Battle's late heroics lifts Nittany Lions past No. 23 Illinois

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/05/2009 - University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State is quickly turning into a basketball school, as Talor Battle's leaning bank shot in traffic with three- tenths of a second to play lifted the Nittany Lions to a resume-building 64-63 victory over No. 23 Illinois, capping a season sweep of the Fighting Illini.

Known for ages as the home of Joe Paterno and 110,000-seat Beaver Stadium, Penn State fans stormed the court at the buzzer of the school's biggest victory in the Ed DeChellis era. The Nittany Lions (21-9, 10-7 Big Ten) tied a school record with their 10th Big Ten victory and can take the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with a victory over Iowa this weekend coupled with a Purdue loss.

Battle struggled to 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting, and seemed to squander the Nittany Lions' chance at victory by turning the basketball over near the top of the circle in the closing seconds.

Mike Davis was then fouled with just over eight ticks to go, but badly missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Battle dribbled nearly the length of the floor only to find a forest of Illini defenders in the paint. He angled his body and laid the basketball off the glass with 0.3 ticks to go.

The Illini (23-8, 11-7) didn't get off a shot, dropping its second straight contest.

Stanley Pringle scored 20 points on this birthday, and Jamelle Cornley added seven points and seven rebounds in his last home game.

Demetri McCamey led the Illini with 16 points and seven assists, Mike Tisdale donated 12 points with six rebounds and Chester Frazier had 11 points in defeat.

While comparable in its competitiveness, the second contest between these two teams had a distinctly different feel than Penn State's 38-33 victory two weeks ago.

The Illini scored just 15 first-half points in that contest, but reached that scoring plateau with 12:45 left in the first half. Frazier's pullup with just under eight minutes to go gave the Illini a 25-15 edge.

The Nittany Lions battled back to a 31-29 deficit on Battle's layup, and Cornley's free throw just before the horn kept the margin at two points, 34-32.

Illinois scored more points in the first half (34) than it did the entire game in Champaign (33).

Another marvel was Illinois' absence at the free throw line. Illinois shot its first free throw in the season series with 14:27 left in the second half, a total of 65 minutes, 33 seconds until it shot free throws against Penn State.

Illinois led 60-50 on Calvin Brock's tip-in with just over five minutes to go, but the Nittany Lions dominated down the stretch.

Danny Morrissey was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three on the next offensive possession. Pringle's baseline jumper moments later cut the deficit to 61-55, and Battle's two free throws matched Dominique Keller's layup for a 63-57 game with 3:41 to play.

Pringle's three with 1:49 to play cut the margin to a one-possession game, and David Jackson's free throws with 58 seconds left made the score 63-62.

The frantic finish ensued from there.

Game Notes

Penn State shot 43.4 percent from the field and scored 24 points in the paint...The Illini matched the Nittany Lions in the paint and shot 48.2 percent, however they hit only 2-of-7 free throws...Illinois still leads the all-time series, 21-11.

Freeporm NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Musketeers down Dayton in heated rivalry
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dante' Jackson scored 14 points, including the first 11 for Xavier, and the 17th-ranked Musketeers clinched at least a share of its third straight Atlantic 10 regular season championship with a 76-59 t

<< Preds double up Blue Jackets for sixth straight win
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Sullivan notched the game-winning goal late in the second period, as Nashville doubled up Columbus, 4-2, at Sommet Center. Vernon Fiddler, Ryan Jones and Martin Erat also lit the lamp for

<< Flyers F Briere suffers groin injury
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Flyers forward Danny Briere left Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames with a groin injury. "Right now all we know is that he tweaked his groin again and we'll see how it is tomo

<< Paul leads Hornets to sixth straight win
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half and dished out 15 assists, as the Hornets stretched their season-best winning streak to six games with a 104-88 dismantling of the Dallas

<< Stanford downs slumping Sun Devils
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landry Fields scored a team-high 20 points on 8- of-12 shooting, as Stanford stunned 21st-ranked Arizona State, 74-64, at Wells-Fargo Arena. Anthony Goods finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three a

Bartoli advances; Pennetta ousted in Monterrey >>
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marion Bartoli of France had little trouble in Thursday's second-round match, but Italy's Flavia Pennetta didn't fare as well at the inaugural Monterrey Open women's tennis event. The second-seed

Koivu leads Wild comeback of Sharks >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu scored twice, including the game- winner with 14 seconds left in overtime, as the Minnesota Wild rallied from a three-goal deficit to upend the San Jose Sharks, 4-3, at HP Pavilion. Pierre-Marc

Anthony returns from suspension, guides Nuggets over Blazers >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony went wild to the tune of 38 points in his return from a one-game suspension, as Denver rolled to a 106-90 victory over Portland. Anthony drained 16-of-26 shots after serving the one-

No. 20 UCLA crushes Oregon State >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Shipp scored a career-best 27 points, guiding 20th-ranked UCLA to a 79-54 rout of Oregon State, as the Bruins kept their hopes alive for a share of a fourth straight Pac-10 regular season title.

Barnes falls into share of lead in New Zealand >>
Christchurch, New Zealand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Overnight leader Kurt Barnes only managed a one-under 71 on Friday, but it was enough to share the second-round lead of the New Zealand PGA Championship. Gareth Paddison and Josh Teater both s

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.

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

About MySportsbook.com:


MySportsbook.com  is the largest sportsbook and casino on the planet, where millions of adult Americans bet on sports, play poker and enjoy blackjack and other casino games online in a regulated and licensed jurisdiction. Named the "Best online Sports Book" by the industry's top magazine, eGaming Review, MySportsbook.com has been leading the online gaming industry since 1996. Dwarfing its nearest competitors in the US, MySportsbook.com has been the first to achieve every significant industry milestone, from record turnover to active users to number of bets--achieving a peak of fifteen bets per second. As the US online gaming leader, the firm and it's products have been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, CNN, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Financial Times, USA Today and in every major newspaper in the US.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.