,
92-82, in the Big East opener for both schools at Allstate Arena.
Zach Hillesland
Eriksson leads Stars past Devils >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Loui Eriksson scored twice and Marty Turco made
25 saves to lift the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at
American Airlines Center.
Brad Richards had three assists while Mark Parrish and
Hansbrough, Ellington lead UNC past Nevada >>
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to lead No. 1
North Carolina past Nevada, 84-61, at Lawlor Events Center.
Wayne Ellington added 15 points for the Tar Heels (13-0), who have won each of
their games by at lea
Sixers edge Clippers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Iguodala netted a season-high 28
points with seven boards and as many assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to
a 100-92 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Thaddeus Young lo
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
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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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