Cardinals hope to soar past Mountaineers in quest for Big East title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals can clinch at least a share of the Big East Conference's regular season title tonight, as they square off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown.

The Cardinals enter the day locked in a first-place tie with top-ranked UConn, both teams sporting 15-2 league records. Louisville, though, lost to UConn during the season and would need a win and loss by the Huskies to claim the top seed in the upcoming league tournament. UConn battles Pittsburgh, which is still in the title mix at 14-3, earlier today so Louisville will know what is at stake prior to start of this game. The Cardinals soar into the contest on the wings of a six-game win streak that includes a 95-78 besting of Seton Hall on Wednesday. Now at 24-5 overall, UofL hits the road where it has gone a stellar 7-1 thus far.

West Virginia is a dangerous club that is trying to leave no doubt about a possible at-large NCAA Tournament bid. The Mountaineers have claimed victory in five of their last six outings, most recently routing DePaul on Wednesday, 82-63. At 10-7 in conference, WVU is currently tied with Syracuse and Providence for sixth place.

With regard to the all-time series between these two teams, Louisville holds a 6-2 advantage and it captured a 69-63 win in the first meeting this season.

The Cardinals shot 53.7 percent from the floor and connected on 10-of-24 three-point chances, as they raced past Seton Hall on Wednesday. Louisville won the battle on the boards, 44-33, and also handed out 22 assists as a team. Earl Clark led the charge with a double-double that consisted of a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds. Terrence Williams also had a big night and nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. On the season, Clark tops the roster in each scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.0 rpg) and he is also distributing 3.2 apg. Williams is even more well rounded, and that is saying a lot, as he turns in 12.6 ppg 8.6 rpg, to go with team highs of 5.0 apg and 62 steals. Freshman Samardo Samuels rounds out the double-figure scorers, with 12.0 ppg.

The Mountaineers controlled the paint, outscoring DePaul by a 34-14 margin, and dominating the boards, 48-30, in an 82-63 rout on Wednesday. WVU also knocked down 45.7 percent of its attempts from the field and 10-of-22 from three-point distance. Alex Ruoff went 6-of-9 from behind the arc for 20 points, while Da'Sean Butler recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Butler heads the Mountaineers in scoring this season with his 17.4 ppg and he is also pulling down 6.0 rpg. Ruoff has provided a nice complement to him and he checks in with 16.3 ppg on the strength of 37.9 percent shooting from three-point distance.

Mysportsbppk NCAA Basketball Betting News

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
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It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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