15th-ranked Xavier heads to Kingston to battle Rams

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/15/2009 - Kingston, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Xavier Musketeers are widely considered to be the best team in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and they will attempt to avoid an upset at the hands of the Rhode Island Rams this evening.

Xavier is currently riding a four-game win streak that has enabled the team to move to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The only two losses suffered by the club this season came against Duke and Butler, a pair of nationally- ranked opponents. The Musketeers are fresh off an 86-60 thrashing of Fordham on Sunday, and they certainly expect a stiffer challenge this evening from Rhode Island, which owns an impressive 11-5 overall record.

The Rams carried a three-game winning streak into Saturday's A-10 opener against Saint Joseph, but the result was a 92-86 triple-overtime loss to the Hawks on the road. Fortunately, URI returns home in hopes of improving its 6-0 record at the Ryan Center.

Xavier owns a 14-3 series lead over Rhode Island, which includes an 81-77 victory over the Rams at the Ryan Center last season.

Xavier is scoring 73.0 ppg this season while limiting opponents to 62.3 ppg on 36.7 percent shooting from the field. Derrick Brown is netting 14.1 ppg, and B.J. Raymond provides 12.1 ppg for the Musketeers. As for C.J. Anderson, he rounds out a trio of double-digit scorers with 10.7 ppg. A strength of this Xavier team is rebounding, as the club is pulling down nearly eight caroms per game more than the opposition. Also, the Musketeers have attempted 151 more free throws than their foes through 15 outings. In the 26-point victory over Fordham on Sunday, Xavier shot 53.8 percent from the field, including a 9- of-17 showing from three-point range. A 45-29 rebounding advantage also helped the cause. All five starters reached double figures in scoring for the Musketeers, and Raymond was tops with 18 points.

Rhode Island is a terrific offensive team, as it is generating 81.9 ppg on 49.2 percent shooting from the floor. The Rams are limiting opponents to 73.4 ppg while outrebounding foes by five boards per contest. Jimmy Baron is the leading scorer for URI, as he is posting 17.3 ppg on the strength of his 44.6 percent shooting from three-point range. Keith Cothran checks in with 14.6 ppg, and Kahiem Seawright provides 14.3 ppg to go along with 6.5 rpg. In the marathon loss to Saint Joseph's, Baron scored 19 points. Seawright posted 17 points, while Cothran added 14 points and six assists. Unfortunately, the Rams connected on only 7-of-22 field goal attempts in the three overtime sessions, and four missed free throws certainly didn't help the cause.

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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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