Hoiberg returns to Iowa State

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

04/28/2010 - Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fred Hoiberg was introduced Wednesday as the new men's basketball coach at Iowa State and called the return to his alma mater "a dream come true."

Hoiberg, who starred for the Cyclones in the 1990s, agreed to a five-year contract with a base salary of $800,000 on Tuesday.

"It's a Hollywood script for me to take the reins of a program that I cheered for as a kid, played for as a collegian and followed closely for more than a decade as an alum," said Hoiberg on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Hoiberg played for Iowa State from 1991-95 and then spent 10 years in the NBA, with stops in Indiana, Chicago and Minnesota. He averaged 5.4 points over a 541-game career.

Hoiberg received the nickname "The Mayor" when he received a write-in vote for the Ames, Iowa mayoral race. He was honored as Mr. Basketball in Iowa for 1991 and the following season he enrolled at Iowa State.

The Cyclones won 78 games and played in three NCAA Tournaments in his career. He is the school's third all-time leading scorer with 1,993 points and his No. 32 jersey was retired in 1997.

"We are all familiar and proud of the distinguished career of Fred," said school president Dr. Gregory Geoffroy. "Bringing an All-American -- both in the classroom and on the basketball court -- back to our staff is cause for celebration and it's even more thrilling since he is a native son."

Hoiberg served as the assistant general manager with the Timberwolves for three seasons after retiring from the NBA in 2006 and spent the past year as the team's vice president of basketball operations, but apparently had previously campaigned for the Iowa State position.

"Four years ago, Fred expressed interest in our head coaching position and he's been on my short list ever since," said Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard. "It did not take very long for me to see his passion, his quiet confidence and his plan to have success in our men's basketball program. Based upon his personal experiences, Fred is better equipped and positioned than anyone to take the reins of this program."

Iowa State needed a replacement for Greg McDermott, who left Monday to take the head coaching job at Creighton. He spent the past four seasons as head coach of the Cyclones, going 15-17 a year ago with a 4-12 record in the Big 12, and was 59-68 overall since arriving in Ames in 2006.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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