Robert Morris battles Quinnipiac for NEC crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats and the second-seeded Robert Morris Colonials are set to collide in the championship game of the 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament, and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Robert Morris has won the NEC Tournament title six times, more than any other active member of the league, and one of the six crowns was earned last season. In the 2008 championship game, the Colonials knocked off Mount St. Mary's by a 48-46 final. Robert Morris is 22-11 this season, and after defeating seventh- seeded Central Connecticut State in Thursday's quarterfinal round, the Colonials knocked off third-seeded Mount St. Mary's in impressive fashion on Sunday, 80-62.

As for Quinnipiac, it has never won this event. The Bobcats defeated eighth- seeded Monmouth by nine points on Thursday and squeaked by fourth-seeded Long Island on Sunday, 83-78. Quinnipiac, which owns a 23-8 overall record, did reach the NEC Tournament title tilt in 2002, but it fell by seven points to Central Connecticut State.

Quinnipiac beat Robert Morris by an 87-79 final during the regular season, but the Colonials still hold a 14-8 advantage in the all-time series.

Robert Morris is not an explosive offensive team, as it is averaging a modest 69.0 ppg on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor. Fortunately, the Colonials have been able to limit foes to 66.2 ppg on 41 percent field goal efficiency. Karon Abraham leads the team with 13.3 ppg, and he is a 44.9 percent shooter from three-point range. The only other double-digit scorer in the fold is Rob Robinson with his 10.1 ppg on 51.6 percent shooting. In the 18-point romp over Mount St. Mary's in the semifinal round, Abraham scored 19 points, while Robinson tallied 14 points. Dallas Green pitched in 11 points for the Colonials, and Velton Jones contributed 10 points. Robert Morris connected on 53.7 percent of its field goal attempts and turned the ball over only eight times.

Quinnipiac is posting 74.3 ppg while permitting 66.5 ppg to opponents. The top offensive performer for the Bobcats is James Feldeine, who is netting 17.1 ppg to go along with 6.0 rpg, 79 assists and 46 steals. Justin Rutty is a monster on the boards, as he is ripping down 11.0 rpg in addition to scoring 15.2 ppg on 53.7 percent shooting from the floor. James Johnson is the third and final double-digit scorer on the roster with his 12.2 ppg. Rutty scored 22 points and ripped down 16 boards in the five-point win over Long Island in the semifinals. Deontay Twyman contributed 16 points off the bench for Quinnipiac, which received 13 points from Feldeine and 10 points from Jonathan Cruz. A 25-8 advantage in points from the foul line was the most obvious key to victory.

Wwwyehey NCAA Basketball Betting News

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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