Streaking Panthers set sights on Irish
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/24/2010 - 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 tonight, as the Irish welcome the 12th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers to South Bend for a Big East matchup at the Joyce Center.
The Panthers comes into this contest red-hot, having won five straight games, including an impressive 70-65 besting of Villanova this past weekend. With the victory, Pitt is now 10-4 in league play, still within striking distance of both Syracuse (13-2) and Villanova (11-3).
The Irish on the other hand, are a mere 6-8 in league play, thanks to three straight losses to Seton Hall, St. John's and last week's heart-breaker at Louisville (91-89 in double overtime). However, with Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut and Marquette still on the docket, the Irish can bolster their record down the stretch.
Pittsburgh has been able to take a narrow 27-26 lead in the all-time series with Notre Dame thanks to wins in six of the last seven meetings.
The Panthers are not flashy at the offensive end of the floor, but they are effective, averaging 68.7 ppg on a steady .441 shooting. Where the team really excels is at the defensive end, limiting the opposition to a mere 61.4 ppg and holding foes under 40 percent shooting (.395), while outrebounding them by 5.5 boards per contest. The scoring pool features a quartet of reliable assets, led by Ashton Gibbs. The 6-2 sophomore guard leads the team in scoring at 16.4 ppg, thanks in large part to his team-high 61 three-pointers. Brad Wanamaker has proved to be a solid scorer (12.3 ppg), rebounder (6.1 rpg) and distributor (team-high 119 assists). Gilbert Brown comes off the bench with 11.1 ppg, followed by Jermaine Dixon's 10.3 ppg. Pitt opened up a 10-point lead in the first half and kept the Wildcats at arm's length the rest of the way in a huge win for the Panthers. Gibbs led the way with 21 points. Brown added 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench, while Dixon chipped in with 10.
The Irish almost pulled out a win at Louisville last week despite being without the services of All-American candidate Luke Harangody, who missed his second straight game with a knee bruise. The Irish shot .475 from the floor in the game, but a 35-23 disparity in points from the foul line proved costly. The loss spoiled solid efforts from Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson. Abromaitis hit 11 of his 18 shots to lead the team with 29 points. Hansbrough poured in 21, while Jackson finished with 19 points and seven assists. Harangody is the stabilizing force down low for Notre Dame, leading the conference in scoring (24.1 ppg) and ranking third in rebounding (10.0 rpg). However, he is expected to miss his third straight game, leaving a noticeable void in the paint. Abromaitis (17.3 ppg) is capable of picking up the scoring burden, thanks to his .490 percentage from long range. Hansbrough (12.1 ppg) is both a scorer (12.1 ppg) and distributor (4.7 apg), as is Jackson (9.1 ppg, Big East-best 5.7 apg).
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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