Huskies and Hoyas square off Big East action
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/01/2012 -
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Connecticut Huskies have made their
way to the nation's capital for tonight's Big East Conference showdown with
the 14th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
UConn is hoping to put the brakes on a three-game slide as the team fell to
14-6 overall and an even 4-4 in conference after suffering a 50-48 setback at
home to Notre Dame on Sunday. It was team's lowest scoring output of the
campaign, and it will try to even its record in true road games this season to
3-3 with a win tonight.
Georgetown is coming off a loss of its own, as the team stumbled at Pittsburgh
last Saturday in a 72-60 final. Still, the Hoyas are 16-4 on the year, and
they have won six of their first nine league tilts. GU is 10-1 at home this
season, which includes a 3-1 mark against Big East foes.
Georgetown owns a 33-27 advantage in all-time series with UConn, but the
Huskies won both meetings last season, including a 79-62 victory in the second
round of the 2011 Big East Conference Tournament.
Jeremy Lamb scored 16 points and Andre Drummond logged a double-double
consisting of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but those efforts went for naught as
Connecticut lost a defensive battle to visiting Notre Dame by a scant two
points. The Huskies shot 40.4 percent from the field, while the Fighting Irish
were just 36.2 percent accurate. However, UND nailed seven three-pointers to
UConn's three, and the Irish scored 26 points in the paint compared to a mere
10 for the home team. Lamb (17.9 ppg) continues to pace the Huskies in scoring
thanks to his ultra-efficient 50.2 percent shooting effort, and he has a club-
best 44 three-pointers as well. Shabazz Napier (14.3 ppg, 6.1 apg) and
Drummond (10.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) round out the double-digit scorers for coach Jim
Calhoun's club, which puts up 69.8 ppg in hitting 47.0 percent of its total
shots, while limiting the opposition to 62.2 ppg on 36.9 percent field goal
accuracy. The Huskies are +5.5 in rebounding margin, but suffer from a
turnover differential of -2.4.
Georgetown's starting five accounted for only 35 points in the recent loss to
Pittsburgh, as the team shot 42.1 percent from the field, despite missing 12
of its 17 three-point attempts. Otto Porter came off the bench to score a
club-best 14 points, while Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims chipped in with 11
and 10 points, respectively. No Hoya grabbed more than six rebounds (Porter),
as they were out-muscled on the glass to the tune of a 35-23 deficit. Pitt
went a dismal 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, but shot an impressive 52.1 percent
from the field overall, and the Panthers claimed a 19-7 edge in points from
the foul line and cruised to the double-digit victory despite committing 17
turnovers. After 20 games, Jason Clark (15.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg) leads the club in
scoring on the strength of his 49.5 percent shooting effort, while Thompson
(13.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Sims (11.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg) have been productive
contributors as well for coach John Thompson III's team, which averages 71.4
ppg on 47.1 percent field goal accuracy, which includes a 36.1 percent effort
from long range, while defensively holding the opposition to 60.0 ppg on
typical shooting outputs of 39.9 percent overall and 29.0 percent from beyond
the arc.
<< Hoosiers and Wolverines meet in Big Ten showdown
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of ranked foes in the Big Ten
Conference square off in Ann Arbor this evening, as No. 20 Indiana comes
calling on No. 23 Michigan.
Indiana started the season impressively, jumping out to a 12-0 record
<< Feathers are sure to fly in clash between Redbirds and Bluejays
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Creighton Bluejays continue one
of their most memorable seasons ever, as they play host to the Illinois State
Redbirds tonight in Omaha in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Illinois State is 14-8
<< Georgia Tech hits road to tangle with No. 21 Florida State
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the ACC
standings meet in Tallahassee tonight, as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
challenge the 21st-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Georgia Tech's first season under head coac
<< Jayhawks host Sooners in Big 12 affair
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first Big 12 loss of the
season, the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks return to the friendly confines of
the Allen Fieldhouse for a league bout with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Bill Self's Jayhawks had
<< Sixth-ranked Bears battle Aggies in Big 12 action
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Baylor Bears continue
their quest for a Big 12 title, as they invade College Station this evening
for a conference matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena.
Scott Drew's Bear
Broncos battle 17th-ranked Aztecs >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to win their first conference game as
a member of the Mountain West, the Boise State Broncos face one of their
toughest tests yet as they tangle with 17th-ranked San Diego State at Viejas
Arena tonight.
Rams and Rebels duke it out in Sin City >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start since the 1991-92
campaign, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels find themselves ranked 11th in the nation
and tied for the top spot in the Mountain West Conference as they prepare for
the arrival of
Nets pick up G Bogans >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seeking to bolster its defensive
performance, the New Jersey Nets signed 6-foot-5 free agent guard Keith Bogans
on Wednesday.
Per team policy, contract terms were not disclosed.
"Keith will
Hannover's Pogatetz hit with three-match ban >>
Hannover, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hannover defender Emanuel Pogatetz has
been handed a three-match ban by the German Football Federation (DFB) for
punching Nurnberg's Philipp Wollscheid.
The incident occurred in last Friday's 1-
No arguing with Patriots' (tight) end results >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots reached the
Super Bowl on the strength of an extraordinarily explosive offense that
contained a record-setting quarterback, a wide receiver with over 100 catches
and another wi
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds
Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.
The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.
Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.
MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:
Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)
Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)
Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.
Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
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