Wolf Pack host Bulldogs in Reno

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/25/2007 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack try to bounce back from their first Western Athletic Conference loss of the season as they hit the floor of the Lawlor Events Center in Reno tonight versus the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Nevada, which opened the 2006-07 campaign with seven straight wins before being halted by in-state rival UNLV, had won 10 games in a row prior to the meeting with a resurgent New Mexico State program on Saturday. The clash in Las Cruces resulted in an 80-73 win for the home team and also locked both NMSU and Nevada in a first-place tie in the WAC standings at 5-1.

Just below the pair is Louisiana Tech with a mark of 4-2 in conference, despite winning just two of 12 non-league outings early on. The Bulldogs managed to post their second set of back-to-back wins this month on Saturday when they slipped by Idaho on the road by a score of 73-72. Three nights earlier, Tech had to go to overtime to stun New Mexico State by a basket, 73-71.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Pack are now ahead by a count of 8-3 after dropping three of the first four meetings with LaTech. Nevada has now run off seven straight victories in the relationship thanks to a narrow 50-49 decision in Reno a season ago.

Ahead by as many as seven points with under two and a half minutes to play, the Bulldogs had to hold on for the one-point win against Idaho on Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum. Trey McDowell, who was recently named the WAC Player of the Week for the second time this season, finished with a team- high 25 points, followed by Jerome Richardson and Chad McKenzie with 15 and 12 points, respectively, with both clearing eight rebounds as well. McKenzie, who shot just 4-of-14 from the field, ended up fouling out, but not before he posted three assists and three steals. Harry Disy came up a point shy of a double-double as he grabbed 11 boards. McKenzie currently leads the team in scoring overall this season with his 12.8 ppg, but despite coming off the bench in eight of the 17 games in which he has appeared, McDowell is now right on his tail with 12.6 ppg. However, McDowell is far from a complete player because he has just 18 assists and is shooting a mere 50 percent at the free-throw line for a team that is currently converting only 63.9 percent at the stripe. Also working against the Bulldogs is their 40.5 percent accuracy from the field and 30.2 percent shooting out on the perimeter.

Back on the floor for the Wolf Pack in his second game after suffering an ankle injury, Nick Fazekas got a first-hand look at why the Aggies were expected to contend for the league title this season. Fazekas finished the contest with 21 points and seven rebounds but also found himself on the bench with foul trouble during key moments down the stretch. Ramon Sessions tallied a team-high 23 points, followed by Marcelus Kemp with 14 and a team- high eight boards in the setback as well. In previous years, Fazekas would try to impress people with his outside shooting, but this season he has opted to remain in the paint for the most part, resulting in team-highs of 20.4 ppg and 11.6 rpg, the latter placing among the nation's best. Kemp, who carried much of the load in the absence of Fazekas, checks in with 19.1 ppg and is shooting 42.1 percent from three-point range for a team that is knocking down an impressive 41.9 ppg. Combine that with shooting 48.8 percent from the field overall, and holding opponents to just 40 percent, and the Pack are clearly one of the top teams in the nation.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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