Suns ready for big homestand

Basketball Betting Lines

03/02/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phoenix is 44-14 and is at the top of the Pacific Division, 11 games ahead of the second place Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns are No. 2 in the West, five games behind the defending conference champion Dallas Mavericks.

The Suns try to get back on the winning track, as they host the slumping Indiana Pacers on Friday at US Airways Center. Indiana has lost two straight and six of its last seven games at Phoenix. The Suns have won three in a row in the series. This is the second and final meeting of the season between the squads.

Phoenix, which returns home after going 3-1 on a four-game road trip, opens a five-game homestand against the Pacers. On Wednesday, Andre Iguodala finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Philadelphia 76ers kept Phoenix from a historic feat with a 99-94 win at the Wachovia Center.

All-Star Amare Stoudemire had 31 points and 13 boards in the loss to Philadelphia for the Suns, who were looking to become the first team ever to sweep its interconference road schedule (14-1). Regardless, Phoenix finished interconference road play with the highest winning percentage all-time. Reigning MVP Steve Nash ended with 23 points and nine assists, while Raja Bell scored 13 against his former team in defeat.

On the injury front for Phoenix, forwards Boris Diaw (back spasms) and Shawn Marion (bruised right hand/bruised left quadriceps) are questionable for Friday's contest. Marion, who leads the Suns in rebounding (10.2 rpg), and Diaw did not play against Philadelphia.

The Suns, who have won 10 of their last 13 contests on their home court, are an impressive 21-6 at home this season. They will also host the Lakers, Bobcats, Hornets and Rockets on the current homestand.

Stoudemire is averaging a team-best 20.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season. He has scored over 20 points in six straight games and has collected a double-double in five straight contests. The 6-11 Stoudemire has posted 30.4 points and 14.2 boards per game in his last five outings.

Phoenix is scheduled to play 13 of its final 24 games at home. The Suns will visit Dallas on March 14th at American Airlines Center and will host the Mavericks on April 1st.

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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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