Bears face tall task in NCAA Tournament clash with Mountaineers
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/19/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers are obviously heavily favored in this afternoon's clash with the 15th-seeded Morgan State Bears in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a second-round meeting with either seventh-seeded Clemson or 10th-seeded Missouri, fellow East Region participants.
Not only did Morgan State win the regular-season crown in the MEAC, the team went on to capture the league's tourney title as well. At 27-9 overall, the Bears are a confident club, led by head coach Todd Bozeman. MEAC teams have recorded two wins over second-seeded squads in former NCAA Tournaments, so there is reason for some hope. Last season, Morgan State made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I program, and the result was a 28- point loss to Oklahoma in the first round.
West Virginia is making its 23rd appearance in the "Big Dance" and third straight under head coach Bob Huggins. The Mountaineers, who are 27-6 overall, won the Big East Tournament title and had a resume' that was certainly worthy of No. 1 seed consideration, so Huggins didn't attempt to conceal the fact that he was disappointing with the No. 2 seed. The club finished sixth in the final AP Poll, the best finish for the program since placing fifth in 1960. WVU is 20-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is heavily favored in this opener.
The Mountaineers beat the Bears by 28 points in the only previous meeting between the programs during the 1995-96 campaign.
Morgan State garnered the top four individual awards given annually by the MEAC. Reggie Holmes is the MEAC Player of the Year, while Bozeman is the league's Coach of the Year. DeWayne Jackson is the MEAC Rookie of the Year, and Kevin Thompson is the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Let's start with Holmes, an explosive senior guard who nets 21.8 ppg despite shooting just 39.3 percent from the floor. Thompson is ripping down 11.9 rpg to go along with 50 blocks, and he is scoring 12.8 ppg. As for Jackson, he provides 10.1 ppg on the strength of his 43.9 percent three-point efficiency. The Bears are generating 76.8 ppg while allowing 70.2 ppg to foes. Holmes is a streaky shooter who can completely dominate a game when he gets hot. He closed out the regular season with back-to-back games of 32 and 36 points, but then failed to reach 20 points in any of the three conference tournament games.
West Virginia played a couple of tough non-conference games during the regular season, and while the club did fall to Purdue on the road, it managed to knock off Ohio State in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are averaging 73.0 ppg through 33 contests, and they are limiting opponents to 63.8 ppg on 42.4 percent shooting from the floor. Da'Sean Butler is generating 17.4 ppg to pace the team, and the versatile standout has also handed out 109 assists. Kevin Jones, who has started all 33 games alongside Butler, checks in with 13.5 ppg on 51.9 percent shooting from the floor, and he is ripping down 7.1 rpg. The top rebounder on the squad is Devin Ebanks with his 8.2 rpg, and he rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.8 ppg. WVU is outrebounding foes by 6.8 rpg, key to the team's overall success. Also, the Mountaineers have done a solid job of keeping turnovers to a minimum.
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-seeded Clemson Tigers and the 10th- seeded Missouri Tigers will do battle this afternoon in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament from HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The winner of this East Regional b
<< Big Red hoping to score upset of Owls in NCAA Tournament
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What is expected to be one of the most
competitive games of the NCAA Tournament's first round pits the fifth-seeded
Temple Owls against the 12th-seeded Cornell Big Red in East Region action at
Veterans Memori
<< Terps open tourney play against Cougars
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins have won
their last nine first-round matchups in the NCAA Tournament and they will try
to continue that streak tonight against the 13th-seeded Houston Cougars at
Spokane Memori
<< Midwest Regional action pits Cowboys against Yellow Jackets
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
and the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys go head-to-head tonight in the
first round of the NCAA TOurnament at the Bradley Center. The winner of this
Midwest Regio
<< Cardinals and Golden Bears collide in South Region's first round
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eight and nine seeds of the South
Region will tangle this evening in first-round action of the NCAA Tournament
at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, when the California Golden Bears
battle the Loui
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding an 11-game win streak, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies are in to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history as they confront the Pittsburgh Panthers in first-round action in the West Regional
Orange hope to avoid upset in NCAA Tournament clash with Catamounts >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With teams from the Big East Conference an
endangered species after just one day of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the
Syracuse Orange try to prove that they deserved their top seeding in the West
Regional as they take
Top-seeded Duke opens tourney play against Arkansas-Pine Bluff >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions will
take part in their first-ever NCAA Tournament and their reward is a meeting
against the Duke Blue Devils in first round action of the South Region at
Jacksonville Vet
Upset-minded Saints set sights on Boilermakers >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Siena Saints will try to shake things up in
the NCAA Tournament when they battle the Purdue Boilermakers this afternoon in
first-round action of the South Region at Spokane Veterans Arena.
The Saints will b
Utah State and Texas A&M meet in South Regional action >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aggies will collide in first-round action in
the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, when Utah State and Texas A&M meet at
the Spokane Memorial Arena.
The Aggies from Utah State will be making their 19th a
Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
|
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com
Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
Football Betting Lines
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.