2010 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colonial Athletic Association Tournament tips off Friday afternoon at the Richmond Coliseum and will run through Monday night's title game. At stake is an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the winner. The top four seeds get a bye to Saturday's quarterfinal round, while the remaining teams will battle it out in Friday's first-round action.

Old Dominion (23-8, 15-3 CAA) grabbed the top seed by locking up its first regular season title since the 2004-05 season, when the Monarchs went on to win the CAA Championship and advance to the Big Dance. ODU won five of its final six games and went undefeated at home in 2009-10.

Northeastern (19-11, 14-4) earned the No. 2 seed with a school-record 14 wins in the CAA. The Huskies are in search of their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991.

The No. 3 seed belongs to the William and Mary (20-9, 12-6) Tribe, who managed only their third 20-win season since 1951-52. Along the way they won a school- record 10 road games, which should have them well prepared for the postseason.

The final bye goes to the fourth-seeded George Mason (17-13, 12-6) Patriots, who faded down the stretch by losing six of their final eight games. They lost the finale to Northeastern in heartbreaking fashion, as GMU's Ryan Pearson committed a shooting foul with the score tied and less than a second on the clock.

Last season, Virginia Commonwealth captured its fourth CAA Championship with a 71-50 win over George Mason in the title game.

In the opening game of Friday's first round, eighth-seeded Towson (9-20, 6-12) will take on ninth-seeded UNC Wilmington at noon. These teams split their regular-season meetings, with the visiting team winning each game.

Towson struggled through the month of February before winning its last two games to lock up the eighth seed. The Tigers are led by Josh Thornton, who leads the team with 11.1 ppg and 71 three-pointers (.390) on the year. Down low are Calvin Lee (10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Robert Nwankwo (10.0 ppg), who leads the CAA with 9.2 boards per contest. The Tigers are allowing an average of 76 ppg and are a -7.8 in scoring margin, meaning that trio can ill-afford an off day.

As for the Seahawks, they really faded down the stretch, losing eight of their final 10 contests. However, one of those victories came at Towson on February 11th (80-72). Leading the way for UNCW is Chad Tomko, an 84.1 percent shooter at the foul line who is tallying 13.1 ppg. Joining him in double figures is John Fields, who puts up 10.2 ppg and leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per tilt. One area in particular that has plagued the Seahawks this season has been turnovers, as they are -3.2 in turnover margin.

The winner will face top-seeded ODU in the quarterfinal round Saturday at noon.

The second game on Friday pits No. 5 seed Virginia Commonwealth (20-8, 11-7) against No. 12 seed Delaware (7-23, 3-15) at 2:30 p.m.

VCU notched a 77-64 win at home when these teams met back on January 9th. The Rams entered last weekend's season finale in search of a fourth straight victory, but they were dealt a 73-70 loss by Old Dominion in the final minutes. While the Rams weren't quite as dominant this year in league play as they have been in recent seasons, they are still a very formidable squad. VCU puts up 76 ppg and is shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc as a team. Leading the way is Larry Sanders, who averages 14.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Joining him in double figures are Joey Rodriguez (12.0), who leads the league in assists (6.0), and Bradford Burgess (10.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg).

Headlining the cast for Delaware is Jawan Carter, who ranks third in the CAA with 18.6 ppg and second with 4.9 assists per game. Beyond Carter however, there isn't much firepower on the roster. Alphonso Dawson is putting up 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest, but a margin of 6.1 ppg separates Dawson and third-leading scorer Kelvin McNeil. As a team, the Blue Hens shoot just 39.1 percent from the floor. They closed the season by losing six straight, and nine of their final 10 games.

The winner moves on to face fourth-seeded George Mason Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

In the evening portion of the first round, No. 7 Hofstra (18-13, 10-8) takes on No. 10 Georgia State (12-19, 5-13) at 6 p.m.

Heading into this tournament, there is no hotter team in the league than the Pride, who closed out the regular season by winning six straight, and nine of their final 10 games. Their final game was an 87-74 triumph over Georgia State this past Saturday. Hofstra is led by Charles Jenkins, who ranks second in the league with 20.4 ppg. Against Georgia State last weekend, Jenkins scored 29 and buried a career-high six three-pointers. He is shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc on the season, though he is the team's only double-digit scorer. Chaz Williams (9.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Halil Kanacevic (8.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg) have made steady contributions, though mostly off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Panthers dropped five of their final seven contests and closed the season with back-to-back double-digit losses. Georgia State is led by Joe Dukes, who is compiling 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per tilt. He is complemented by Trae Goldston, a 39 percent shooter from beyond the arc (57- of-146) who is scoring 10.3 ppg. Trey Hampton (8.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Xavier Hansbro (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) have made modest contributions in the low post.

Awaiting the winner of this contest is second-seeded Northeastern at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The final game of the first round will see No. 6 Drexel (16-15, 11-7) take on No. 11 James Madison (12-19, 4-14) at 8:30 p.m.

These teams also met just this past weekend, with Drexel rallying for a 67-64 victory in Harrisonburg to sweep the season series. The Dragons trailed by 12 in the second half, when Samme Givens put the team on his back by scoring 19 of his 21 points after halftime. Givens is the team's fourth-leading scorer with 8.4 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game on the year. The Dragons are led by Jamie Harris (14.5 ppg) and Chris Fouch (11.0 ppg), while Gerald Colds (9.2 ppg) has been a regular in the starting lineup.

On the other side of the court, JMU boasts two of the CAA's top-five scorers in Denzel Bowles (20.9), who leads the league, and Julius Wells (16.4), the fourth-leading scorer. Bowles also ranks second in the conference with 8.9 rebounds per game. However, the Dukes thin out offensively after that tandem, as a margin of 7.5 ppg separates Wells and third-leading scorer Darren White. The Dukes lost eight of their final 10 games, including Saturday's heartbreaker against Drexel.

The winner faces third-seeded William & Mary Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Myracetracks NCAA Basketball Betting News

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
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Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

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Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

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The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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