Cousins leads Kings into New Orleans

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeMarcus Cousins hopes to build on one of his best games as a professional when the Sacramento Kings shoot for a season-high third straight victory tonight in the Big Easy against the New Orleans Hornets.

Cousins had his first career 20-20 game, recording 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds on Saturday when the Kings edged Golden State in overtime, 114-106, at Power Balance Pavilion.

John Salmons scored 14, including the go-ahead three-pointer to start the extra frame for the Kings, who have won two straight after dropping five in a row. Marcus Thornton totaled 28 points and Tyreke Evans 26 for the Kings, who also received 15 points and 16 rebounds from Jason Thompson.

"When it comes along and develops, they're going to be pretty good," Sacramento coach Keith Smart said of his starting lineup. "All those guys in that lineup bring something that's very positive on both sides of the ball."

Sacramento, which is just 2-11 as the visitor on the year, will be playing eight of its next 10 games on the road.

The Hornets, who are kicking off a four-game homestand tonight, have lost five straight after Saturday's 89-87 heartbreaker at Detroit. Trevor Ariza paced the Hornets attack with 26 points in that one and Greivis Vasquez added 14 points and nine assists as the Hornets also dropped their sixth straight road game.

New Orleans has now lost 14 of its last 15 contests overall.

"Well, this is the dog days of the NBA right now," said Hornets head coach Monty Williams. "A lot of players are kind of going through the motions and tired and we certainly looked that way tonight. I thought we'd be a bit fresher because I gave them the day off yesterday and maybe that hurt us."

On the injury front for New Orleans, forward Carl Landry went down in the third quarter in Detroit with a second degree MCL sprain in his left knee and is expected to miss three to four weeks. Meanwhile, center Jason Smith suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and listed as day-to-day.

The team could get a boost up front, however, with the possible return of Chris Kaman. After failing to work out a trade for the veteran, the Hornets have brought him back into the fold and he will be eligible to play tonight.

"For a number of reasons, including the team's decision to give more time to younger players, we had thought it best for Chris to work out on his own at as we made efforts to trade him," said Hornets General Manager Dell Demps. "However, following discussions with Chris, we have since concluded that being with the team is better for both Chris and the team, particularly our younger players who benefit from his experience and skill level.

"Chris has been working out daily over the past week and is in game condition," Demps added.

Finally, guard Jarrett Jack, who has missed the last two games with a sore left knee, is questionable for the Hornets.

New Orleans, which is just 2-11 at home on the season, has won five straight and 11 of 12 in the Big Easy against Sacramento.

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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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