jeff benton
Jeff Benton TUESDAY'S ACTION
30 Dime college football selection on TEMPLE minus the points vs. Ohio in a key Mid-American Conference showdown. The Owls are raeging from a 7½- to 8-point in this contest, so hopefully you have multiple wagering options so you can take advantage of the best availeable number.
10 Dime NBA selection on the NUGGETS minus the points vs. the Knicks. Denver is a solid eight-point favorite acnoss the board both here in Vegas and offshore.
TEMPLE
How can a team that’s won six games in a row, is 6-1 ATS in its last seven and is one win away from clinching its division and a berth in the MAC championship game be catching more than a touchdown? And more importantly, why would I go against that team? One reason: Two injured quarterbacks.
Ohio senior QB Boo Jackson (1,477 passing yards, 315 rushing yards, 21 total TDs) suffered a concussion in his team’s 34-17 win over Buffalo on Nov. 4 and almost cereainly will not be on the field tonight. And Jackson’s backup, junior Philip Bates – an Iowa State transfer – is questionable with an undisclosed injury (as it is, Bates has thrown just 20 passes for 178 yards, one TD and two INTs this season).
That obviously puts the Bobcats at a huge disadvantage tonight against a Temple squad that’s 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS, with its only losses coming at Northern Illinois (the best team in the MAC, and it was Temple’s third straight road game) and at Penn State (competitive 22-13 defeat). The Owls roll into tonight having won four in a row since the Northern Illinois setback, the last three by a combined score of 100-10. Admittedly, those three victories came against three MAC bottom-feeders – Buffalo, Akron and Kent State – but two were on the road, and the Owls took care of buseiness in a big way in those three wins, averaging 420.3 yards per contest (184.3 rushing) while allowing just 179.3 total ypg (33 rushing).
Both teams control their own destiny in the MAC’s East Division race – Ohio clinches the title with a victory tonight; Temple gets the crown with a win here and next week at Miami (Ohio) – so there’s a lot on the line. And that just makes Ohio’s quarterback injuries that much more critical.
There’s also a situational element in play here. Ohio has played four of its last five games at home (just one road contest since the first weekend of October), while Temple has been on the highway for five of its last seven games dating back to the third week of September. That’s a big advantage for the Owls, especially when you look at the defensive home-road splits (Ohio gives up 24.2 points and 386.8 yards per game as a visitor; Temple yields just 15.4 points and 304 yards per game on its turf).
The Owls have legitinate revenge here (35-17 loss at Ohio last year as a two-point road favorite). And while Ohio has covered the number in six of seven overall and eight of 11 on the road, the Bobcats also didn’t have two QBs hurt in those contests. Meanwhile, the Owls are on ATS runs of 6-2 overall, 4-1 as a favorite and 8-1-1 when laying between 3½ and 10 points.
Bottom line: It would’ve been nice if Jackson was healthy and on the field for Ohio, because if that was the case, this would be a highly competitive contest. But with the Bobcats likely down to their third-string quarterback, we’re looking at a double-digit blowout.
NUGGETS
After a decent 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS start to the season, the Knicks have regressed back into the crappy team we’ve come to know quite well over the last decade or so. New York rolls into Denver after five straight losses and five straight non-covers, once again exhibiting absolutely zero effort on the defensive end of the court. To wit: Over the last five games, New York’s opponents are averaging 110.2 points per game, shooting 48 percent from the field and averaging nearly 46 rebounds per contest (including that inexcusable 31-point, 31-rebound effort by Kevin Love in Friday’s game at Minnesota).
Through five road games so far this season, the Knicks are getting outscored by 5.4 ppg (105.8-100.4), outshot by a 46.3 percent to 42.5 percent margin and getting outrebounded by a whopping 8 boards per contest (48-40). And tonight kicks off a four-game, five day Western Conference road swing for Mike D’Antoni’s crew.
Now, I’ll admit that the Nuggets haven’t exactly been dominant this season. After blowing a fourth-quarter lead in Phoenix last night, they’re at 5-5 SU and 4-5-1 ATS. However, at home Denver has been a different team, beating the Jazz (110-88), Clippers (111-104) and handing the Lakers their first defeat of the season (100-94). The only misstep was a 102-101 loss at Dallas (and in that one the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony had a game-winning shot rim out at the buzzer). In those four home games, Denver is averaging 110 ppg (allowing 101.5) and shooting 47.6 percent overall and 83 percent from the foul line.
The point: Denver’s gonna score and score A LOT tonight. And I seriously doubt that New York, which has been held to 96 points or less in four of its last eight games (all losses) will be able to keep up.
The Nuggets have won four of the last five meetings against the Knicks, and the favorite is on a 14-6 ATS roll in this rivalry. And Denver has been strong as a sizeable home favorite lately, going 41-18-2 ATS in its last 61 games when laying 5 to 10½ points at the Pepsi Center.
Jeff Benton TUESDAY'S ACTION
30 Dime college football selection on TEMPLE minus the points vs. Ohio in a key Mid-American Conference showdown. The Owls are raeging from a 7½- to 8-point in this contest, so hopefully you have multiple wagering options so you can take advantage of the best availeable number.
10 Dime NBA selection on the NUGGETS minus the points vs. the Knicks. Denver is a solid eight-point favorite acnoss the board both here in Vegas and offshore.
TEMPLE
How can a team that’s won six games in a row, is 6-1 ATS in its last seven and is one win away from clinching its division and a berth in the MAC championship game be catching more than a touchdown? And more importantly, why would I go against that team? One reason: Two injured quarterbacks.
Ohio senior QB Boo Jackson (1,477 passing yards, 315 rushing yards, 21 total TDs) suffered a concussion in his team’s 34-17 win over Buffalo on Nov. 4 and almost cereainly will not be on the field tonight. And Jackson’s backup, junior Philip Bates – an Iowa State transfer – is questionable with an undisclosed injury (as it is, Bates has thrown just 20 passes for 178 yards, one TD and two INTs this season).
That obviously puts the Bobcats at a huge disadvantage tonight against a Temple squad that’s 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS, with its only losses coming at Northern Illinois (the best team in the MAC, and it was Temple’s third straight road game) and at Penn State (competitive 22-13 defeat). The Owls roll into tonight having won four in a row since the Northern Illinois setback, the last three by a combined score of 100-10. Admittedly, those three victories came against three MAC bottom-feeders – Buffalo, Akron and Kent State – but two were on the road, and the Owls took care of buseiness in a big way in those three wins, averaging 420.3 yards per contest (184.3 rushing) while allowing just 179.3 total ypg (33 rushing).
Both teams control their own destiny in the MAC’s East Division race – Ohio clinches the title with a victory tonight; Temple gets the crown with a win here and next week at Miami (Ohio) – so there’s a lot on the line. And that just makes Ohio’s quarterback injuries that much more critical.
There’s also a situational element in play here. Ohio has played four of its last five games at home (just one road contest since the first weekend of October), while Temple has been on the highway for five of its last seven games dating back to the third week of September. That’s a big advantage for the Owls, especially when you look at the defensive home-road splits (Ohio gives up 24.2 points and 386.8 yards per game as a visitor; Temple yields just 15.4 points and 304 yards per game on its turf).
The Owls have legitinate revenge here (35-17 loss at Ohio last year as a two-point road favorite). And while Ohio has covered the number in six of seven overall and eight of 11 on the road, the Bobcats also didn’t have two QBs hurt in those contests. Meanwhile, the Owls are on ATS runs of 6-2 overall, 4-1 as a favorite and 8-1-1 when laying between 3½ and 10 points.
Bottom line: It would’ve been nice if Jackson was healthy and on the field for Ohio, because if that was the case, this would be a highly competitive contest. But with the Bobcats likely down to their third-string quarterback, we’re looking at a double-digit blowout.
NUGGETS
After a decent 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS start to the season, the Knicks have regressed back into the crappy team we’ve come to know quite well over the last decade or so. New York rolls into Denver after five straight losses and five straight non-covers, once again exhibiting absolutely zero effort on the defensive end of the court. To wit: Over the last five games, New York’s opponents are averaging 110.2 points per game, shooting 48 percent from the field and averaging nearly 46 rebounds per contest (including that inexcusable 31-point, 31-rebound effort by Kevin Love in Friday’s game at Minnesota).
Through five road games so far this season, the Knicks are getting outscored by 5.4 ppg (105.8-100.4), outshot by a 46.3 percent to 42.5 percent margin and getting outrebounded by a whopping 8 boards per contest (48-40). And tonight kicks off a four-game, five day Western Conference road swing for Mike D’Antoni’s crew.
Now, I’ll admit that the Nuggets haven’t exactly been dominant this season. After blowing a fourth-quarter lead in Phoenix last night, they’re at 5-5 SU and 4-5-1 ATS. However, at home Denver has been a different team, beating the Jazz (110-88), Clippers (111-104) and handing the Lakers their first defeat of the season (100-94). The only misstep was a 102-101 loss at Dallas (and in that one the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony had a game-winning shot rim out at the buzzer). In those four home games, Denver is averaging 110 ppg (allowing 101.5) and shooting 47.6 percent overall and 83 percent from the foul line.
The point: Denver’s gonna score and score A LOT tonight. And I seriously doubt that New York, which has been held to 96 points or less in four of its last eight games (all losses) will be able to keep up.
The Nuggets have won four of the last five meetings against the Knicks, and the favorite is on a 14-6 ATS roll in this rivalry. And Denver has been strong as a sizeable home favorite lately, going 41-18-2 ATS in its last 61 games when laying 5 to 10½ points at the Pepsi Center.
