Bears and Wildcats meet in Big 12 Tournament semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats and the 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are slated to collide in the semifinal round of the 2010 Big 12 Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Awaiting the winner of this contest is a matchup with either top-seeded Kansas or fourth-seeded Texas A&M in Saturday's championship game.

Second-seeded Baylor was dominant in yesterday's 86-67 quarterfinal romp over sixth-seeded Texas. Now, the goal is obvious, as the program has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 9-12 all-time in the event. Scott Drew has done a phenomenal job of resurrecting a program that was in peril when he arrived, and the 2009-10 Bears own a 25-6 overall record. They carry a four-game win streak into tonight's affair.

As for Kansas State, the tournament's second seed, it crushed Oklahoma State by an 83-64 final in yesterday's quarterfinal round. The program has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 8-13 all-time in games at the event. This year's group of Wildcats is a serious threat to capture the crown, however, as the club entered the tournament with a 24-6 overall record, including 11-5 in league action.

The Wildcats holds a slim 11-10 series advantage over Baylor after a thrilling 74-72 victory over the Bears during the regular season.

Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh is sometimes overshadowed by his teammates, but the forward has been a key to the team's success all season. He stepped to the forefront against Texas yesterday, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor en route to 25 points. Tweety Carter added 20 points for the Bears, who received 19 points from LaceDarius Dunn. Baylor connected on 53.6 percent of its field goal attempts in that clash and limited the Longhorns to 36.4 percent efficiency. Through 31 games, the Bears are scoring 77.7 ppg while allowing only 65.4 ppg on 38.1 percent shooting by foes. They are outrebounding foes by 6.9 rpg and are paced by Dunn's 19.2 ppg. Carter is generating 16.0 ppg to go along with an impressive total of 167 assists, and Udoh brings 13.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 124 blocks to the mix.

Kansas State was dominant in the first half against Oklahoma State yesterday, as the Wildcats shot 53.1 percent from the floor and limited the Cowboys to 33.3 percent efficiency en route to a 25-point halftime lead. For the game, K-State finished with a 43-27 rebounding advantage and racked up 20 assists. Jamar Samuels was outstanding, as he racked up 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes of action. Jacob Pullen scored 19 points on the strength of a 5-of-8 effort from three-point range, and Denis Clemente added 12 points and 10 assists. Dominique Sutton rounded out a foursome of double- digit scorers with 11 points for Kansas State, which is posting 80.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 69.2 ppg this season. Pullen continues to pace his squad with 18.9 ppg, and Clemente adds 15.9 ppg and 128 assists. Samuels contributes 12.0 ppg, and Curtis Kelly adds 11.3 ppg. The Wildcats are outrebounding opponents by 5.6 rpg, key to their success.

Freeporm NCAA Basketball Betting News


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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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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.