Best Start On Penn State Field Goal Attempts

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Simply put, Michigan State is getting the job done at both ends of the court this season. The Spartans, who shoot 48.4 percent from the floor and knock down 37.6 percent of their three-point tries, average a robust 76.1 ppg, despite boasting just two double-digit scorers in Draymond Green (15.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg) and Keith Appling (12.6 ppg, team-high 79 assists). In Big Ten games alone, MSU leads the conference in both field goal percentage (.509) and three-point field goal percentage (.448). From a defensive standpoint, the Spartans control the opposition to the tune of 60.6 ppg on shooting efforts of only 38.0 percent overall and 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. Add a +9.7 rebounding margin to the equation and it's no wonder the team is enjoying yet another highly successful campaign. Branden Dawson scored a game-high 14 points in the recent rout of Purdue, as Michigan State shot a blistering 60.0 percent from the floor, converting 7-of-13 three-point tries along the way. The Boilermakers were held to just 29.0 percent field goal efficiency, and they were a woeful 3-of-20 from beyond the arc. MSU outscored PU on the break, 18-0.

 

Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC foes square off in Starkville tonight, as the LSU Tigers come calling on the 18th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. LSU is currently five games over .500 on the year (12-7), but the Tigers have lost three of their five league bouts, the most recent of which occurred this past Saturday at nationally-ranked Florida, 76-64. This game is the second of three in a row LSU will play against Top-25 competition, as next up for the Tigers is this Saturday's home clash with No. 1 Kentucky.

 

This game marks the 201st meeting all-time between LSU and MSU, with the Tigers clinging to a 104-96 advantage. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings, although LSU has been victorious in two of the last three played in Starkville, including last year's 84-82 final.

 

Dee Bost scored 24 points and Arnett Moultrie logged yet another double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, helping Mississippi State battle back from a 13-point deficit to win in overtime at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Bulldogs nailed 10 three-pointers in the game, five of which belonged to Jalen Steele (15 points), and they outscored the Commodores at the free-throw line, 14-5. MSU shot a dismal 28.6 percent in the opening half, but hit 51.7 percent after the break, and an ultra-efficient 80.0 percent in the extra session to earn the hard-fought win. Moultrie continues to make his claim for SEC Player of the Year consideration as he is producing 16.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as one of a handful of guys nationally averaging a double-double on the season. Despite his poor 38.6 percent shooting effort, Bost is also netting 16.4 ppg, and he also serves as the team's primary playmaker with 88 assists (4.4 per tilt). Rodney Hood (11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Renardo Sidney (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) round out the double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs, who average 73.7 ppg, own a +3.1 rebounding margin, and allow only 65.3 ppg.

 

Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie had high hopes for his first year in Lubbock, but things haven't gone according to plan as his team is just 7-11 overall and has lost its first six Big 12 bouts -- the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Red Raiders, who are 6-3 at home this season, haven't tasted victory since winning back-to-back games against Cal State Bakersfield and Southeastern Louisiana to close out the 2011 calendar year.

 

Robert Lewandowski scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, but he was the only Red Raider to reach double figures in what turned out to be a 76-52 loss to visiting Iowa State over the weekend. Texas Tech made good on only 35.1 percent of its total shots, missing 13-of-18 three-point tries along the way, and the team was guilty of 15 turnovers while also losing the rebounding battle, 40-32. The Cyclones controlled the paint to the tune of a 34-16 advantage, while they scored three times as many points off giveaways as did the Red Raiders (21-7). Offensive production has been the primary problem for Texas Tech this season, as the team is averaging just 63.3 ppg despite hitting 45 percent of its field goal attempts, and 36.8 percent of its long-range bombs. Defensively, Tech hasn't been all that bad, as foes are putting up 67.2 ppg behind shooting percentages that are worse than what it turns in (.409 overall, .322 three-point FG). Turnovers have plagued the Red Raiders, as they are guilty of 17 miscues per outing compared to 12.5 tpg for the opposition. Jordan Tolbert (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is the only player currently averaging double digits in the scoring column for Texas Tech, and he is the team's leading rebounder as well.

 

Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start in two decades, the 12th- ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels take their act on the road tonight as they challenge the latest addition to the Mountain West Conference, the Boise State Broncos, at Taco Bell Arena. Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road for the Runnin' Rebels this season, such as the 89-70 blowout loss to Wichita State the first week of December, but can anyone really blame them for bowing to Wisconsin and San Diego State, both of which were nationally ranked at the time? Since that 69-67 setback to the Aztecs on the road on January 14, UNLV has bounced back with convincing league victories, the most recent of those being an 80-63 domination of New Mexico at home over the weekend.

 

Over the weekend, the Broncos appeared to be well on their way to their first MWC win, but a double-digit lead in the second half against TCU was erased and Boise State was dealt a 54 52 setback in Fort Worth, which means BSU is still winless on the road in seven tries and has fallen in four straight outings overall.

 

Mike Moser registered yet another double-double, putting up 14 points and bringing down 10 rebounds as the Rebels took care of New Mexico in the desert over the weekend. A couple of surprising contributors to the victory came off the bench as Carlos Lopez and Justin Hawkins chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively, the former doing his damage in a mere 14 minutes. Anthony Marshall, responsible for 13 points and nine assists, added four steals as UNLV forced 21 turnovers in the meeting to keep the Lobos off balance. As a key addition to the UNLV program, Moser has been a beast in the paint with his 14.0 ppg and 11.3 rpg, capturing more than three offensive rebounds per outing in order to spearhead an effort that has the group generating 13 offensive boards per contest. One of the top scoring teams in the country, the Rebels are not just putting up 81.5 ppg, they are also limiting foes to 65.6 ppg.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.