Westbrook, Thunder cruise past Jazz

Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 28 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 101-87 victory over the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday.

Kevin Durant added 19 points and Serge Ibaka contributed a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Thunder won three of their last four games to wrap up a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record.

Utah had all five starters in double figures, including 20 points from Al Jefferson. Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward scored 13 points apiece for the Jazz, who have dropped three straight and five of their last six.

"They [Thunder] played well," said Bell. "They took the game to us. They were aggressive. We got stuck in one mode and were never able to transition into something else to see if it could get going."

Utah would pull ahead by two, 58-56, on a Jefferson jumper in the third quarter, but Oklahoma City would rip off a 16-4 run to give the Thunder a 72-62 lead with just over three minutes left.

The Thunder would finish the quarter leading 74-65.

The Jazz clawed their way back into the game, but another 7-0 spurt by the Thunder pressed the lead up to 85-73 with just over seven minutes to play.

Utah was unable to put a run together in the closing minutes as the Thunder ran away with the double-digit victory.

The Thunder turned the ball over seven times in the first frame as the Jazz took a 30-27 lead into the second quarter.

"We have always been a good bounce-back team after a loss," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "Tonight was a good indication of how we play. We didn't have a lot of things going for us early. We were turning the ball over, but we fought, we stuck together and we competed."

Utah grabbed a 40-36 lead midway through the second as C.J. Miles finished back-to-back alley-oop dunks around a Westbrook jumper, but Oklahoma City would score the next 10 points to jump out to a 46-40 advantage with 1:30 left in the half.

Westbrook scored 15 points in the first half, including a jumper from the wing that closed out the first half with the Thunder leading 49-44.

Game Notes

The Jazz will begin a back-to-back-to-back road stretch in Memphis on Sunday and finish with a rematch in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, which marks the Thunder's next game...The Thunder are now 12-5 on the road this season...Oklahoma City improved to 4-1 this season in games played after a loss...The Thunder were 4-of-20 from long range, while the Jazz were 3-of-9 from three-point range.

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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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