Jayhawks clash with Cowboys in Big 12 action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks return to Lawrence following a two-game road trip, as they play host to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 action from the Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas has been a model of consistency for over two decades. At 19-5 overall, the Jayhawks need one more win to post their 23rd straight 20-win campaign. The team is coming off an impressive 68-54 road win at Baylor this week, moving to 9-2 in conference play. KU's next league win will mark the 18th straight season the team has reached double figures in conference wins.

Consistency is not a word used to describe the Cowboys this season, as they come into this contest at an even 12-12 overall and 5-6 in-conference. OSU does enter this contest with wins in two of its last three games, including a tight 69-67 win this week against Iowa State.

Kansas holds a huge 104-53 edge in the all-time series with Oklahoma State and has won the last three meetings overall and 15 straight at the Allen Fieldhouse in the series.

The Cowboys are averaging a modest 66.8 ppg, while allowing almost the same (66.4 ppg). The result is a .500 record. The team has struggled in terms of shooting the ball, delivering on a meager .419 from the floor overall. Keiton Page leads three players in double figures with 14.2 ppg, but is shooting under 40 percent from the floor (.383), despite a team-high 57 three-pointers. Le'Bryan Nash is one of the better freshmen in the league, ranking second in scoring at 13.4 ppg. Markel Brown rounds out the top threats with his 10.3 ppg.

Nash drilled a jumper with under five seconds to play and then blocked a shot by Iowa State at the buzzer to lead the Cowboys to victory this week in Stillwater. Brown led four Cowboys in double figures with 19 points. Nash was right behind with 18, while Page and Brian Williams chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

A funny thing happened on the way to what was supposed to be a nail-biter in Waco, as the Jayhawks made light work of Baylor, shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. The team got a huge performance from an unlikely source, as center Jeff Withey erupted for a career-high 25 points. Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor had big games as well, with Robinson recording his 17th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Taylor pouring in 19 points, fueled by a 4-of-7 showing from behind the arc.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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