Warriors find new dimension

The Golden State Warriors, who play host to the Lakers tonight in Oakland, have the NBA’s second-highest scoring offense, but it has been their improved defense that has caught the attention of over/under bettors.

Ever since Stephen Jackson’s return from a season-opening seven-game suspension, Golden State has been on a roll, winning 11 of 15 games to climb into the Pacific Division race.

For most games involving the Warriors, who feature a wide-open three-point shooting offense, the over/under line is normally inflated and well over 200 combined points.

That has led to betting opportunities for over/under specialists.

Since Jackson returned, Golden State has been a better defensive team. In five of their last nine games, the Warriors have held opponents to 96 or fewer points.

That’s the main reason why the under has won in six of the last nine games for the Warriors.

Note: Golden State, which scores 109 points a game, has lost nine in a row to the Lakers, including a 123-113 defeat at Staples Center on Sunday. The over is 8-3 in the Warriors’ 11 home games this season.

--

Heading into Thursday, Orlando led the NBA in victories against the spread with a 17-6-0 record, followed by Toronto (14-9-0), Boston (13-6-1) and San Antonio (13-8-0).

In the over/under standings, Dallas and Utah shared the NBA’s top spot in victories for over with 15. Atlanta led in under wins with 15.

College Football

The first game of the bowl season will take place next week when Navy (8-4) plays Utah (8-4) in the Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

The big question about the game for oddsmakers is that since the end of the regular season, Navy -- which opened as a 9 1/2 -point underdog -- lost coach Paul Johnson to Georgia Tech.

Johnson, who led the Midshipmen to five consecutive bowl games, has already left the program and will not coach against Utah.

But unlike the line for UCLA’s Las Vegas Bowl, which grew after the Bruins fired Karl Dorrell as coach, the Poinsettia Bowl’s line has dropped in favor of Utah to 8 1/2 points.

The reason? Navy did not fire a coach following a disappointing season. After Johnson made his decision, the Midshipmen did not waste time in promoting assistant Ken Niumatalolo to head coach.

This type of stability must impress early bettors. According to various betting trend charts, Navy has attracted steady support at 59% of the bets against the spread.

--

lonnie.white@latimes.com