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Bulldogs and Wildcats duke it out for berth in Final FourNCAA Basketball Betting Lines03/27/2010 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The dance continues for at least one "Cinderella", as the surprising Butler Bulldogs take on the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2010 NCAA Tournament West Regional final at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City this afternoon. As a fifth seed, Butler has set a new school record as well as a Horizon League record for the most wins in a season by posting a 63-59 triumph over top-seeded Syracuse two nights ago. The win was the 31st of the year for a Bulldog squad that has gone farther in the NCAA Tournament than any previous competitor from the Horizon League. Butler, which defeated UTEP (77-59) and Murray State (54-52) in the first and second rounds of the 72nd annual event, respectively, is also enjoying the nation's longest win streak at the moment, numbering 23 since the team last faltered a few days before Christmas at UAB. The Bulldogs have now won at least 26 games in four consecutive campaigns and have set a new program and conference record for the most victories over the span (116). As for the second-seeded Wildcats, they went from double-digit wins against North Texas and BYU in the first two rounds of the tourney, to having to battle into double-overtime on Thursday night in a thrilling 101-96 final versus Xavier. Kansas State is now in the "Elite Eight" for the first time since 1988 and improved its all-time record in the event to 31-27. The Wildcats, ranked seventh in the most recent AP Poll, are playing in Salt Lake City for the third time, appearing here in 1981 when they topped Illinois, but then bowed to North Carolina and again six years later as the team knocked off Georgia before suffering defeat at the hands of UNLV. This game marks the first-ever meeting between Butler and Kansas State on the hardwood, and the winner will head to Indianapolis next Saturday to take on either Michigan State or Tennessee in the Final Four. Ahead by double digits at the break, the Bulldogs appeared to be well on their way to another victory on Thursday night before Syracuse bounced back and made things interesting in the four-point decision. Gordon Hayward stepped up to tally 17 points for the victors, clearing five rebounds as well in 31 minutes of action, while Shelvin Mack accounted for 14 points, six boards and five assists in an effort to disguise the fact that he shot just 5-of-19 from the field and 1-of-10 behind the three-point line. Willie Veasley tacked on 13 points for a squad that picked up only three points from its reserves but turned the ball over just seven times. After 35 games, Hayward remains Butler's top point producer with his 14.9 ppg, and he is also tops on the glass with better than eight rebounds per game, while Mack and Matt Howard pitch in with 14.1 and 11.8 ppg, respectively. As the Bulldogs showed in the round of 16, their goal is to control the pace of games and they pretty much did that against the Orange, which is why the squad has been able to limit opponents to 58.8 ppg to this point in the season. Guard play was again crucial for the Wildcats on Thursday night as Jacob Pullen punctuated his 28-point effort with a pair of key three-pointers in the second overtime as he helped guide Kansas State to the dramatic win. Pullen finished the night hitting 6-of-12 shots out on the perimeter, the team a collective 8-of-19 beyond the arc. Backcourt mate Denis Clemente contributed 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, followed by Curtis Kelly with 21 points, eight boards, four dishes and a game-high five blocks. The squad got a lift off the bench from Jamar Samuels with his 14 points and five rebounds. The importance of Pullen and Clemente cannot be overstated, given that one of the two has led the team in scoring in each of the last five games and in seven of the last eight. Between them, Pullen and Samuels have connected on a staggering 193 three-pointers, which means the rest of the Wildcats have made good on a collective 55 triples over the course of 36 games. But more than just shooters, Pullen (19.5 ppg) and Clemente (16.5 ppg) have also been responsible for 124 and 153 assists, respectively, so they are the ones who have the most input when it comes to the team's 80.4 ppg scoring average.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An interconference matchup with postseason implications is on tap today in Boston, as the Bruins welcome the Calgary Flames for a matinee at TD Garden. Boston enters Saturday holding onto the eighth and final playoff spot
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West Virginia and Kentucky fight for right to move to Final Four >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A berth in the "Final Four" is on the line tonight in Syracuse, New York, as the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and the second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers do battle in the 2010 NCAA Tournament East Regional F
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINESNFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count. New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend. His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates. HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game. The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup. RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day. First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08. The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition. These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years. New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5. You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff! Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines . |
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