Conference USA Championship Preview: Memphis Tigers vs. Texas El Paso Miners

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PAC-10 Championship Preview: Washington Huskies vs. Arizona Wildcats

PAC-10 Championship Preview: Washington Huskies vs. Arizona Wildcats: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

SEC Tournament Preview: Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Florida Gators

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Big East Championship Preview: Connecticut Huskies vs. Louisville Cardinals

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The No.9 seed Connecticut Huskies take on the No.8 seed Georgetown Hoyas this Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden to kick off the second round of the 2011 Big East Men?s Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Connecticut showed little signs of rust in its opening round game against No.16 seed DePaul after dropping four of its final five games to close out the regular season. The 97-71 victory over the Blue Demons as a 14 ½-point favorite was hardly a surprise from a team that was in the top 10 rankings earlier in the season. The win raised the Huskies record to 22-9 straight-up and to 14-11 against the spread.

This game was never in doubt as Connecticut kept the pressure on from the opening tip to build a 17 point lead by the half. Kemba Walker led the way for UConn in the Big East opener with a game-high 26 points while Jeremy Lamb added another 19 points in the winning effort. The Huskies completely dominated an out-manned DePaul team by outrebounding the Demons by a margin of 44-20.

Georgetown suffered its own slide down the stretch with four losses in its final five games including a 69-47 loss to Cincinnati as a four-point road underdog in the season finale. The Hoyas 10-8 SU record in conference play was just good enough to earn a bye in the first round. They finished the regular season 21-9 SU (15-14 ATS).

Austin Freeman comes into this tournament as Georgetown?s biggest scoring threat with an average 17.8 points a game. Chris Wright is the team?s second leading scorer with 13.1 points a game and he leads in assists with 5.4. The Hoyas are averaging 71 points a game and shooting 48 percent from the field.

The Huskies beat Georgetown 78-70 earlier in the season as a 2 ½-point home favorite, but this time around it?s the well-rested Hoyas turn to come away with the win to earn a shot at No.1 seed Pittsburgh in Thursday?s quarterfinals.

The Pick: Georgetown 74-71

 

2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament- Round Two: Connecticut Huskies vs. Georgetown Hoyas

The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers will meet this Thursday in a clash of NBA contenders not seen since, well, the Christmas Day match up between the same two squads.

Bet on Lakers vs. Heat with Bodog?s online sportsbook.

For the duration of the 2010-11 season there has never really been any doubt as to which two franchises bear the brunt of expectations as the final playoff stretch fast approaches - until now.

Heading into the week of their big tilt, the Heat have struggled, dropping four consecutive games between Feb. 27 and Mar. 6. It is little consolation that the four games have come against top tier competition. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company know that in order to reach the heights many thought they would, they?ll have to get through the top teams in either conference anyway.

Though the Heat prevailed in their December game against the Lakers - quite convincingly in fact (96-80) - the Lakers have flourished of late while Miami looks desperate to pick up the pieces of a scrambled season.

Winners of seven straight at the end of February and into early March, the Lakers are closing in on the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks for the top spot in the Western Conference. According to Bodog?s online sportsbook, the Lakers have league-best 3/1 odds of winning the NBA championship.

Though there are a number of worthwhile title candidates in San Antonio (5/1), Dallas (12/1) and even Boston (9/2) and Chicago (9/1), the only real test for the Lakers, in the eyes of oddsmakers, is Miami, also with 3/1 odds.

We?ve seen the Heat go through rough spells on a number of occasions already this year, but they consistently seem to find ways to iron out their problems. Is the rest of the league finally figuring out how to stop their three-headed monster?

It will drastically affect the NBA betting landscape if they do.

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Surging Lakers Take On Struggling Heat in Potential Finals Preview

Pointspread: Memphis 2 ½

Over/Under: 214

The New York Knicks will look to make it three wins in a row when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies this Wednesday night at FedEx Forum in Memphis. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.

Since pulling off the blockbuster trade with Denver that finally brought Carmelo Anthony to the Big Apple, the Knicks have won five of their last eight games and two straight. New York hammered Atlanta 92-79 as a 3 ½-point road underdog this past Sunday and then followed it up with 131-109 rout of Utah as a six-point home favorite on Monday night. It now has an overall record of 33-29 straight-up and is 38-22-2 against the spread. The Knicks are currently in sixth-place in the Eastern Conference.

Amar?e Stoudimire still leads the team with 26.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, but Anthony is a close second in scoring with 25.9 points a game since joining the team and is also pulling down 6.3 boards a game. Chauncey Billips, who has averaged 23.2 points and six assists in his four games with the team, remains questionable for this one with a bruised leg.

Memphis has also been playing well as of late with three wins in its last four games including an impressive 104-103 victory over Dallas last Sunday as a 6 ½-point road favorite and a 107-101 win over Oklahoma City as a three-point home favorite this past Monday. The Grizzlies are clinging to the eighth spot in the Western Conference with an overall record of 36-29 SU. They have been especially good ATS this season with a record of 41-23-1.

Despite the fact that Memphis lost Rudy Gay for what could end up being the rest of the year, this team?s offensive production has not dropped off as guys like Tony Allen, Mike Conley, and Sam Young have been able to pick up the slack in his absence. It also does not hurt to have a guy like Zach Randolph on the roster, who leads the team with 20.2 points and 12.9 rebounds a game.

Head-to-head, Memphis has won four of the last six games SU and is 3-2-1 ATS. The total has gone ?over? in five of the last six meetings. Stick with the Grizzlies to win a cover this time around as they remain a tough team to beat at home with a 5-1 record ATS in their last six.

 

NBA Betting Preview - New York Knicks at Memphis Grizzlies

Big East Tournament Hosts Load Of March Madness Contenders

Fans of college basketball betting will have a lot to look forward to this week as the Big East Tournament kicks off on Thursday and doesn?t let up until Saturday night. Though the first-round features the bottom of the Big East barrel, it?s an imposing barrel nonetheless.

Nine of the 16 teams are ranked amongst the top teams in the nation.

Despite finishing in the Associated Press? Top 25, the No. 21 Connecticut Huskies finished just ninth in the conference with a 9-9 record, a testament to the otherworldly depth of the division.

The Huskies will take on the last-place DePaul Blue Demons who limped to a 1-17 record in the conference on the year. Though the match up isn?t likely to inspire a particularly memorable game, it?s an excellent opportunity for bettors to play against the spread and get excited for betting on NCAA basketball.

With March Madness right around the corner, Jim Calhoun and the Huskies will have their work cut out for them. Following a presumed victory over DePaul, Connecticut will take on Georgetown and, if they?re lucky, three more top-ranked opponents after that before the weekend is over.

The Hoyas may have finished ahead of Connecticut in the standings at 10-8, but not in the AP polls, finishing No. 22.

Can the Huskies hold on for a miraculous ride to the conference finals? Don?t hold your breath. Also in action this weekend will be No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Notre Dame, not to mention Syracuse, Louisville, St. John?s, West Virginia and Cincinnati (all of whom finished in the AP Top 25 as well).

All the action starts this Thursday though, as the Huskies look to prove that their .500 record doesn?t limit how far they can go this spring.

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Big East Tournament Hosts Load Of March Madness Contenders

 

The Butler Bulldogs and the Wisc-Milwaukee Panthers will both be trying to pick up a win on Tuesday when they battle at U.S. Cellular Arena.

Oddsmakers currently have the Bulldogs listed as 3-point favorites versus the Panthers, while the game's total is sitting at 134.

Butler was a 76-68 winner in their most recent outing against Cleveland State. They covered the 4?point spread as favorites.

Wisc-Milwaukee won its last outing, a 70-63 result against Valparaiso on March 5. They covered in that game as a 1.5-point favorite.

Butler: Team record: 22-9 SU, 14-13-1 ATS Current streak: won 8 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games on the road is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games on the road is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Wisc-Milwaukee

When playing on Tuesday are 6-4 After playing Cleveland State are 9-1 After a win are 8-2

Wisc-Milwaukee: Team record: 19-12 SU, 15-9 ATS Current streak: won 3 straight games.

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Butler

When playing on Tuesday are 6-4 After playing Valparaiso are 2-8 After a win are 8-2

 

 

Horizon League Championship Preview: Butler Bulldogs vs. Wisc-Milwaukee Panthers