Panthers and Huskies square off in Big East showdown
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/13/2010 - 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 contest with a six-game win streak in tow. Jamie Dixon's squad has been flawless in league play thus far, including back-to-back huge road wins at Syracuse (82-72) and Cincinnati (74-71) since the start of the new year.
Jim Calhoun's Huskies are simply treading water in the Big East thus far, splitting their four league tilts. The team opened conference play with a road loss at Cincinnati, but followed with a pair of home wins against Notre Dame and Seton Hall. However, the road was once again unkind to UConn this past weekend, when the team dropped a 72-69 decision at Georgetown.
The Huskies hold a 30-26 advantage in the all-time series with the Panthers, although Pittsburgh has closed the gap a bit with three wins in the last four meetings.
Not much has changed with the Panthers this season, as the team still relies on hard-nosed defense to set up everything else. Pittsburgh has certainly thrived in that area this season, limiting the opposition to a mere 58.0 ppg and just .381 shooting. In addition, Pitt is outrebounding foes by as a solid 7.3 caroms per outing. Offensively, the team has a trio of double-figure performers, led by Ashton Gibbs. A deadly three-point shooter (.409), Gibbs is putting up 17.5 ppg. Brad Wanamaker follows with 12.2 ppg and the addition of Gilbert Brown (10.0 ppg in four games this year) to the lineup will only aid this team in the second half of the season. Brown scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the second half, as Pittsburgh earned a huge road win at Cincinnati. Gibbs led all scorers in the game with 19 points, while Jermaine Dixon tallied 10. Pitt shot a solid .490 from the game and outscored the Bearcats 20-8 at the free-throw line.
The Huskies let one slip away at Georgetown over the weekend, as they blew a 15-point halftime lead to lose by three points. Stanley Robinson led four Huskies in double figures with 16 points. Jerome Dyson chipped in with 12, while Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel added 11 points apiece. Oriakhi completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, but15 UConn turnovers led to 18 points for the hometown Hoyas. UConn is by no means an offensive juggernaut, averaging a rather modest 74.3 ppg. Still, the team does possess two of the more explosive players in the Big East in Dyson and Robinson. Dyson can do it all and currently leads the team in scoring at 19.3 ppg, while also showing his ability as a rebounder (5.3 rpg) and distributor (81 assists). Robinson adds 17.1 ppg and ranks second on the team with 7.7 rpg. Kemba Walker (12.7 ppg, team-high 92 assists) aids in the backcourt, while Gavin Edwards (10.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, team-high 43 blocks) is a strong presence in the paint.
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Super Bowl 2009 Betting
Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositionsUnderdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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