Sixth-ranked Bears welcome Longhorns to Waco

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue their quest towards the top spot in the Big 12, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Waco for a conference showdown at the Ferrell Center.

Scott Drew's Bears are 5-2 in-conference and would like to stay within striking distance heading down the homestretch. The losses came in back-to- back affairs against Kansas and Missouri within the last 12 days. Baylor found its way back into the win column earlier this week though, topping Oklahoma in Norman, 77-65.

Rick Barnes' Longhorns have struggled to keep their heads above water in league play. The team is just 3-4 in Big 12 games and suffered three straight losses to nationally-ranked foes in Missouri, Kansas State and Kansas. Texas was able to finally able to end the skein this week with a 62-55 win over Iowa State.

Texas has played more games against Baylor than any other in the school's history. The Longhorns hold a 157-79 advantage in the series and have a 64-46 edge in games played in Waco, including a 12-1 mark under Barnes.

The Longhorns are at their best when they play tough defense and put the ball in the hands of standout guard J'Covan Brown. Texas is allowing just 64.9 ppg this year, holding foes under 40 percent shooting (.392) and outrebounding them by 4.1 rebounds per game. Brown knows how to fill up the basket. Despite shooting a modest .410 from the floor, the veteran guard leads the Big 12 in scoring at 19.1 ppg and the team in three-pointers (48). Sheldon McClellan and Myck Kabongo provide more perimeter depth with 11.5 and 9.8 ppg, respectively. Kabongo is just a freshman, but the young point guard has doled out a team- high 110 assists on the season, ranking third in the Big 12 (5.5 apg). Texas converted a mere 43.6 percent from the floor, but held the Cyclones to 33.3 percent. Kabongo led the team with 13 points in the win. Brown struggled to a 12-point outing, hitting just 3-of-16 shots from the floor. Freshman Julien Lewis added 12 points as well.

Baylor is a team that can win games at either end of the floor, evidenced by an impressive +15.2 scoring margin. The Bears are converting nearly 50 percent of their shots this year (.496) powered by a .414 showing from behind the arc (sixth nationally). All five starters are averaging double figures. Perry Jones III paces the team in both scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). Pierre Jackson (12.8 ppg) is next in the scoring column and is leads the Big 12 in assists (6.0 apg). Quincy Acy (12.7 ppg), Quincy Miller (12.5 ppg) and Brady Heslip (10.0 ppg) round out the quintet. Baylor was sharp offensively against Oklahoma, shooting 54 percent from the floor, 50 percent from behind the arc (9-of-18) and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line (14-of-17). Perry Jones was dominant in the low post, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jackson tacked on 16 points and doled out seven assists. Acy and Anthony Jones chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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