College Basketball Betting Preview: Pac-10
Pac-10 play tips off today, and while the conference is down from last season after losing so much top talent to the NBA, it is still competitive and looks like eight teams will battle for perhaps five NCAA Tournament bids. Don't expect Pac-10 favorite UCLA to win the league by three games again or any team to win 16 games in conference play. The Bruins have not demonstrated they will be a national power that was expected again, and the Pac-10 is just 1-9 SU against teams that are currently ranked in the top-25 with projected top teams UCLA, Arizona State and USC going 0-4. However, Cal , Stanford and Arizona have been better than expected and will push for a NCAA bid. The league is still loaded with some top-end talent that project to be high NBA picks; James Harden (ASU), Darren Collison and Jrue Holliday (UCLA), Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill (Arizona) and freshman DeMar DeRozan (USC).
The Pac-10 conference posted a 31-3 record over the past two weeks and is 88-29 (75%) in non-league play; a little below last seasons success and stellar non-conference performance of 79% win rate.
Here is a brief look at the teams as provided by a conference reporter and I've chipped-in some additional thoughts on each team as well. Check back later today as I may post my analysis on a match-up this evening.
UCLA: Non-conference games exposed a void in the paint, and the Bruins have no substitute for the dynamic play of departed Russell Westbrook. UCLA is a little undersized and less experienced in the post, but with Collison handling things at the point, Holiday improving and Ben Howland's defense choking opponents, UCLA remains the team to beat, especially now that Josh Shipp is healthy.
Arizona State: Harden's numbers in nearly every category are turning heads, and Herb Sendek's combination defense keeps the Sun Devils in every game. Harden leads the league in scoring (23ppg) and Pendergraph leads in shooting (65% FG). ASU does not have the overall talent to cruise past anyone, and while they rely heavily on the three-pointer and try to set-up some backdoor plays, it will take some solid defenders to hold off Harden and ASU's solid shooters.
USC: DeRozan has not been dominant, but he has improved lately. Tim Floyd can devise special defenses to stymie Pac-10 opponents, and Taj Gibson is a top-notch big man in a conference lacking in top-notch big men. The Trojans are getting solid production from experienced 6-5 guards Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett, and while freshman forward Leonard Washington (ankle) will miss several Pac-10 games, USC benefits with the addition of Connecticut transfer Marcus Johnson, who became eligible last week.
Arizona: With perhaps the best Pac-10 players at two positions - Budinger at small forward and Hill at center - the Wildcats are automatically a threat against anyone and wins over Gonzaga and Kansas prove the point. Some tough losses could follow with inexperience interim head coach Russ Pennell guiding the Wildcats, but Arizona in the mix again for their 25th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Washington: The Huskies have won seven in a row, and despite so so play, they have the talent to finish near the top. Jon Brockman has been slowed by injuries but should be effective in conference play. Freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas has been impressive, but Pac-10 play is a different challenge. Washington has nine players averaging at least 15 minutes per game and the Huskies are pushing the pace while also sporting a better defensive presence and the league's top offensive rebounding team.
Cal: Jerome Randle was supposed to be the question. Turns out, he's the answer. The most improved player in the conference, the point guard gives the Bears a shot at the postseason after being picked to finish near the bottom. First-year Cal coach Mike Montgomery is familiar with the league following great success at rival Stanford, and Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson, the nations top 3-point shooter, provide solid shooting from the perimeter.
Washington State: Experience is required in the intricate Tony Bennett defense, and the Cougars miss graduated Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver. Their tough non-conference schedule and grinding style should serve them well in conference play. Freshman Klay Thompson can score, but point guard Taylor Rochestie has not shot well. The Cougars are holding opponents to under 50ppg and 34% shooting, both league bests, but they will have to score more themselves as those numbers will rise facing better players and teams more familiar with coach Bennett's style.
Stanford: The Cardinal is undefeated and unranked, which shows what a mystery they are. They might be great some games and mediocre others, but should do better than the predicted ninth-place finish. First year coach Johnny Dawkins should get a wake up call in conference play, but the Cardinal players have adapted well to Dawkins up-tempo style and system and Stanford has three experienced seniors in Mitch Johnson, Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill to provide leadership through some tough times.
Oregon: The Ducks are relying on freshmen and making too many mistakes. Starting guards Tajuan Porter and Garrett Sim have nearly as many turnovers (46) as assists (51). Oregon is 2-5 in its past seven games, including an overtime home win against Portland . Freshman Michael Dunigan and Sim provide promise for the future, but coach Ernie Kent will feel the heat throughout the season.
Oregon State: The Beavers are improving under Craig Robinson, especially since Calvin Haynes regained academic eligibility two weeks ago. They could win a few conference games, but that season-opening loss to Howard showed how far they have to go. Oregon State has won 4-in a row entering conference play, and the Beavers were 0-16 in Pac-10 play last year. They may lose their first eight again before a non-conference opponent visits Corvallis the end of January.
(c) 2007 SPORTSMEMO, INC.
NCAA Basketball MVC Power Poll
COLLEGE BASKETBALL BETTING -- Missouri Valley Conference Power Poll
1: Wichita State Shockers (4-1 ATS, 5-5 SU) The Shockers disappointed sports betting fans for the first time this season, beating Northern Arizona 58-53 as double-digit favorites. MVC play starts this week with a trip to Creighton, but North Dakota is up first.
This Week: Home vs. North Dakota, Away at Creighton
2: Illinois State Redbirds (5-2 ATS, 11-0 SU) Could this be the Cinderella team out of the MVC this season? The Redbirds covered against Illinois-Chicago with a 67-60 victory, and have very quietly improved to 11-0 this year. ISU was one win from making the Big Dance last year, and looked poised to return to the MVC title game this year.
This Week: Home vs. Missouri State
3: Evansville Purple Aces (4-2 ATS, 8-2 SU) The Aces may go down in history as the team that gave up the UNC scoring record to F Tyler Hansbrough, but they had nothing to be ashamed about in their trip to Chapel Hill. Evansville lost 91-73, but easily covered the 30.5-point spread. Conference play kicks off this week when the defending MVC champs come to town.
This Week: Home vs. Drake
4: Creighton Bluejays (4-2 ATS, 9-2 SU) Creighton's winning streak stretched to six games this week after trouncing Fresno State 84-65 on the road on Monday night. The 19-point win easily covered the 12-point spread, and the Blue Jays will enter MVC play after the holiday break with tons of momentum.
This Week: off
5: Drake Bulldogs (4-3 ATS, 9-2 SU) The defending MVC champions stuck another feather in the Valley's cap last week, knocking off Big Ten rep Iowa 60-43. It was the second victory over a major conference opponent this season. The quest to head to another NCAA Tournament begins this week with a trip to Evansville.
This Week: Away at Evansville
6: Missouri State Bears (3-5 ATS, 7-3 SU) It was a rough week to be a Bears' bettors. Though SMS picked up a pair of victories over UC-Irvine and Norfolk State, the spread wasn't really threatened in either game. A showdown with undefeated Illinois State will kick off MVC play this week, but first comes a date with Middle Tennessee.
This Week: Home vs. Middle Tennessee State, Home vs. Illinois State
7: Southern Illinois Salukis (3-6 ATS, 4-6 SU) The '08-'09 season looks like it's going to be disappointing for the perennially powerful Salukis. They dropped a 65-52 decision to St. Mary's over the weekend, erasing the memories of the solid 73-58 win at Southern last year. They'll take on another MAC opponent this week when Western Michigan comes to town before kicking off MVC play.
This Week: Home vs. Western Michigan, Away at Bradley
8: Indiana State Sycamores (3-6 ATS, 2-8 SU) Indiana State notched its second win of the season with a 66-60 win over DePauw on Saturday. The team has only hit 70 points twice this season, and without the ability to score more points, the Sycamores will struggle throughout the entirety of MVC play.
9: Bradley Braves (2-5 ATS, 5-5 SU) No one wearing Braves colors will be sad to see the month of December go. Bradley is 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS this month, and it still has three games to go before 2009. The latest defeat was at the hands of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. If the Braves can't pick up a win this week, something's really wrong.
This Week: Home vs. SIU-Edwardsville
10: Northern Iowa Panthers (1-6 ATS, 6-5 SU) The Panthers knocked off South Dakota State 72-55 in just their second home game of the month last Sunday. The squad is still undefeated this year at home, and will put that on the line with the MVC opener this week against the Sycamores.
This Week: Home vs. Indiana State
(c) 1994-2008 BetUS.
Hoyas face Tigers in Top 20 clash
This weekend's big NCAA basketball betting action comes from Georgetown, where online sports betting players will have to decide whether the Hoyas can make their homecourt advantage count against Memphis. State rivals Xavier and Cincinnati will square off with the Muskateers' unbeaten record on the line, and UCLA will head to DePaul to try and avoid a hoops betting upset.
Memphis vs Georgetown
The No.19 Hoyas should be NCAA basketball betting favorites at home, and they will be looking to avenge a loss at Memphis last season. The No.17 Tigers like to get up and down the floor, but they will be facing one of the nation's best defenses in a hostile environment.
Xavier vs Cincinnati
The No.10 Muskeeters take an 8-0 mark into this rivalry game, and they have had the edge over the Bearcats recently, winning six of their last ten meetings. However, the games are usually closely contested, and this should be no different as both teams rank in the top 20 in opposition field-goal percentage. Sports wagering players will want to consider the UNDER in their offshore sportsbooks. Cincinnati will probably be the NCAA basketball betting favorite at home due to homecourt advantage.
UCLA vs DePaul
The No.16 Bruins should be NCAA basketball betting favorites on the road in this contest, and they will be going up against a DePaul team that has lost three in a row. UCLA is shooting 50% from the field so far this year, and the Blue Demons' defense isn't all that great. The Bruins have won both their career meetings with the Blue Demons.
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Knight talks basketball, retirement with announcers Nantz, Packer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Bob Knight wouldn't rule out the possibility of one day returning to coaching.
Joining former President George H.W. Bush at a forum Wednesday, Knight was noncommittal when announcer Jim Nantz asked if he'd ever consider coaching again.
"I don't know," Knight said. "I enjoyed coaching (but) I like fishing. I like helping my wife around the house ... nobody could have enjoyed coaching and the people I've gotten to know more than I have."
Knight, who resigned from Texas Tech in February as the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history with 902 victories, joined Nantz and commentator Billy Packer at the event billed as a "Final Four Forum."
Knight has recently been working as a commentator for ESPN. He and the other two panelists talked plenty about basketball in general but didn't address the Final Four much in the hour-long program at the Bush presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M.
The group answered questions from audience members in a packed auditorium that included the Texas A&M men's and women's basketball teams.
When asked who they liked to win the tournament this weekend, they all avoided a direct answer, instead musing on leadership and concentration and sharing anecdotes of Knight's Final Four teams.
Knight won three championships at Indiana. Memphis, UCLA, Kansas and North Carolina are in the Final Four this year.
"I just think that in this setting concentration is the most important thing," Knight said. "The team that wins will not make a lot of great plays, but it won't make many mistakes."
Packer will call his 34th consecutive Final Four this weekend and the semifinal game will mark his 100th Final Four game. Nantz has joined him since 1991.
Knight does have some thoughts about the makeup of the tournament and proposed upping the number of teams that qualify for it to 128 to ensure the best teams are included.
"I think 128 is perfect," he said. "Extend it a week if you have to."
Not surprisingly, the fiery coach has strong opinions about a number of subjects including the introduction of the 3-point shot into basketball (terrible), the Hall of Fame (not a fan) and college administrators (not too fond of them, either.)
He shared his thoughts on the school administrators when asked about Sean Sutton resigning as coach at Oklahoma State under pressure on Tuesday. Sutton took over for his father, Eddie Sutton, two years ago.
Knight's son, Pat, took over as Texas Tech coach after his resignation.
"As great as the NCAA tournament is, one thing that has effected coaches is not getting into it for two or three years," he said. "I think that school administrators have a tremendous lack of understanding of what their team is capable of doing."
Knight criticized the Hall of Fame for allowing international candidates to be enshrined, while ignoring Packer and ESPN's Dick Vitale. Nantz, a University of Houston graduate, expressed his disappointment at former Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis' omission from it. Lewis is in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
"There are some people there that I look at and I say, 'What was it that he contributed?" Knight said. "Dick Vitale and Billy are far more deserving for their contributions to the game."
Packer, who is on the hall's board of directors, got into a spirited debate with Knight about the inclusion of international contributors and said it should be all inclusive.
"It is a very, very difficult thing for an American coach or player who has not won national championships ... to get in there," Packer said of Lewis.
Lewis, who is 86 and in poor health, retired with 592 wins. His teams made five Final Four appearances, but never won a title.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Tulsa 73, Houston 69
TULSA, Okla. -- Ben Uzoh scored 22 points and Jerome Jordan added 18 points and 15 rebounds as Tulsa edged Conference USA rival Houston 73-69 Wednesday to reach the championship round of the College Basketball Invitational.
Tulsa (23-13) will play Bradley in a best-of-three championship round beginning Monday in Tulsa. The two teams have not met since Tulsa was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1995-96 season.
Uzoh drove the lane and laid the ball in over two Houston players with 1:13 left to give the Golden Hurricane a 72-66 advantage.
Robert McKiver hit the last of his six 3-pointers with 1:03 left to cut the deficit in half at 72-69. Jordan blocked McKiver's drive on Houston's next possession, but the Cougars got the ball back with 11 seconds left and set up another 3-point attempt by McKiver.
The shot hit the rim but didn't go in, allowing Jordan to rebound. He was fouled and made one of two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to seal the victory.
McKiver finished with 30 points and Kelvin Lewis added 11 points for Houston (24-10).
Calvin Walls had 12 for Tulsa, which had a 52-32 advantage over Houston on the boards.
Tulsa led by as many as eight in the first half before settling for a 41-36 lead at halftime.
Houston tied the game in the first minute of the second half and it was nip-and-tuck from there, with Houston's largest lead coming at 59-56 on a drive by Lewis with 10:14 left.
Tulsa went on a 7-2 run, capped by a steal and layup by Ray Reese, to regain the lead for good.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Florida's Donovan kicks players out of practice facility
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- When the Florida Gators lost in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, they knew it knocked them out of the NCAA tournament field.
They had no idea it also would get them kicked out of their practice facility.
Coach Billy Donovan, feeling like his players had settled into a state of complacency and entitlement, banned them from Florida's $12 million facility. He also told them they couldn't wear any Florida attire.
"Probably in some respects the confetti is still falling down around them," Donovan said Monday. "When you have great success like we've had, I think it's very, very easy to become complacent and to lose sight of how good things are around here and to have an attitude of, 'I'm at Florida. This is just what's going to happen."
The two-time reigning national champion Gators (21-11) lost eight of their final 11 games, including the last four, and missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998. They became the first defending champion to not make it back to the tournament since probation-stricken Kansas in 1989.
Florida settled for a spot in the NIT, where they will host San Diego State on Wednesday night.
The Gators also found themselves fighting to get back into their state-of-the-art facility, which houses the team locker room, the practice court, the video room, the weight room, both national championship trophies and pieces of both floors on which Florida won it all.
Players spent the last four days shuffling between the O'Connell Center practice floor and the antiquated Florida Gym.
"He just wants to teach us a lesson that it takes time to earn stuff," freshman guard Nick Calathes said. "He's really going to make us earn it. I like that. I don't see that as a problem at all. I think it will help us in the long run."
Added freshman Jai Lucas: "When he feels we're ready and playing like the University of Florida should play, then we'll move (back) in."
It might not happen anytime soon.
Football coach Urban Meyer, who has developed a close relationship with Donovan, pulled a similar move in summer 2005. Meyer barred players from the locker room and told them they couldn't wear orange and blue or anything with the Gators logo on it.
He also removed the large replica gator head that was on display between the locker room and Florida Field. Players typically rub the head for good luck before games.
Meyer's players responded by winning nine games for the first time in four years. They won the national title the following season.
Donovan can only hope for similar results from a team he has criticized for not having enough dedication, passion to win and willingness to play defense.
"One of the things that creates a tremendous level of complacency in anybody is after something very, very big happens," said Donovan, who has used motivational tactics extensively in recent years. "It's very easy to have a letdown. It's not these guys' fault. They walked into this. They walked into what happened.
"They got a facility that the administration has invested a lot in. It's one of the best in the country. They've got a massage therapist to make sure they're OK after games. They've got a private plane that they take to games. The meals that they eat. All those things, these guys came here and went right to the penthouse."
Calathes and Lucas acknowledged that players felt a sense of entitlement during this season. They also echoed Donovan's remarks that none of the players knew what it took to win at the college level or what they needed to do every day in practice to make the NCAA tournament.
Now, Donovan hopes missing the tournament -- they actually practiced during the selection show since there was no reason to watch -- will prove to be a humbling experience that will pay off down the road.
Kicking them out of the locker room could help, too.
"I think we're going to have this taste in our mouths all the way until we make the NCAA tournament," Lucas said. "This is something that will never leave us. This pain is unbearable. If this doesn't (motivate us), I don't know what will. This might be one of the worst things that could happen to the team."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Charlotte native leads Ga. Tech past Virginia 94-76
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Anthony Morrow scored 18 points in his return to his hometown Thursday night, and Georgia Tech pulled away from Virginia late, winning 94-76 in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Jeremis Smith also scored 18 points for the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (15-16), who shot 56.9 percent -- the team's best in league tournament play -- and knocked down 54 percent of their 3-pointers. They won their third straight and advanced to Friday night's quarterfinal against second-seeded Duke.
Sean Singletary had 20 points and 10 assists and Mamadi Diane added 18 points while making his first seven shots for Virginia (15-15), which lost its league tournament opener for the second straight year.
Maurice Miller and Zack Peacock added 14 points apiece and Alade Aminu finished with 11 for the Yellow Jackets, who avoided their third straight opening-game loss since they fell to Duke in the 2005 championship game. They did it with yet another strong shooting game against the Cavaliers; they shot 51 percent in a 92-82 overtime victory two months ago in Charlottesville.
Georgia Tech finally created some separation in this one midway through the second half. After Singletary tied it for the last time when his jumper in the lane made it 59-59 with 11:43 left, the Cavaliers were held to one field goal during the 6 1/2-minute span that followed.
Alade Aminu started the decisive run 20 seconds later, sticking back the miss of Miller's 3 to make it 61-59. The Yellow Jackets came up with points on eight of their next nine trips downcourt, and Aminu capped that spurt with a fast-break dunk to make it 76-64 with 7:21 to play.
Lauryna Mikalauskas ended the Cavaliers' drought with a layup with 5:12 remaining that made it a 76-67, but Virginia didn't get any closer than that in losing for the third time in five games.
The Yellow Jackets' decisive run broke open a tight game that featured 14 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. At one point, the lead changed hands on nine consecutive baskets, and neither led by more than five points.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
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