Marquee matchup pits Jayhawks against Tigers

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The most anticipated game in the Big 12 has finally arrived, as top-10 foes Kansas and Missouri collide in Columbia, with positioning atop the conference standings at stake.

The eighth-ranked Jayhawks lead the Big 12 with an 8-1 mark. Bill Self's squad, which is 18-4 overall, had a 10-game win streak halted at Iowa State last weekend (72-64), but bounced back in a big way three days ago in Lawrence, routing the Oklahoma Sooners, 84-62.

The fourth-ranked Tigers are just one game back at 7-2 in Big 12 play. Frank Haith's first season in Columbia has gone quite well with the team sitting at 20-2 overall. Missouri comes in having won two straight and six of its last seven games, including a hard-fought 67-66 decision at Texas on Monday.

This is the 266th meeting in this historic rivalry that dates back to 1907. Kansas holds a 171-94 series advantage and has won each of the last five meetings.

Kansas shot just .393 from the floor in the first half, but still led by three points at intermission against Oklahoma this week. The Jayhawks blew the game open after the break however, draining an eye-popping 20-of-28 shots from the floor (.714) to run away from the Sooners. All-American candidate Thomas Robinson was once again unstoppable down low, finishing with 20 points and 17 rebounds. He was actually trumped in the scoring column by point guard Tyshawn Taylor, who finished with 21 points and six assists. Center Jeff Withey got into the act with 15 points, while Travis Releford chipped in 12.

The scoring deluge is nothing new for the Jayhawks, who are averaging a steady 75.6 ppg, on a healthy .484 shooting. The team is doing all the little things right as well, averaging an impressive 16 assists per game and outrebounding foes by just over six boards per game. Of course, Robinson is a big reason for that, as he has to be considered a favorite for National Player of the Year honors, averaging 17.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game this season. Taylor provides the perfect complement with his ability to score from the outside (16.7 ppg), as well as distribute (5.3 apg). Releford (9.8 ppg), Elijah Johnson (9.1 ppg) and Withey (8.5 ppg) round out the starting five.

Missouri is one of the few teams that would welcome a shootout with Kansas. The Tigers use a four-guard set, but are definitely comfortable in their own skin, shooting .498 from the floor (fifth nationally) and putting up 81.2 ppg (sixth nationally). Marcus Denmon leads the charge in the backcourt, averaging 17.2 ppg. He gets plenty of help from Kim English and his 14.1 ppg. The pair are both at their best draining the long ball, combining for 107 of the team's 169 three-pointers to date. Ricardo Ratliffe (14.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) is the team's resident muscle down low. Michael Dixon (12.1 ppg) is one of the best sixth men in the game. The emergence of sophomore point guard Phil Pressey has provided stability as well. The 5-10 youngster is netting 9.7 ppg and is the conference's top distributor at 6.1 assists per game.

Dixon saved the day against Texas this week, coming off the bench to hit 9- of-10 shots from the floor, leading all scorers with 21 points in 27 minutes of work, including the game-winning layup with 31 seconds remaining in the one-point victory. Ratliffe and Phil Pressey netted 13 points apiece, but Demon and English struggled, combining for just 14 points and going a miserable 6-of-20 from the floor.

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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.