Top-10 foes collide in Big 12 showdown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ferrell Center is the venue for a top-10 showdown for the second time in less than a month, as the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears play host to the seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in a crucial Big 12 battle this evening in Waco.

These two teams are tied for second place in the Big 12 standings at 8-2, just a half game behind league-leading Missouri (9-2). This marks the 20th all-time meeting in a series that has been dominated by Kansas, 17-2. The Jayhawks have won each of the last three meetings and are seeking the regular season sweep after posting an impressive 92-74 rout over Baylor in Lawrence back on January 16th.

Bill Self's Jayhawks have proved to be unbeatable at home this season thus far (12-0), but the road has been a different story, as Kansas is 6-5 when not at the Allen Fieldhouse. The team has dropped two of its last three games, with setbacks at Iowa State (72-64) and most recently, at Missouri (74-71).

Scott Drew's Bears are 11-1 at home, with the lone loss at the Ferrell Center coming on January 21st to then fifth-ranked Missouri (89-88). Since then, Baylor has won four straight games, including last weekend's 64-60 victory at Oklahoma State.

Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor did what they do best, but a combined 46 points between them still wasn't enough in a three-point setback to Missouri in Columbia this past weekend. Robinson once again did his damage down low, finishing with his 16th double-double of the season, posting 25 points and 13 rebounds. Taylor poured in 21 points, but the two also combined for 11 of the team's 15 turnovers. Elijah Johnson added 11 points for Kansas, which despite shooting 53.6 percent from the floor, was unable to earn the win.

Robinson's name is certainly on everyone's short list when it comes to potential National Player of the Year nominees. The 6-10 junior power forward is converting nearly 55 percent of his shots this year, leading the Jayhawks in scoring (18.0 ppg) and the Big 12 in rebounding (12.0 rpg). Taylor is both a prolific scorer (16.9 ppg) and deft distributor (5.2 apg) and can really extend defenses, preventing them from collapsing down on Robinson, as he is shooting a healthy .440 from behind the arc (37-of-84). Travis Releford (9.6 ppg), Johnson (9.2 ppg) and Jeff Withey (8.1 ppg) round out the starting five. The Jayhawks have played well at both ends of the floor and enjoy a solid +14.1 scoring margin as a result.

The Bears are similar in their offensive approach, as they can score both inside and out as well. Baylor may have a bit more depth however, with a strong frontcourt trio, as well as a balanced backcourt. Forward Perry Jones III leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg), converting just over 55 percent from the floor. Fellow forwards Quincy Acy (12.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Quincy Miller (12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) add depth up front. Point guard Pierre Jackson (12.7 ppg, 5.9 apg) is charged with running the offense and has the ability to both distribute and find his own shot. Fellow guard Brady Heslip (9.6 ppg) gives the team a second long range threat, as he and Jackson has combined for 101 of the team's 166 three-pointers to date.

Baylor displayed its strong defensive skills in the win over Oklahoma State this past weekend, holding the hometown Cowboys to just 40 percent from the floor and outrebounding OSU 39-29. In addition, BU was able to score 22 points off of 14 Oklahoma State turnovers. Jones and Acy both recorded double-doubles in the win, as Jones finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Acy posted 11 points and 12 boards. Jackson tied for team-high in scoring with 16 points of his own.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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