Huskies host Golden Eagles in Big East showdown
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/30/2010 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with a lot of ground to cover to get back in the Big East race square off in Hartford, as the 19th-ranked Connecticut Huskies welcome the Marquette Golden Eagles to the XL Center this afternoon.
Head coach Jim Calhoun has taken a medical leave of absence from UConn and under the leadership of assistant George Blaney, the Huskies looked rejuvenated with a pair of victories last week against St. John's and former number one ranked Texas. However, Connecticut's struggles on the road resurfaced this week at Providence, as the team fell to an ugly 0-4 in true road games with an 81-66 setback to the Friars. The loss also dropped UConn to 3-4 in league play.
Road woes have also plagued the Golden Eagles, who are an even worse 0-5 as the visitor this season. The team dropped back-to-back games at DePaul and Syracuse last week, but bounced back with an 82-59 drubbing of Rutgers this week.
This is just the fifth all-time meeting between these two teams with the series knotted at two games apiece. Last season's lone matchup took place at Marquette and resulted in an 93-82 win for UConn, marking Calhoun's 800th career victory.
Five Golden Eagles finished in double figures, as Marquette completely blew away Rutgers last time out. Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom led the way with 16 points apiece. Maurice Acker added 14 points, followed by Joseph Fulce and Lazar Hayward, who chimed in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Hayward recorded his fifth double-double of the season with a dozen rebounds. Hayward is the team's top performer, leading the way both in scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg). Butler is a solid complement at 14.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per outing. Johnson-Odom wraps up the top scoring threats at 12.4 ppg. Marquette has had a great deal of success at the offensive end, averaging 75.6 ppg on a healthy .470 shooting.
After two solid offensive performances under Blaney's watchful eye, the Huskies finally threw a clunker in there against Providence, converting just 38.7 percent from the floor, including a mere .222 from behind the arc (4- of-18), while turning the ball over a costly 19 times. Still, four players finished in double figures, including Kemba Walker and Gavin Edwards, who posted 17 points apiece. Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively, but the Huskies got beat up on the boards, 53-38 and allowed Providence to score 44 points in the paint. Dyson and Robinson lead the charge for UConn and both have the ability to dominate a game. Dyson is a complete player, showing the ability to score (19.1 ppg), rebound (4.7 rpg) and distribute the ball (98 assists). Robinson has been strong up front, averaging 16.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg. Walker can score as well at 13.4 ppg, but is much better when getting others involved (6.0 apg). Edwards (10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 51 blocks) provides a boost coming off the bench.
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - More than just state bragging rights are on the line in Manhattan this evening, as second-ranked Kansas and 11th-ranked Kansas State square off in a Big 12 showdown at the Bramlage Coliseum. Bill Self's Jayha
<< Big East battle features Louisville at West Virginia
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers
welcome the Louisville Cardinals to Morgantown this afternoon for a Big East
showdown.
After taking a break from Big East play last week, the Mountaineers returned
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third-round lead Saturday with Bradley Dredge at the Qatar Masters.
Dredge had a two-under 70, making a late birdie to join Casey at 10-under 206.
Race to Duba
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Local rivals square off at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia today, as the La Salle Explorers and Temple Owls meet in an Atlantic 10 Conference affair. La Salle is coming off an 80-73 win over Fordham,
Zags and Dons square off in San Francisco >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs carry a
nine-game winning streak into tonight's West Coast Conference battle with the
San Francisco Dons.
On December 19th, Gonzaga was completely embarrassed in a 76-41 l
Yellow Jackets host Thorobreds in obvious mismatch >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
take a break from ACC action to take on the seemingly overmatched Kentucky
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Bears and 'Horns meet in clash of ranked Big 12 adversaries >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 foes meet up in Austin this afternoon, as
the sixth-ranked Texas Longhorns welcome the 24th-ranked Baylor Bears to the
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Blue Devils visit Hoyas in Top-10 showdown >>
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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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