Cardinals and Hoyas meet in nation's capital

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/23/2009 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals invade the nation's capital tonight, as they clash with the Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East matchup at the Verizon Center.

Since being blown out at Notre Dame on February 12th, the Cardinals have run off three straight wins to remain in the hunt for the Big East title at 12-2. Most recently, the team jump started a short two-game road trip by topping Cincinnati, 72-63, on Saturday. It was the sixth win in seven road outings, all in league play, as Louisville improved to a healthy 21-5 overall.

As for Georgetown, its free-fall continued over the weekend following a 78-72 setback against 10th-ranked Marquette. The loss was the third in four games and the eighth in the past 10, as the once highly ranked Hoyas dropped to 14-11 overall and 5-9 within the league. With just four games left in the regular season, the Hoyas most likely will need to win out and make some noise in the Big East Tournament to be considered for an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

The Hoyas and Cardinals are meeting for the ninth time in the series, with Georgetown clinging to a 5-3 lead after the teams split a pair of games last season.

The Cardinals knocked down 48.2 percent of their shots from the field, including 8-of-17 from three-point distance, as defeated Cincinnati over the weekend. Louisville also controlled the that boards, 38-27, and that takes into account a significant 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass. Terrence Williams led the way with an all-around effort of 20 points, eight boards and five assists. Earl Clark added 14 points and nine boards, while Preston Knowles had 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 effort from downtown. On the season, Clark tops the roster in scoring (13.0 ppg) as well as rebounding (8.7 rpg) and he is also dishing off 3.3 apg. Williams is another versatile weapon for Louisville and he turns in 12.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg, to go with team highs of 4.7 apg 55 steals. Freshman Samardo Samuels puts forth 12.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg for the Cardinals, who have fared well on defense, limiting challengers to just 61.7 ppg and only 39.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Hoyas were guilty of 12 turnovers that resulted in 18 points for Marquette and that made the difference in their loss on Saturday. Georgetown shot an efficient 50.9 percent from the floor, including 8-of-18 from long range, but it wasn't enough to overcome the mishaps. Chris Wright paced the team in defeat with 17 points and four assists, while Austin Freeman tallied 16 points and five boards. Greg Monroe added 13 points and eight boards, and DaJuan Summers chipped in with 12 points. On the season, Summers leads the Hoyas in the scoring department at 14.0 ppg and he is also collecting 4.5 rpg. Monroe follows closely at 13.0 ppg and he is also turning in 6.8 rpg and 49 steals to pace the team in those categories. Wright adds 12.9 ppg and a team-best 3.8 apg to the mix, while Freeman contributes 12.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Overall Georgetown is netting 72.0 ppg and making good on 47.6 percent of its attempts from the floor.

Wallstretsports NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


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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