Buckeyes need a win to keep Big Ten title hopes alive
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/24/2010 - State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue their quest for the Big Ten Conference regular-season title, and they will do battle with the Penn State Nittany Lions this evening on the road.
Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State have all won 11 league games this season, and Wisconsin is just one win off the pace. Clearly, the Big Ten race will go down to the wire. The Buckeyes are playing inspired basketball, as they have won seven of their last eight games to move to 21-7 overall and 11-4 in conference. On Sunday, they posted a statement win over Michigan State in East Lansing by a 74-67 final.
As for Penn State, it has put together back-to-back wins over league foes after starting 0-12 in conference play. The Nittany Lions knocked off Michigan on the road this past Saturday in a 55-51 final, as strong defense was clearly the key to success. Still, the squad is just 10-16 overall.
The Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions, 75-62, earlier this month in Columbus to increase their lead to 26-13 in the all-time series.
Evan Turner may very well be the best college basketball player in the nation, as the Ohio State standout brings a tremendous amount of versatility to the floor. Turner is generating 19.5 ppg on 54.1 percent shooting from the field, and he is also ripping down 9.3 rpg to go along with 127 assists. Those numbers would likely be even better if Turner hadn't missed six games with a broken bone is his back. William Buford (13.9 ppg), Jon Diebler (12.5 ppg) and David Lighty (12.3 ppg) add balance to the lineup for the Buckeyes, who are generating 73.7 ppg while permitting a mere 60.4 ppg. In the seven-point road win over Michigan State, Turner racked up 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Buford added 17 points and 10 boards. Lighty had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Diebler scored 12 points for Ohio State, which had only six players see game action.
While Ohio State has four key contributors, there is only one double-digit scorer on the Penn State roster. Talor Battle is posting 19.0 ppg to go with 105 assists, but there has been many games this season in which he hasn't gotten enough help from his teammates. The Nittany Lions are generating a modest 64.9 ppg, and while they are limiting opponents to 64.0 ppg overall, it should be pointed out that the team is being outscored by 6.5 ppg in league affairs. In the thrilling win over Michigan last time out, Battle scored 14 points and added 11 rebounds and six assists, proof of his tremendous versatility. The standout guard played all 40 minutes and showed tremendous toughness. Andrew Jones added 10 points for the victors.
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Temple Owls have been one of the nation's most consistent teams this season, and they welcome the Dayton Flyers to Philadelphia this evening for an Atlantic 10 Conference showdown. Losses i
<< Mountain West showdown pits Aztecs against Cougars
Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the regular-season title in the Mountain
West Conference still up for grabs, the San Diego State Aztecs and the 13th-
ranked BYU Cougars battle each other for another win tonight as the programs
clash at the Ma
<< Aggies and Bears meet in clash of ranked Big 12 foes
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies and the 24th-
ranked Baylor Bears are set to collide in a Big 12 Conference showdown.
Texas A&M is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence right now, as the
squad ha
<< Streaking Panthers set sights on Irish
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have left
themselves some work to do down the stretch as they are in desperate need of
some quality wins to perhaps earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. One such
opportunity comes t
<< Longhorns welcome Cowboys to Austin for Big 12 showdown
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams looking to bolster their Big 12
records clash in Austin this evening, as the 21st-ranked Texas Longhorns
welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys to the Frank Erwin Center.
The Longhorns had conference title
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers hit the road this week, as they head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Big Ten action from Williams Arena. Matt Painter's Boilermakers are inchin
Seventh-ranked Wildcats try right ship in bout with Bulls >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Villanova Wildcats will
try to end their recent struggles tonight, as they entertain the South Florida
Bulls in a Big East clash at The Pavilion.
After ripping through the first part of the
Banged-up Jazz play host to Bobcats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah Jazz hope to have All-Star guard Deron Williams
and forward Andrei Kirilenko back in the lineup tonight as they welcome the
reeling Charlotte Bobcats to Salt Lake City.
The Jazz, who are just one game behin
Seventh-ranked Wildcats try to right ship in bout with Bulls >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Villanova Wildcats will
try to end their recent struggles tonight, as they entertain the South Florida
Bulls in a Big East clash at The Pavilion.
After ripping through the first part of the
Sixers continue road trip in Phoenix >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers hope to record their second road win
against a Pacific Division foe in as many nights when they face off with the
Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.
The Sixers downed Golden State last night when
Football Betting 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.
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.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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