No.2 Tigers tangle with Red Raiders

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Missouri Tigers set their sights on getting back on track, as they welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to Columbia this afternoon, for a Big 12 matchup at Mizzou Arena.

Frank Haith's Tigers are coming off just their second loss of the season, as Missouri suffered a 79-72 decision at Oklahoma State this week. The loss ended a four-game win streak for Missouri and dropped it to 5-2 in league play.

Billy Gillespie's first season in Lubbock has been a struggle, as the Red Raiders are five games under .500 at 7-12 overall. A decent season heading into conference play has gone horribly wrong, as Texas Tech is winless in the Big 12 and brings an ugly seven-game slide into this contest. The team was last in action on Wednesday, a 69-47 blowout loss at the hands of Kansas State.

Missouri holds a 13-8 series advantage against Texas Tech thanks to wins in each of the last five meetings.

A lack of offense has certainly plagued the Red Raiders this season, as the team is averaging a mere 62.5 ppg. Those numbers have dipped even lower in league play, where Texas Tech is managing an anemic 53.3 ppg. There is no scoring depth to speak of on the roster. Jordan Tolbert is shooting a strong .566 from the floor, but it has resulted in a rather modest 12.8 ppg. Javarez Willis (8.5 ppg) and Ty Nurse (8.2 ppg) are next in the line in the scoring column. In the recent 22-point loss to Kansas State, the Red Raiders produced just 47 points, doing so on .375 shooting, including .231 from three-point range (3-of-13). The Red Raiders were also outrebounded 35-25 and turned the ball over a whopping 25 times, resulting in 27 points for the Wildcats.

The Tigers went scoreless for more than five minutes in the second half, turning en eight point lead into a loss in Stillwater. The loss spoiled another strong outing by forward Ricardo Ratliffe, who recorded his third double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Marcus Denmon poured in 17 points in the setback, but the usually strong shooting Tigers managed just 40 percent from the floor in the game, weighed down by an ugly 4- of-19 showing from behind the arc. It was a bit of an anomaly for Missouri when taking the season stats into consideration, as the Tigers are still shooting just over 50 percent from the floor (.503) and putting up 82.8 ppg. Scoring depth has rarely been a problem, as Missouri boasts of five players in double figures, led by Denmon's 17.7 ppg. Denmon is joined in the backcourt by Kim English (14.1 ppg) and the pair are lethal from long range, combining for 100 of the team's 158 three-pointers to date. Ratliffe (15.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) has been a force down low and leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at .754. Michael Dixon (11.8 ppg) and Phil Pressey (10.1 ppg) round out the top scorers.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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