Badgers come to Evanston to take on Wildcats
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/13/2010 - Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and Northwestern Wildcats come together in Evanston tonight, as they do battle in a Big Ten clash at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Badgers head into the contest looking to build off another noteworthy win, as they upended then No.4 and undefeated Purdue, 73-66, on Saturday. It marked Wisconsin's fourth win in five games against a Top 25 opponent this season, as the team improved to 13-3 overall and 3-1 within the conference. The Badgers however, have had a little trouble as the visiting team, posting just a 1-2 mark in true road games.
As for the Wildcats, they adverted an 0-3 start to conference play by rallying past Michigan, 68-62, on Sunday. It was the second win in a row for Northwestern, which is now 12-3 overall. The Wildcats have a chance to make an even bigger name for themselves this week, as they also host sixth-ranked Purdue on Saturday.
Northwestern and Wisconsin split a pair of meetings a season ago, leaving the Badgers with a 107-61 advantage in the all-time series.
The Badgers went an efficient 22-of-27 at the foul line compared to just a 13- of-24 effort by Purdue and that made the difference in 73-66 victory on Saturday. Wisconsin also helped its cause by winning the battle on the boards, 39-32, including a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass. Jordan Taylor came off the bench and ignited Wisconsin with 23 points, while Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes checked in with 20 and 14 points, respectively. It wasn't all good news however, as Jon Leuer broke his wrist and will be sidelined indefinitely. That is a huge loss considering Leuer was averaging 15.4 ppg and 6.2 rpg for the season. Hughes will now be asked to do more and he already tops the roster with 15.8 ppg on the strength of 41.9 percent shooting form long distance. Bohannon, a 41.6 percent three-point shooter, will also be counted on to increase his scoring average of 10.6 ppg.
The Wildcats rallied from a 17-point deficit and then used a 7-0 spurt to close out the game for a 68-62 win over Michigan on Sunday. It was a crucial come from behind win for Northwestern, which helped itself with an 11-of-24 performance from downtown. Freshman Drew Crawford poured in 25 points to lead the way and he went on an 11-point run by himself to bring Northwestern back. Michael Thompson added 15 points and five assists, while Luka Mirkovic and John Shurna chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively. For the season, Shurna paces the Wildcats in scoring (17.5 ppg) as well as rebounding (7.3 rpg), and Thompson puts forth 14.7 ppg and a team-best 4.5 apg. Crawford fills out the double-digit scorers with 10.7 ppg.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Temple Owls meet the Penn Quakers tonight in a Philadelphia Big 5 battle at The Palestra. Temple enters the tilt having won nine of its past 10 outings, with the lone loss during that stret
<< Orange hit road to battle Scarlet Knights
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange kick off a
three-game road trip tonight, as they square off against the Rutgers Scarlet
Knights in a Big East clash at the RAC.
This is only the second true road game of the
<< Top-25 matchup in ACC pits Tar Heels against Tigers
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of seven of their last eight, the 24th-
ranked Clemson Tigers will try to stake their claim as one of the ACC's elite
when they play host to the 12th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels tonight at
Littlejohn C
<< Panthers and Huskies square off in Big East showdown
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers invade the
XL Center this evening for a top-25 Big East showdown with the 15th-ranked
Connecticut Huskies.
The Panthers are on a bit of a run right now and enter this contes
<< Jayhawks seek redemption against Cornhuskers
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first loss of the season and
losing the top ranking in the nation, the now third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks
embark on the their Big 12 schedule, as they invade Lincoln this evening, for
a conference s
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers make their way to Tampa tonight, as they take on the South Florida Bulls in a Big East matchup at the Sun Dome. After opening league play with three straight wins, the M
Texas plays first-ever game as top-ranked team >>
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked No. 1 for the first time in program
history, the Texas Longhorns will take the court in Ames tonight as they
battle the Iowa State Cyclones in Big 12 Conference action.
Texas is off to a 15-0 start for just
Celtics aim to continue dominance of Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The best and the worst the Atlantic Division has to offer
meet in the Meadowlands Wednesday as the first-place Boston Celtics shoot for
their 11th straight win over the hapless New Jersey Nets.
The Celtics have been st
Hornets welcome Clippers to Big Easy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Hornets return to the cozy confines of New Orleans
Arena Wednesday aiming for their 12th straight win over the much-improved Los
Angles Clippers.
It's been an tumultuous year for the Hornets. The team fired head
Banged-up Lakers face tough test in Big D >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Western Conference powers collide Wednesday night as the
defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers aim to make history as they finish
up a two-day tour of Texas by facing off with the Southwest Division-leading
Dallas
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.