2010 Conference USA Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time in five years, someone other than Memphis is the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament, as the Texas-El Paso Miners won the regular-season title with a 15-1 finish. Winners of 14 straight games, the Miners captured their first-ever C-USA regular- season title and a first-round bye.

Memphis meanwhile, was denied its fifth title in a row, but didn't fall far, finishing second in the league at 13-3. UAB and Marshall also earned first- round passes after identical 11-5 showings, with the Blazers taking the third seed and the Thundering Herd the fourth.

Tulsa, the host of this event, is the fifth seed and final team with a winning league record at 10-6. The sixth seed went to Southern Miss, which posted a level 8-8 mark within the conference. The final six teams also had losing marks in league play and were seeded based on their finishes.

The team that emerges with the title gets to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament.

Getting the 15th annual C-USA Tournament started on Wednesday is the seventh- seeded Houston Cougars and 10th-seeded East Carolina Pirates. The Cougars are paced by the nation's leading scorer in Aubrey Coleman, who averages 26.0 ppg. Houston, which won the lone regular season meeting with East Carolina, went 7-9 in conference play this season. The Cougars are 8-12 all-time in this tourney, reaching the finals in 2007. On the flip side, East Carolina posted just a 4-12 league mark, and the Pirates are 0-6 all-time in the SBC Tournament.

First-round play will continue with the sixth-seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles clashing with the 11th-seeded Tulane Green Wave. The Eagles won both regular-season meetings with Tulane and have won two straight games heading into the postseason. USM is 9-12 all-time in this tourney and still in search of its first finals appearance. For Tulane, it has won four straight first- round games in the C-USA Championship, helping the program to a 7-14 all-time mark. The Green Wave however, possess the conference's second worst regular- season record at 3-13.

The fifth-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane host the 12th-seeded Rice Owls in the third game on Wednesday. The host school has appeared in the last eight championship games, so that is certainly good news for Tulsa. The Hurricane have appeared in each of the past two championship games, coming up short both times against Memphis. Tulsa took the only meeting with Rice during the regular season after defeating the Owls in the quarterfinals of last year's event. Speaking of Rice, it won just one of 16 league games and brings a seven-game slide into the postseason.

The first round comes to a close with the ninth-seeded UCF Knights taking on the eighth-seeded SMU Mustangs. The Ponies went 7-9 during the regular season in conference action, while the Knights finished 6-10. SMU, which has improved its win total by five games this season, captured the lone meeting during the season with the Knights. Both clubs are just 1-4 all-time in this event, so this is a good chance for one program to make a little noise.

The quarterfinal round begins on Thursday, as second-seeded Memphis awaits the winner of the East Carolina/Houston matchup. After four straight regular- season titles, including three consecutive perfect campaigns, the Tigers settled for a second place finish under first-year head coach Josh Pastner. Memphis came on strong down the stretch and the team is now in search of its fifth straight title in this event. Memphis, which is the only active member to have captured the C-USA Tournament, has won 15 of its last 16 games in this tourney.

The third-seeded UAB Blazers will take the floor in the second quarterfinal round game against either Tulane or Southern Miss. For the sixth time in seven years, the Blazers finished in the top four of the C-USA standings, although they dropped their last two games. Still, UAB is 23-7 overall and even spent time in the Top 25 this season. The Blazers are 13-14 all-time in the C-USA Championship, reaching the finals on two occasions.

The quarterfinals continue when the fourth-seeded Marshall Thundering Herd square off against the victor of the Rice/Tulsa pairing. With a 23-8 mark, Marshall recorded its highest win total since the 1987-88 season. The Herd also earned its first tourney bye since joining the league in 2005. Marshall however, has won just once in four prior appearances in this event.

The top-seeded Texas-El Paso Miners will make their first appearance in the final game of the quarterfinals against the survivor of the UCF/SMU contest. The 21st-ranked Miners are just one of three teams in C-USA history to win 15 league games, as they earned their first outright conference title since 1986-87. This is the fifth C-USA Tournament appearance for UTEP, which reached the semifinals in 2006 and 2008.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.