Sports Stat Check – January 15th Edition
We’re all agog over this week’s NFL Conference title games, and the Super Bowl after that. Which makes this a great time to get a jump on the basketball betting market. We kick off this weekend’s list of 10 stats and factoids with this hoops curiosity: The inventor of basketball, James Naismith, was also the only losing head coach in Kansas Jayhawks history. Naismith finished in 1907 with a record of 55-60.
NFL
Philadelphia at Arizona
When the Eagles played the Cardinals in Week 13, Brian Westbrook became the first man since Colts RB Lydell Mitchell in 1975 to rush for over 100 yards and two touchdowns while catching another two TD passes. Westbrook (knee) is listed as questionable this Sunday but is expected to play.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
The over is 38-16-2 in Pittsburgh’s last 56 games at Heinz Field. That includes the last four Steelers-Ravens matchups in the Iron City, most recently in Week 4 when Pittsburgh (-6) won 23-20 in overtime to eclipse the posted total of 34.5 points.
Click here – Grab your NFL odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.
NBA
Boston at New Jersey
New Jersey is 18-38-2 ATS in its last 58 games against teams with winning percentages higher than .600. Boston was 31-9 SU (.775 percent) and 20-20 ATS after beating the Nets 118-86 on Wednesday at the Garden, cashing in as a 9.5-point chalk.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Knicks
The Knicks only have three regular players above the indexed league average of 15 in Player Efficiency Rating: David Lee (18.3), Nate Robinson (16.8) and Al Harrington (15.4). They’re 8-17 SU and 14-11 ATS since trading away Zach Randolph (19.9 PER with the Knicks) and Jamal Crawford (15.9 PER).
Phoenix at Toronto
The Raptors only have six players on the roster who went to major conference colleges in the United States. Only one of them is not a role player: Georgia Tech’s Chris Bosh. Phoenix has nine players from the major conferences.
Miami at Oklahoma City
The Thunder are 6-21 SU and 21-6 ATS since Scott Brooks took over as interim head coach from P.J. Carlesimo. Brooks was a star point guard at UC-Irvine and played 680 games in the NBA, but only started seven times.
NBA betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.
NCAAB
Georgetown at Duke
Duke has the highest pythagorean winning percentage of all Division I teams at 98.31 percent. Georgetown is No. 8 (and fourth in the Big East) at 96.65 percent. The Hoyas have three losses this year to Duke’s one.
Wake Forest at Clemson
Wake’s 14-0 record (6-4 ATS) represents the team’s best start since the 1980-81 season. That team featured point guard Frank Johnson, who was drafted by the Washington Bullets that year and went on to play 650 games – and coach the Phoenix Suns for two years.
Arizona State at UCLA
The Sun Devils lead Division I in effective field-goal percentage (60.5 percent) and 2-point field-goal percentage (60.9 percent). The Bruins defense is ranked just No. 186 in the nation against 2-point shots at 48.5 percent allowed.
Pittsburgh at Louisville
Undefeated Pitt is No. 1 in the rankings for the first time in team history – a history that dates back to 1905. The Panthers did win the national championship in 1928 and 1930 under Doc Carlson, but they haven’t been to the Elite Eight since 1974.
