Baylor Bears at Illinois Fighting IlliniWednesday, 12/29/10, 6PM EDT, ESPN
Point Spread: Baylor -1
Total: 63
The Bears will be meeting the Fighting Illini for just the second time in school history, upsetting then No. 14 Illinois, 34-19 in Champaign, Illinois, on September 25, 1976. Baylor will be led into this contest by sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin III, who amassed nearly 4,000 yards of total offense and throwing for a school-record 3,195 passing yards. He ranked seven in the country by averaging 315.5 yards of total offense, helping the offense amass 478.5 total yards per game on the way to scoring 32.6 points per contest. Griffin also has the luxury of handing the ball off to senior Jay Finley, who ran for 1,155 yards to rank second on Baylor’s single-season rushing list.
Illinois earned an invitation to Wednesday’s contest by finishing 6-6 on the year, which was a three-win improvement from last season, tying for fourth place in the Big Ten with a 4-4 conference mark. The Fighting Illini will be making their fourth bowl appearance in 16 seasons. The team enters having faced the 14th-toughest schedule in the nation with its opponents having a combined record of 81-50 on the season. Illinois is 9-6 ATS as an underdog the past three years. The Fighting Illini finished the season strong on the offensive end, averaging 42.8 points and 435.8 total yards over the last six games. During the first six games this season, Illinois managed to score just 21.3 points per contest and 320 yards per game. The defense also got into the action, forcing 17 of its 25 turnovers in that period, converting those miscues into 69 points. During that same span, the Illini offense turned the ball over just five times.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Bears are 5-0 ATS as a favorite of 0.5 to 3.0 points, while the Fighting Illini are 1-5 ATS versus the Big 12.
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Dec 29th, 2010 at 7:30 PM EST
Line: Boston -6
Total: 186
Moneyline: Boston -255 / Detroit +215
Tonight’s game brings together one of the best in the Eastern Conference against one of the worst. The Celtics have won 15 of their last 16 games, and have done so
for part of them without their floor general Rajon Rondo. Rondo isn’t expected back for tonight’s game, but Doc Rivers said he could return as soon as Friday, which will make the Celtics only tougher still. Detroit, despite their 10-21 record, is decent at home (7-8) and will look to avenge a 25 point loss that they suffered last game against the Celtics.
Kevin Garnett has almost returned to “vintage Garnett,” and is having his best year since 06-07. He has 14 double doubles already this year, 4 more than he had for the entire year last year. In the last 8 games that Garnett played against Detroit, they have won by an average of 14.5 points, but to show how much they need Garnett, they have lost the last two without him against Detroit.
Some Betting Trends:
Boston has won 7 of their past 8 road games and have won 8 of their last 10 against Detroit. The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Boston’s last 22 games against Detroit, but it has gone OVER In 4 of their past 5. The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston’s last 9 games on the road in Detroit. The Celts have won 5 of their last 6 at the Palace.
The Total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit’s last 5 games and Detroit has lost 11 of their last 15. The total has gone OVER in 8 of Detroit’s last 10 home games and it has gone OVER in 4 of their last 5 against Boston.
