Double-digit Scorers Penn State Highlight Host Down Percent Field Goal Efficiency

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Simply put, Michigan State is getting the job done at both ends of the court this season. The Spartans, who shoot 48.4 percent from the floor and knock down 37.6 percent of their three-point tries, average a robust 76.1 ppg, despite boasting just two double-digit scorers in Draymond Green (15.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg) and Keith Appling (12.6 ppg, team-high 79 assists). In Big Ten games alone, MSU leads the conference in both field goal percentage (.509) and three-point field goal percentage (.448). From a defensive standpoint, the Spartans control the opposition to the tune of 60.6 ppg on shooting efforts of only 38.0 percent overall and 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. Add a +9.7 rebounding margin to the equation and it's no wonder the team is enjoying yet another highly successful campaign. Branden Dawson scored a game-high 14 points in the recent rout of Purdue, as Michigan State shot a blistering 60.0 percent from the floor, converting 7-of-13 three-point tries along the way. The Boilermakers were held to just 29.0 percent field goal efficiency, and they were a woeful 3-of-20 from beyond the arc. MSU outscored PU on the break, 18-0.

 

Mississippi State is enjoying another solid campaign with veteran coach Rick Stansbury at the helm, as the team is 16-4 overall and has won three of its first five SEC affairs. The Bulldogs picked up an important conference road win over the weekend, slipping past Vanderbilt in overtime, 78-77. MSU is 11-1 at home this season, its lone setback at Humphrey Coliseum coming against Akron in early November.

 

LSU's strength lies in its ability to play shutdown defense, as it is yielding just 61.5 ppg this season on typical shooting outputs of 40.0 percent overall and 31.1 percent from three-point range. Additionally, the Tigers own favorable margins in both rebounding (+2.1) and turnovers (+2.9). At the other end of the court, LSU is being paced by a pair of double-digit scorers in Justin Hamilton (14.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 29 blocks) and Andre Stringer (10.4 ppg), with the former also serving as the team's leading rebounder and shot blocker while shooting a stellar 51.8 percent from the field. Stringer has struggled with his shot (.364), as have most of his teammates, the club currently hitting only 40.6 percent of its field goal attempts overall. Hamilton poured in a career-high 27 points, 18 of which he tallied in the second half, but that effort went to waste as LSU dropped a 12-point decision at Florida over the weekend. It was the fourth time in the last six games that Hamilton scored at least 20 points, and he was joined in double figures by Anthony Hickey (10 points). LSU watched almost helplessly as the Gators connected on 56.3 percent of their total shots, and outscored the Tigers at the foul line, 15-3.

 

Dee Bost scored 24 points and Arnett Moultrie logged yet another double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, helping Mississippi State battle back from a 13-point deficit to win in overtime at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Bulldogs nailed 10 three-pointers in the game, five of which belonged to Jalen Steele (15 points), and they outscored the Commodores at the free-throw line, 14-5. MSU shot a dismal 28.6 percent in the opening half, but hit 51.7 percent after the break, and an ultra-efficient 80.0 percent in the extra session to earn the hard-fought win. Moultrie continues to make his claim for SEC Player of the Year consideration as he is producing 16.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as one of a handful of guys nationally averaging a double-double on the season. Despite his poor 38.6 percent shooting effort, Bost is also netting 16.4 ppg, and he also serves as the team's primary playmaker with 88 assists (4.4 per tilt). Rodney Hood (11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Renardo Sidney (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) round out the double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs, who average 73.7 ppg, own a +3.1 rebounding margin, and allow only 65.3 ppg.

 

Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie had high hopes for his first year in Lubbock, but things haven't gone according to plan as his team is just 7-11 overall and has lost its first six Big 12 bouts -- the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Red Raiders, who are 6-3 at home this season, haven't tasted victory since winning back-to-back games against Cal State Bakersfield and Southeastern Louisiana to close out the 2011 calendar year.

 

Robert Lewandowski scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, but he was the only Red Raider to reach double figures in what turned out to be a 76-52 loss to visiting Iowa State over the weekend. Texas Tech made good on only 35.1 percent of its total shots, missing 13-of-18 three-point tries along the way, and the team was guilty of 15 turnovers while also losing the rebounding battle, 40-32. The Cyclones controlled the paint to the tune of a 34-16 advantage, while they scored three times as many points off giveaways as did the Red Raiders (21-7). Offensive production has been the primary problem for Texas Tech this season, as the team is averaging just 63.3 ppg despite hitting 45 percent of its field goal attempts, and 36.8 percent of its long-range bombs. Defensively, Tech hasn't been all that bad, as foes are putting up 67.2 ppg behind shooting percentages that are worse than what it turns in (.409 overall, .322 three-point FG). Turnovers have plagued the Red Raiders, as they are guilty of 17 miscues per outing compared to 12.5 tpg for the opposition. Jordan Tolbert (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is the only player currently averaging double digits in the scoring column for Texas Tech, and he is the team's leading rebounder as well.

 

Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start in two decades, the 12th- ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels take their act on the road tonight as they challenge the latest addition to the Mountain West Conference, the Boise State Broncos, at Taco Bell Arena. Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road for the Runnin' Rebels this season, such as the 89-70 blowout loss to Wichita State the first week of December, but can anyone really blame them for bowing to Wisconsin and San Diego State, both of which were nationally ranked at the time? Since that 69-67 setback to the Aztecs on the road on January 14, UNLV has bounced back with convincing league victories, the most recent of those being an 80-63 domination of New Mexico at home over the weekend.

 

Over the weekend, the Broncos appeared to be well on their way to their first MWC win, but a double-digit lead in the second half against TCU was erased and Boise State was dealt a 54 52 setback in Fort Worth, which means BSU is still winless on the road in seven tries and has fallen in four straight outings overall.

 

The Rebels have won two of the previous three meetings in the series with Boise State, the most recent of those coming last season at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas by a score of 75-72. The lone win for the Broncos came in the first round of the 2004 NIT, 84-69, in Idaho.

 

Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Creighton Bluejays will try to win their ninth in a row as they head to the Knapp Center for a Missouri Valley Conference clash with the Drake Bulldogs. This will be the 149th meeting in the all-time series. The Bluejays hold a 90-58 edge in the rivalry after winning 16 of the last 24 encounters, including a 76-59 decision in Omaha earlier this month. Creighton shot 60 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, while Drake made 38.5 percent of its field goals and just 5-of-19 from three-point range in this year's earlier meeting.

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MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.