UNLV knocks off BYU to reach Mountain West title game

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66, to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Willis finished 6-of-6 at the line, while Chace Stanback added 17 points and six rebounds for the third-seeded Rebels (25-7), who will face San Diego State in Saturday's final. The Aztecs knocked off top-seeded and eighth-ranked New Mexico earlier Friday.

Brice Massamba had 13 points and six boards for UNLV, which has won six in a row overall, as well as eight in a row against BYU on its home court.

Jimmer Fredette made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 30 points for the Cougars (29-5), who had won their last three. Michael Loyd, Jr. added 11 points in the loss.

"He's a terrific player," UNLV head coach Lon Kruger said of Fredette. "I thought he had to work all night long. Didn't give him too many easy ones. Didn't foul him too many times. Didn't need to."

BYU played without guard Tyler Haws, the team's third-leading scorer this season. Haws suffered a left eye injury in the Cougars' quarterfinal win over TCU, and he did not dress Friday, as the eye appeared swollen shut.

UNLV held a 57-47 lead with under eight minutes left before BYU charged back with a 14-2 run to take the lead. Fredette scored eight in the stretch, which Loyd ended with a jumper for a 61-59 edge with 2:51 to play.

But the Rebels scored the next four points to go back ahead, and with a minute left, Willis' bank shot put UNLV up 65-62.

UNLV's lead still stood at three, 67-64, after Willis made two foul shots with 36.8 seconds remaining. The Rebels pressured Fredette on the ensuing BYU possession, forcing the Cougars to find other options. Loyd eventually got the ball in the right corner and drove into the lane, but his shot didn't hit the rim and bounced off the glass.

"They're really good defensively at taking you out of your stuff," BYU head coach Dave Rose said. "I thought our guys read that possession well. I thought we needed to capitalize on that basket."

Massamba missed his first free throw at the other end, but the second bounced in to make it a two-possession game, and Willis later made two more to seal the win.

UNLV shot 61.5 percent in the first half, when the Rebels made 7-of-10 three- point tries en route to a 41-34 halftime lead.

About three minutes into the second half, consecutive buckets from Massamba pushed the advantage to 47-36.

Game Notes

UNLV owns a 4-0 record all-time against BYU in the MWC Tournament. This was the first meeting between the teams in the semifinals as all three previous MWC Tournament matchups came in the title game...The teams split the regular season series...UNLV shot 55.6 percent overall, while BYU made 39.6 percent of its shots.

Trifectas NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< McDonald plays role of sage for young Blue Jays
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -Becoming a coach isn't on John McDonald's radar just yet, but while he's playing he enjoys being a mentor to his fellow Toronto Blue Jays infielders.``I would hope the younger players would use a player like me as a source of kno

<< Oregon QB Masoli suspended for 2010 after burglary
Just 10 weeks ago the future couldn't have looked brighter for Oregon football.Sure, the Ducks had just lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, but the team was back in Pasadena for the first time since 1995. And Oregon was going into the 2010 season a

<< Underdogs ruling at upset-filled ACC tournament
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -The underdogs are trying to top each other at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament - and they're succeeding.``I've been seeing all the highlights of all the games, and what it seemed like is all the lower seeds were coming

<< West Virginia vs. Georgetown for Big East title
NEW YORK (AP) -Now that West Virginia is in the Big East tournament final, coach Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers have a large problem on their hands.His name is Greg Monroe.The 6-foot-11 center with the uncommon all-around game has dominated at Mad

<< Bulls' Rose sits with wrist injury
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls All-Star point guard Derrick Rose missed Friday's game at Miami and is listed as day-to-day after an MRI confirmed he has a sprained left wrist. During Thursday's loss to the Magic, Rose w

Leach faces James in Texas Tech lawsuit deposition >>
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Mike Leach is sitting across from his accuser as Craig James gives sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech.James, whose complaint of mistreatment of his son led to Leach's firing, declined to comment Sat

Panthers shoot for rare victory over Sharks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida needs all the victories it can muster from now until the end of the season to even have a chance at making the playoffs. The Panthers could have a tough time getting a win today, when they visit the mighty San Jose Sh

Blackhawks visit Flyers in afternoon clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the top teams in the Western Conference will head to the East Coast today as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Philadelphia Flyers for an afternoon battle at Wachovia Center. The Blackhawks have 93 points on the year

Hawks welcome Pistons to Dixie >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff bound Atlanta Hawks return to the cozy confines of Philips Arena Saturday to take on a Detroit Pistons team headed for the NBA Draft Lottery. The Hawks salvaged the finale of their recent three-game road trip o

Surging Magic continue push towards postseason, visit Wizards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The lowly Washington Wizards will continue playing out the string tonight when they host Eastern Conference power Orlando. The Wizards lost their sixth straight game last night in Auburn Hills when Will Bynum provided a sp

How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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