Bears and Wildcats meet in Big 12 Tournament semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats and the 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are slated to collide in the semifinal round of the 2010 Big 12 Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Awaiting the winner of this contest is a matchup with either top-seeded Kansas or fourth-seeded Texas A&M in Saturday's championship game.

Second-seeded Baylor was dominant in yesterday's 86-67 quarterfinal romp over sixth-seeded Texas. Now, the goal is obvious, as the program has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 9-12 all-time in the event. Scott Drew has done a phenomenal job of resurrecting a program that was in peril when he arrived, and the 2009-10 Bears own a 25-6 overall record. They carry a four-game win streak into tonight's affair.

As for Kansas State, the tournament's second seed, it crushed Oklahoma State by an 83-64 final in yesterday's quarterfinal round. The program has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 8-13 all-time in games at the event. This year's group of Wildcats is a serious threat to capture the crown, however, as the club entered the tournament with a 24-6 overall record, including 11-5 in league action.

The Wildcats holds a slim 11-10 series advantage over Baylor after a thrilling 74-72 victory over the Bears during the regular season.

Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh is sometimes overshadowed by his teammates, but the forward has been a key to the team's success all season. He stepped to the forefront against Texas yesterday, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor en route to 25 points. Tweety Carter added 20 points for the Bears, who received 19 points from LaceDarius Dunn. Baylor connected on 53.6 percent of its field goal attempts in that clash and limited the Longhorns to 36.4 percent efficiency. Through 31 games, the Bears are scoring 77.7 ppg while allowing only 65.4 ppg on 38.1 percent shooting by foes. They are outrebounding foes by 6.9 rpg and are paced by Dunn's 19.2 ppg. Carter is generating 16.0 ppg to go along with an impressive total of 167 assists, and Udoh brings 13.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 124 blocks to the mix.

Kansas State was dominant in the first half against Oklahoma State yesterday, as the Wildcats shot 53.1 percent from the floor and limited the Cowboys to 33.3 percent efficiency en route to a 25-point halftime lead. For the game, K-State finished with a 43-27 rebounding advantage and racked up 20 assists. Jamar Samuels was outstanding, as he racked up 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of action. Jacob Pullen scored 19 points on the strength of a 5-of-8 effort from three-point range, and Denis Clemente added 12 points and 10 assists. Dominique Sutton rounded out a foursome of double- digit scorers with 11 points for Kansas State, which is posting 80.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 69.2 ppg this season. Pullen continues to pace his squad with 18.9 ppg, and Clemente adds 15.9 ppg and 128 assists. Samuels contributes 12.0 ppg, and Curtis Kelly adds 11.3 ppg. The Wildcats are outrebounding opponents by 5.6 rpg, key to their success.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.