Mountain West showdown pits Aztecs against Cougars
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/24/2010 - 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 Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
San Diego State has come on strong in recent weeks with four straight wins and victories in six of the last seven outings overall. In fact, over the last 10 games, the Aztecs have lost only twice and those came against BYU and nationally-ranked New Mexico on the road in The Pit. On Saturday, the team moved to 9-4 in conference with a 68-61 decision over Utah at home.
As for the Cougars, who like SDSU are chasing 10th-ranked New Mexico at the moment, they have already equaled last year's win total and are showing their best record ever after 28 games. At 25-3 the squad has now posted at least 25 victories in each of the last four seasons for the first time in school history. The squad drilled Wyoming over the weekend with an 85-63 romp in Laramie, the team's third win in a row.
SDSU has won at least one game against the Cougars in each of the last six seasons, but the Aztecs are a mere 3-27 in Provo since the series began. Earlier this season, BYU picked up a 71-69 win in Southern California, accounting for the only home loss of the campaign for San Diego State. As a result, the Cougars lead the all-time series by a count of 45-22.
Shooting just 20-of-33 at the free-throw line on Saturday, the Aztecs nearly let one slip away against Utah, but in the end SDSU claimed the seven-point home win on the strength of Malcolm Thomas and his career-high 28 points. Kawhi Leonard registered a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds as well. Head coach Steve Fisher has his team moving in the right direction when it counts the most, but he still has to be concerned with the fact that this group is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country, ranking 329th as of Sunday with a level of accuracy that measures a mere 60.5 percent. Thomas (10.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg) is one of the biggest culprits with a feeble 66-of-132 showing at the charity stripe through 27 games. If it were not for Leonard (12.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and his somewhat respectable 70.1 percent shooting at the line, there's no telling how bad off the Aztecs might be at this point.
BYU shot only 43.9 percent from the field and 7-of-22 behind the three-point line in the meeting with the Wyoming Cowboys over the weekend, but the squad also held an advantage on the glass (43-31) and had few turnovers (six) in order to cruise to the 22-point road victory. Tyler Haws shared the spotlight with Jimmer Fredette as they both delivered 22 points, while Jonathan Tavernari turned in another strong effort off the bench with his 17 points and eight boards, followed by Jackson Emery with 10 points to complete the list of double-digit scorers. The Cougars were right on target with their scoring production, the team averaging 82.8 ppg at the moment to rank fourth in the nation. What's even more impressive is that the team entered the week ranked second in the country in scoring margin, second only to top-ranked Kansas, beating foes by 19.2 ppg. Fredette has been a scoring phenom in 2009-10, putting up 21.5 ppg as he shoots not only 48.8 percent behind the three-point line but also 89.9 percent at the charity stripe. Because of him, BYU is first in the nation at the line, hitting 77.9 percent, which is head-and-shoulders beyond the competition at just 66.7 percent right now.
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Golden Gophers in Big Ten action from Williams Arena.
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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.