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New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse remained a solid No. 1 Monday in the Associated Press college basketball poll. The undefeated Orange (13-0) received 54 first-place votes, up one from last week, after beating Bucknell and Tulane in their final non-conference games.
Missouri, Connecticut and Florida rounded out the top 10 and were followed by Wisconsin, Georgetown, Indiana, Marquette, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Kansas, Michigan, UNLV, Murray State, Creighton, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Harvard and San Diego State to finish the top 25.
San Diego State was also a new addition to the poll this week, while Xavier and Illinois fell out.
As for the Badgers, they too have spent the majority of their non-conference slate at home, ensconced in the Kohl Center where they have recorded eight wins in nine tries. On December 23, the team crushed Mississippi Valley State in a 79-45 final for their fifth consecutive win. Wisconsin, which has lost only to Marquette (61-54) and North Carolina (60-57), moved up two spaces yesterday in the most current AP top-25 rankings.
The Huskers are ahead in the all-time series between the teams with a 10-6 mark, although the most recent matchup in 1998 fell in favor of the Badgers by a score of 78-41 on a neutral floor. Prior to that, the last win for Wisconsin came in 1955 (71-52).
The Huskers made good on 58.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but then dropped down to 40.9 percent in the second half against Central Michigan last week. Luckily, Nebraska saved itself by connecting on 19-of-25 at the free-throw line after the break as it dealt with not having two of its top scorers in action. All five starters scored in double figures as Bo Spencer and Brandon Richardson both delivered 15 points, the former also handing out nine of the team's 17 assists. Brandon Ubel, Toney McCray and Caleb Walker all tossed in 11 points for the group, with McCray clearing eight boards as well. Without Brian Jorge Diaz (10.9 ppg) and Dylan Talley (9.1 ppg) the Huskers are leaning more heavily on Spencer who is putting up a team-leading 16.0 ppg in his first season with the program. Spencer has also handed out 47 assists and made 17 steals which helps to compensate for his 41.5 percent shooting from the floor thus far. While the Nebraska defense isn't anywhere near as powerful as that of the Badgers, the Huskers have to be pleased with the fact that they've been able to limit opponents to only 61.1 ppg to this point.
Notre Dame owns a narrow 29-27 edge in the all-time series between these rivals thanks to three straight wins over the Panthers.
The top offensive performer for Pittsburgh is Ashton Gibbs, as he is netting 17.2 ppg despite his disappointing 37.7 percent shooting from the field. Gibbs gets a significant amount of help from fellow guard Tray Woodall, who checks in with 14.1 ppg and over eight assists per contest. Woodall however, is sidelined indefinitely due to injury. Rounding out a trio of double-digit scorers is Nasir Robinson with 12.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg, and he is shooting a blistering 68.3 percent from the field. The Panthers are shooting 49.3 percent as a team while scoring 76.1 ppg, and they are limiting opponents to 64.8 ppg. Unfortunately, Pitt fell 17 points shy of its current average in the loss to Wagner, as game in which the club shot a dismal 39.6 percent overall and 2- of-15 from three-point range. The Panthers finished with only 10 assists against 18 turnovers and even struggled from the foul line.
As for Virginia, it has reeled off eight consecutive victories since its only loss of the season, a two-point setback to TCU on a neutral court. The Cavaliers beat Seattle in an 83-77 final last Wednesday and enter tonight's clash with a 10-1 overall record, including a 6-0 mark at home.
Percy Woods scored 14 points for Maryland-Eastern Shore in the narrow loss to Air Force last time out, and Pina Guillaume pitched in 12 points off the bench. Ronald Spencer registered 11 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who turned the ball over 16 times and were outscored 14-7 from the foul line. The negatives overshadowed a 36-26 rebounding advantage that included a 17-9 edge on the offensive boards. While the Hawks are 3-1 at home this season, all eight of their contests away from campus have resulted in defeat. Woods is scoring a team-high 11.1 ppg this season, while Louis Bell and Spencer are netting 11.0 ppg apiece. Spencer has only played one game to date, however, so it remains to be seen if he can be a consistent scoring threat. UMES is generating 59.2 ppg this season on 38 percent field goal efficiency, and the club is permitting 71.2 ppg to opponents.
Mike Scott has clearly been the best player for Virginia this season, as he is averaging 17.1 ppg to go along with 9.9 rpg. Scott is shooting a staggering 63.3 percent from the field and over 80 percent from the foul line, impressive to say the least. The only other double-digit scorer for the Cavaliers is Joe Harris, as he brings 12.8 ppg to the court. Virginia is netting 68.2 ppg overall while limiting goes to a minuscule 51.1 ppg on 38.3 percent field goal efficiency. Strong rebounding has been key to the club's success, as it is ripping down 6.8 rpg more than the competition. Scott was sensational in the romp over Seattle last time out, as he poured in 33 points while ripping down 14 boards. Harris registered 14 points for the Cavs, who shot 55.3 percent from the floor and earned a 27-11 edge in points from the foul line.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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