Big 12 brawl pits Missouri against Oklahoma

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Missouri Tigers set their sights on continued success as they head to the Lloyd Noble Center for a Big 12 Conference battle with the Oklahoma Sooners this evening.

This will be the 209th meeting in the all-time series. Although Oklahoma holds a 112-96 series lead, Missouri has won eight of the last 12 meetings, including an 87-49 victory earlier this season in Columbia.

Head coach Frank Haith saw his team's record reach 21-2 overall after it outlasted rival Kansas to pick up a 74-71 decision on Saturday. The Tigers were excellent on the offensive end in the contest, as they shot 52.1 percent from the field and made 10-of-22 from three-point range to push past the Jayhawks. The superb offensive performance was not much of a surprise however, as Missouri leads the Big 12 in scoring at 80.9 ppg. The Tigers are also a very solid team defensively, as they have held conference opponents to 67.1 ppg. Oklahoma is one of three teams that Missouri held to 51 points or less.

Marcus Denmon has the starring role in Missouri's lineup this season. The senior guard is third in the conference in scoring with an average of 17.7 ppg after his spectacular 29-point and nine-rebound performance in the win over Kansas. Denmon showed his ability to hurt defenses from anywhere against the Jayhawks, as he poured in 6-of-9 from long range. Senior forward Ricardo Ratliffe is a very efficient big man as he leads the nation in field goal percentage (74.7) and the team in rebounding (6.6). Kim English and Michael Dixon have also shown the ability to light up the scoreboard, while Phil Pressey leads the conference with 5.9 assists per contest.

Head coach Lon Kruger has lead Oklahoma to a 13-9 record so far this season. The Sooners were handed their second loss in a row and fourth in five games by Iowa State on Saturday as they dropped a 77-70 decision to the Cyclones. Oklahoma held a 36-26 advantage in the rebounding battle versus Iowa State, but could not slow down the Cyclones as they hit 15-of-30 from three-point range to best the Sooners. The loss put the Sooners in a tie for second to last place in the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma is ranked last in scoring defense as it is allowing opponents to net 68.5 ppg. The Sooners are averaging 71.9 ppg on the offensive end.

Steven Pledger is pacing the Sooners with an average of 17.6 points per game on 47.7 percent shooting from the field and 44.9 percent shooting from long range. Pledger's 2.7 makes from beyond the arc is leading the Big 12, while his scoring average is fourth. Sam Grooms is ranked 10th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.0) and third in the conference in assists (5.7). Andrew Fitzgerald has scored in double figures in 16 of the last 17 games to average 14.9 ppg during that span. Romero Osby is a solid contributor with 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per outing.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

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