My Monday Blog 11/21/11

I owe college basketball analyst Ken Pomeroy a lot more than $19.95, the annual subscription fee his company charged my credit card earlier this month.

For more than eight years, I poached winning information from the popular website (www.kenpom.com) operated by the man known as “KenPom” or “Mister Po-Po.”

The website’s recently-erected pay wall, keeping the complete service accessible only to paying subscribers starting November 12, is disappointing but understandable.

Pomeroy’s website is a statistical archive offering a wealth of information for dedicated fans and serious bettors alike. College basketball coaches, including Butler’s Brad Stevens and Marquette’s Buzz Williams, rely on the website’s advanced statistics to develop game plans when scouting future opponents.

Pomeroy’s best work deals with the pace of a college basketball game. Pomeroy’s methodology adjusts a team’s performance ratings based on the tempo or number of possessions per game. Pomeroy’s detailed work busts many stereotypes and generalities perpetuated by the lazy mainstream media.

For instance, slow-paced teams like Air Force or Cal Poly SLO often get credit for fielding scrappy defensive clubs when, in fact, the teams’ deliberate offensive schemes are the primary reason for their opponents’ limited scoring opportunities and outputs.

THE PACK IS BACK…..The defending Super Bowl champs are a perfect 10-0 this season. Green Bay posted a workmanlike 35-26 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, appears a cinch to win his first-ever NFL MVP award after throwing 31 touchdowns against only four interceptions in his team’s first 10 games. There’s a lot of talk surrounding Green Bay and a possible 16-0 regular season as Rodgers is making the sport’s most difficult position look incredibly easy. Interestingly, the Packers currently are riding a 16-game winning streak (12-4 against the spread), dating to last season. Here’s the most impressive part of the Packers’ franchise-record run: they have not trailed in the fourth quarter in any of their 16 consecutive victories.

WHITE-HOT HANDICAPPERS…..Contestants in the first-ever $10,000 EOG Invitational continue to excel. Professional gambler OSUCOWBOYS, part of a six-man sports betting syndicate, finished with six victories from seven contest selections to eliminate longtime EOG contributor Cassius Clay, who went 5-2 this past weekend after going 6-1 in opening-round action.

“OSU” won all three of his NFL selections with relative ease when Miami, Oakland and Seattle recorded pointspread victories.

The 16 participants in the $10,000 EOG Invitational, a promotion supervised by contest coordinator Tuckman, sport a combined record of 84-52-4 for a winning rate of 61.7% after 10 weeks of the 15-week event.

Las Vegas-based sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw meets Notre Dame senior IrishTim in this Friday night’s quarterfinal round match. The head-to-head showdown will be presented as part of The EOG Sports Hour on November 25 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific. The show airs live on KLAV-AM 1230 in Las Vegas (www.klav1230am.com). The one-hour presentation is archived at www.eogradio.com.

MONDAY’S BEST BET…..Play 565 Georgetown +5 over Kansas. The Jayhawks lost 65% of their scoring from last season when the Morris twins and Josh Selby declared for the NBA draft and senior guards Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar exhausted their eligibility. The Hoyas will not be intimidated by the legacy of KU basketball. The Jayhawks looked suspect at best on November 15 in a 10-point loss to a talented but sloppy Kentucky team, a young squad guilty of 19 turnovers. The Hoyas’ duo of Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson is better than the KU pair of Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson. Live underdog.

COMING FRIDAY…..A preview of the Las Vegas Invitational to be played this weekend at Orleans Arena featuring North Carolina, South Carolina, Southern California and hometown favorite UNLV.