Big East champs again: UConn women pull away from WVU

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalana Greene scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and top-ranked Connecticut captured the Big East Tournament title and stretched its winning streak to a record 72 games with a 60-32 triumph over No. 9 West Virginia.

Tiffany Hayes had 15 points, while Tina Charles contributed 12 points, 10 boards and four blocks for the Huskies (33-0), who pulled away over the game's final 15 minutes and didn't allow a field goal for the Mountaineers over an 11-minute stretch in the second half.

Maya Moore tallied 10 points for the Huskies, who are assured of being the top-seeded team for the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, they broke their own longest winning streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball history with a 59-44 victory over sixth-ranked Notre Dame.

The only longer winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball history is the 88-game run the UCLA men had from 1971-1974.

Since the 1993-94 season, Connecticut has won either the Big East regular season or tourney title in 17 consecutive seasons - and has captured both titles 12 times over that span. They've won both three straight years and have captured five of the last six tournament championships and have a total of 16 Big East titles overall.

Liz Repella totaled 10 points for the second-seeded Mountaineers (28-5), who shot just 24.1 percent from the field and have yet to win the conference title. They were beaten by UConn in the 2006 final.

Natalie Burton's free throw trimmed West Virginia's deficit to 33-28 with 15 1/2 minutes left, but the Mountaineers went the next 11-plus minutes without a field goal, thanks to some suffocating defense.

During that time, the Huskies went on an amazing 27-2 spurt. Moore started the flurry with a jumper and Meghan Gardler's three-pointer widened the cushion to 56-30 with under five minutes left.

Korinne Campbell's jumper, with 12 minutes left, represented the last WVU field goal until Akeema Richards scored in the final minute.

West Virginia closed a 27-10 deficit to 30-20 at the half.

Mlige NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Bears release RB Jones
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears released running back Kevin Jones on Tuesday. Jones, who missed all of 2009 with a serious ankle injury, signed with the bears in 2008 and rushed for 109 yards on 34 carries

<< Falcons sign CB Grimes
Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed cornerback Brent Grimes. Grimes led the team with six interceptions in 2009, had 13 passes defensed and compiled 67 tackles, 58 of those solo, in 16 games. Ori

<< FDU removes interim tag from Vetrone
Teaneck, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fairleigh Dickinson has removed the interim tag from Greg Vetrone and has named him the permanent men's basketball coach. Vetrone was given the job on an interim basis for last season and led the team to a 10-

<< Tests confirm overactive thyroid for Reyes
Port St. Lucie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets confirmed the test results that stated shortstop Jose Reyes has an overactive thyroid. The club mentioned that Reyes will remain in New York to undergo additional blood testing,

<< Saints ink CB Torrence
Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms with cornerback Leigh Torrence on a one-year contract Tuesday. Torrence spent the past two years with New Orleans, appearing in 12 total games. He had four

Clippers sever ties with GM Dunleavy >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers announced they have severed ties with general manager Mike Dunleavy, just over a month after he resigned as head coach. At the time of the February 4 announcement, the Clippers

North Texas takes Sun Belt championship >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh White hit the go-ahead bucket with 24 seconds left and George Odufuwa came up with a key block on the ensuing series, as North Texas edged Troy, 66-63, for the Sun Belt Conference Tournam

Jones shines in Granger's absence as Pacers down Sixers >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dahntay Jones tied a season-high with 25 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of Danny Granger to beat Philadelphia, 107-96, at Conseco Fieldhouse. Granger, who is leading the Pacers at

Bourque highlights Calgary's win in Motown >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rene Bourque assisted on the tying goal early in the third period and scored the game-winner less than two minutes later, as the Calgary Flames edged the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, at Joe Louis Arena. Jarome Ig

Predators hold off Thrashers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Suter and Colin Wilson scored to propel the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Suter's tally came on a power play early in the first period, whil

Credit Card Betting: Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cards

Online Sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard

MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!

The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.

The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.

Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!

Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!


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.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.