Hoosiers host Hawkeyes in Big Ten battle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/29/2012 - Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 16th in the nation to close out the week, the Indiana Hoosiers try to get back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play this evening as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Since putting together a three-game win streak against the likes of Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, the Hoosiers have fallen on hard times and are now a mere 4-5 in conference. The squad has dropped four of its last five contests, including a 57-50 final at Wisconsin on Thursday night. Indiana may be an impressive 12-1 at home in 2011-12, but against opponents on their floors the team is just 3-4.

As for the Hawkeyes, already 2-2 this season against nationally-ranked foes, they too have hit a rough patch in the schedule over the last three weeks since defeating Wisconsin and Minnesota in back-to-back matchups. Three nights ago, the squad was taken down by Nebraska at home in a 79-73 final, the second straight loss and the fourth in five tries for Iowa overall.

In a series that dates back more than a century, Indiana has the advantage at 94-73. However, the Hawkeyes have rattled off four straight wins, including a narrow 64-63 final in Bloomington last season.

In a game that experienced six ties and five lead changes, the Hawkeyes picked the wrong time to have shooting issues as they dropped from 53.6 percent from the floor in the first half to just 44.4 percent after the break, en route to the six-point loss to the Cornhuskers. Zach McCabe was responsible for 20 points and six rebounds before fouling out, followed by Roy Devyn Marble who tacked on 15 points, mostly at the free-throw line where he was 9-of-10 shooting. Matt Gatens and Aaron White chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, the latter collecting nine rebounds as well. In conference games Iowa has four players scoring in double figures, led by Gatens and Marble with 12.0 ppg apiece, the former also clearing better than five rebounds per game to give the group a presence in the paint even as he takes more three points shots (33) than anyone else on the roster. Defensively the team has limited opponents to only 29.0 percent success on the perimeter, yet still those foes see fit to send up an average of more than 21 three-pointers per game.

Against the top defensive team in the nation the Hoosiers managed to generate 50 points, still seven shy of the Wisconsin Badgers as the hosts took the win earlier this week. Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III both tallied 12 points for Indiana, combining to shoot 10-of-16 from the floor, which means the rest of the unit made a collective 11 baskets. Several aspects of the game were lacking on Indiana's behalf, the team handing out just four assists, shooting 3-of-8 behind the three-point line and just 5-of-10 at the free-throw line. Even though he didn't show up as a scoring leader at Wisconsin, Cody Zeller is still one of the top producers for the team with his 14.2 ppg in league play. Watford (13.2 ppg) is not only deadly from three-point range in conference (.472), he is also the top man on the glass for the Hoosiers with close to six and a half boards per outing. Jordan Hulls (12.3 ppg) accounts for a team-high 19 triples over nine league bouts and because of his efforts the squad has connected on 43.2 percent out on the perimeter.

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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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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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