Big East heavyweights lock horns in D.C.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/09/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 teams clash in the nation's capital this afternoon, as Big East play takes to the floor at the Verizon Center, featuring the 13th-ranked Connecticut Huskies against the 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
Jim Calhoun's Huskies dropped their Big East opener at Cincinnati, but have since rallied with a pair of league wins, topping Notre Dame (82-70) and Seton Hall (71-63) in the last week.
John Thompson's Hoyas are also 2-1 in Big East play thus far, opening up their conference slate with back-to-back victories over St. John's (64-59) and DePaul (67-50). More recently however, the team suffered its first league setback with a 62-59 nail-biter at Marquette on Wednesday.
This is the 60th all-time meeting between these two storied programs. Georgetown owns a 32-27 edge in the series with UConn, thanks to wins in each of the last three meetings.
Despite only putting up 71 points against Seton Hall last time out, the Huskies were ultra-efficient at the offensive end of the floor, converting 50.9 percent of their shots, including 55.6 percent in the second half. In addition, Connecticut also out-hustled the Pirates, scoring 26 points on fast breaks. The Huskies had five players finish in double figures, led by star guard Jerome Dyson's 16 points. Dyson completed a double-double with 10 assists and just missed a triple double, hauling in nine rebounds. Kemba Walker and Gavin Edwards poured in 15 points apiece, while Alex Oriakhi and Stanley Robinson chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Seton Hall game represented the blueprint for UConn's success this season. The team isn't putting up eye-popping numbers (74.7 ppg) but is getting it done efficiently (46.6 percent shooting). Dyson is a dynamic player with the ability to serve in several different capacities. He leads the team in scoring at 19.9 ppg, but is also a solid rebounder (5.4 rpg) and distributor (77 assists). Robinson is strong up front, averaging 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Walker (12.9 ppg, team-high 86 assists) gives the team depth in the backcourt, while Edwards (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) does the same down low.
The Hoyas fought back in Milwaukee last time out, but could not get an Austin Freeman jumper to fall in the waning moments of the game, and ultimately dropped a three-point decision at Marquette. The Hoyas shot .489 from the field in the game, but managed just 59 points, while the Golden Eagles hit 12 three-pointers to offset a rather bland shooting performance overall (.389). Freeman led the way with 20 points and six assists. Julian Vaughn added 12 points, while Greg Monroe chipped in nine points, while grabbing 10 boards. Chris Wright also had nine points in the loss, but still is tied for the team- lead with Monroe in terms of scoring at 14.4 ppg. Monroe is a beast in the middle, as Georgetown's center is pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game (9.8). Freeman is right behind in the scoring column at 14.1 ppg. Jason Clark rounds out the double-digit threats on the roster, chipping in with 10.6 ppg. The Hoyas don't put up huge numbers offensively (70.5 ppg), but rather, play the kind of defense (57.8 ppg against) that makes it unnecessary to do so.
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders and Oklahoma State Cowboys square off in the Big 12 opener for both teams at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater this evening. The Red Raiders have won 12 of their first
<< No. 3 Kentucky opens SEC slate against Georgia
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats open up
SEC play this afternoon, as they take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Rupp Arena in
Lexington.
John Calipari's first season at UK has certainly been a successful one thus
<< Blue Devils visit Yellow Jackets in pivotal ACC tussle
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 battle is on tap in Atlanta this
afternoon, as the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils take on the 20th-ranked
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a key ACC matchup at Alexander Memorial
Coliseum.
The Blue Devil
<< Buffs battle 'Horns in Big 12 opener
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Texas Longhorns put their
perfect record on the line this afternoon, as they welcome the Colorado
Buffaloes to Austin for the Big 12 opener for both squads.
The Longhorns have won all 14 games
<< Kansas State tries to end Missouri's lengthy home win streak
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Missouri Tigers put their 29-game home
winning streak on the line today, as they take on the red-hot, 11th-ranked
Kansas State Wildcats in the Big 12 opener for both squads.
The Tigers' home winning streak
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers put their flawless Big East record on the line this evening, as they take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend. The Mountaineers opened their season wit
Burrows, Canucks host Flames in key Northwest battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key Northwest Division battle is on tap tonight in
British Columbia as the streaking Vancouver Canucks host the Calgary Flames at
General Motors Place.
Vancouver and the Flames are tied atop the division with 55 points e
Rangers and Bruins meet again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers were able to handle the Boston Bruins
when the two teams faced off less than a week ago. However, winning on the
road in this series has been a more difficult task as of late for the
Blueshirts, who skate
Devils head to Montreal >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a power failure ended their last game prematurely,
the New Jersey Devils will try for a third straight victory tonight when they
visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
Friday's game between the Tampa Bay Lightn
Panthers cap road trip in Ottawa >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers will attempt to earn their first
positive result of a three-game road trip that concludes with tonight's bout
against the Ottawa Senators from Scotiabank Place.
Florida has dropped the first two tests
2007 NFL Football Betting Preview
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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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.