Duke, Big East highlight South
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/15/2010 -
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hours after winning their record 18th ACC
Tournament title on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils were awarded the No. 1 seed
in the South Region in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Duke (29-5), backed by the triumvirate of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan
Smith, is the top seed for an 11th time and will face the winner of the
opening-round game between Big South champion Winthrop and SWAC winner
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which had started its season with 11 straight losses.
Those two teams will tangle in Dayton on Tuesday for the right to advance to
Jacksonville.
"For our senior class I am so happy," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
"Not many teams in my 30 years in the ACC have won both the regular season and
the [ACC] Tournament, and I think because they did it, and we played such a
tough schedule, these kids were rewarded with a No. 1 seed."
The Blue Devils, whose only loss in the past 13 games came at Maryland on
March 3rd, may face one of the three Big East teams slated in their portion of
the bracket if they get past Friday's first-round matchup, as either
Louisville or California will be waiting in the round of 32.
Also on Friday, the Cardinals (20-12), the No. 9 seed and the only team that
defeated Big East regular season champion Syracuse twice this season, will
face the Pac-10's Golden Bears (23-10), who were given the No. 8 seed after
falling to Washington in the conference finale.
Villanova (24-7), despite losing five of its last seven games, is seeded
second in the South thanks to a strong showing in Big East play and a veteran
club that reached last year's Final Four. In the first round on Thursday, the
Wildcats meet Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris (23-11), which is
seeded 15th in the Big Dance for a second straight year.
The third seed was given to Baylor (25-7), which fell short of appearing in
its first Big 12 title game with a loss to Kansas State in the semis of the
conference tourney. Nevertheless, the Bears, led by LaceDarius Dunn (19.4
ppg), were given a high seed and will face No. 14 Sam Houston State (25-7),
the Southland Conference champion.
"Sam Houston is very well coached. They have done very well against Big 12
schools teams in the past few years and we know we will have our hands full,"
Baylor head coach Scott Drew said after learning of Thursday's first-round
matchup.
Purdue (27-5) picked up a No. 4 seed after there was speculation it might
steal a coveted No. 1 slot just three weeks ago. The Boilermakers have dropped
just two games since, but they more importantly lost the services of star
forward Robbie Hummel to a knee injury.
"I felt we would be a 1-3 [seed]. Our resume says we're a two or three,"
proclaimed Purdue head coach Matt Painter, who admitted Hummel's injury caused
his team's stock to slip. "I don't begrudge the committee for putting us as a
four seed. They did what they felt was best. I think it can serve as
motivation for our guys to play better."
On the heels of its 69-42 loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinals, which
included an embarrassing 11-point first half, Purdue gets a stiff first-round
test on Friday against No. 13 seed Siena (27-6), fresh of its third
consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. The Saints have advanced
to the second round in each of the past two seasons, including an upset of
Vanderbilt as a No. 13 seed in 2008.
The always interesting 5-12 matchup on Friday pits Aggies vs. Aggies, as Texas
A&M (23-9), the ninth seed, battles Utah State (27-7). Texas A&M ended its
season on a nice run, winning nine of its last 12 games, though two loses came
against Kansas, the current No. 1 team in the nation. Utah State, meanwhile,
had won 17 in a row before being upset by New Mexico State in the Western
Athletic Conference title game on Saturday.
The final Big East team in this part of the bracket is Notre Dame (23-11),
which used a late-season run to earn the No. 6 seed. The Fighting Irish
changed up their style of play to win six straight before losing a
heartbreaking decision to eventual tourney champ West Virginia in the semis.
Waiting for the Irish in the first round on Thursday is No. 11 seed and
Colonial Athletic Association champion Old Dominion (26-8), making its first
NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.
Rounding out the South Regional is a battle between schools in mid-major
conferences, as No. 7 Richmond takes on No. 10 Saint Mary's on Thursday. The
Spiders (26-8) held their own in a surprisingly competitive Atlantic 10
Conference, winning 12 of 13 games before losing a 56-52 decision to Temple in
the title game on Sunday. The Gaels (26-5) also made the finale in their
conference but toppled nationally-ranked Gonzaga to win the West Coast
Conference.
The region's Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Houston's
Reliant Stadium on Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28.
<< Kentucky garners No. 1 seed in the East
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Kentucky, which
scorched the Southeastern Conference in the regular season and won the
conference tourney crown in a tense overtime contest, was named as the top-
seeded
<< Syracuse-Vermont rematch highlights West
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the
Big East tournament and staring at an injury to starting forward Arinze
Onuaku, Syracuse is the No. 1 seed in the West Region as the Orange head into
a much-
<< NCAA Capsules-East Regional
Lexington, 32-2.Nickname: Wildcats. Coach: John Calipari.Conference: Southeastern. Bid: SEC champion.Region: East. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 100-45, 50 years. Last appearance: 2008.Scoring: Team (79.2); John Wall 16.9; DeMarcus Cousins 15.3; Pa
<< NCAA Capsules-South Regional
Durham, N.C., 29-5.Nickname: Blue Devils. Coach: Mike Krzyzewski.Conference: Atlantic Coast. Bid: ACC champion.Region: South. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 88-30, 33 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (78.4); Jon Scheyer 18.7; Kyle Singler
<< Top-ranked Jayhawks draws top overall NCAA seed
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Look who's lurking deep in the Midwest bracket where Kansas proudly sits as overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.It's none other than Tennessee and Oklahoma State - the ``2'' in that glittering 32-2 record that the Jayhawks
Kansas looms large in the Midwest >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas Jayhawks began the 2009-10
college basketball season atop the preseason polls, and so far the voters have
been spot on, as the Big 12 champs will carry that top ranking into the NCAA
Tournam
NCAA Capsules-West Regional >>
Syracuse, N.Y., 28-4.Nickname: Orangemen. Coach: Jim Boeheim.Conference: Big East. Bid: At large.Region: West. Seed: No. 1.Tournament Record: 50-32, 32 years. Last appearance: 2009.Scoring: Team (81.5); Wesley Johnson 16.0; Andy Rautins 11.7; Kris J
Indiana hoops: Hoosiers far behind state's top 3 >>
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -Basketball still rules in Indiana. Even if the Hoosiers no longer rule basketball in the stateThey're not even in the top three.For the 20th time in the past three decades, at least three teams from the state of Indiana have m
World Cup of Golf to become biennial event >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The World Cup of Golf will return in 2011 as a biennial
event so it does not conflict with the sport's inclusion in the Olympics, the
Asian Tour said Monday in a press release.
The decision to hold the team event only
Arenas: 'I deserve to be punished' for gun prank >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -Gilbert Arenas says he deserves to be punished for bringing guns to the locker room.The suspended Washington Wizards guard tells Esquire magazine he wasn't using ``longevity thinking'' when he took out four guns in what he says was
Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.
The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.
MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.
A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.
A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.
Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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