Lions battle Zags in WCC Tournament semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs are the top- seeded team in the West Coast Conference Tournament, and they begin play at the event with a semifinal-round matchup against the fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount Lions.

The winner of this tilt will battle either second-seeded Saint Mary's or third-seeded Portland on Monday for the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Loyola Marymount has three WCC tourney titles to its credit, but the most recent came way back in 1990. The Lions have certainly worked hard to reach these semifinals, as they knocked off Pepperdine by three points on Friday before defeating San Francisco in an 84-76 final in Saturday's quarterfinals. LMU is now 18-14 overall and seemingly peaking at the perfect time.

Gonzaga has won the WCC Tournament 10 times, far more than any other team in the league. The Bulldogs have won five of the last six titles and defeated Saint Mary's by 25 points in the championship game a year ago. This year's team is 25-5 overall and has been idle since Tuesday's regular-season finale, a 19-point romp over CSU Bakersfield. That victory was the fourth in a row for the Zags.

The Lions actually beat the Bulldogs by a 74-66 final on February 18th to force a regular-season split. Overall, Gonzaga owns a 53-21 advantage in the series.

In the eight-point victory over San Francisco yesterday, Loyola Marymount shot 20-of-25 from the foul line, an obvious key to the outcome. There were four double-digit scorers in the tilt for the Lions, and they got 18 points from both Drew Vinney and Vernon Teel. Ashley Hamilton added 14 points, and Jarred DuBois contributed 11 points. LMU shot 49.2 percent from the floor and finished with a 12-4 edge in fast-break points. Through 32 games, the Lions are generating 76.2 ppg, marginally better than the 75.6 ppg they are surrendering. Vinney leads the team with 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 42.9 percent shooting from three-point range, and he is pulling down 7.0 rpg. Teel adds 15.2 ppg, and he has dished out 183 assists to go along with 59 steals. Both DuBois (12.5 ppg) and Kevin Young (10.6 ppg) add balance to the lineup.

Matt Bouldin leads a balanced Gonzaga attack into this semifinal showdown, as he is netting 16.0 ppg. Elias Harris provides 14.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg, while Steven Gray adds 13.5 ppg. The fourth and final double-digit scorer on the roster is big man Robert Sacre, who is netting 10.2 ppg to go along with nearly two blocks per outing. The Bulldogs are racking up 78.1 ppg on 49.5 percent shooting from the floor, and they are holding opponents to 66.7 ppg on 40.3 percent field goal efficiency. Gonzaga is outrebounding its foes by more than five boards per outing, key to the team's 25 wins. In the easy victory over CSU Bakersfield earlier in the week, Bouldin scored 15 points to lead the way for the Zags, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor and played outstanding defense.

Worldwideganble NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< SEC showdown pits Gators against Wildcats
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats close out the regular season this afternoon with an SEC clash against the Florida Gators, who need a victory to help their NCAA Tournament prospects. Losses in the last two

<< Shockers battle Panthers for MVC Tournament crown
St. Louis. MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, top-seeded Northern Iowa takes on second-seeded Wichita State in the title game this afternoon at the Scottrade Center in St.

<< Illinois welcomes No. 15 Wisconsin to Champaign
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In desperate need of a win, the Illinois Fighting Illini seek an upset of the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers today in a Big Ten showdown at Assembly. At 10-7 within the conference, Illinois is already guarante

<< Spartans can claim share of Big Ten title with win over Wolverines
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bitter Big Ten Conference rivals close out the regular season against each other this afternoon in East Lansing, as the Michigan Wolverines come calling on the 11th-ranked Michigan State Spartans. Michigan

<< Youzhny sends Russia into Davis Cup quarters
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikhail Youzhny crushed Somdev Devvarman in Sunday's first reverse singles rubber to send host Russia into the 2010 Davis Cup quarterfinals. Youzhny's win gave the Russians, who ultimately prevailed 3-2, an

Resurgent Red Wings try to get over on rival Blackhawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings are making a strong push for the playoffs, but the perennial postseason participants still have a long way to go if they want to catch the Chicago Blackhawks, who'll be hosting their longtime Central Div

Heat suspend Alston indefinitely >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat announced they have suspended guard Rafer Alston indefinitely. The team's statement said Alston, who made contact with the Heat via text message, has "made himself otherwise unavailable t

Raptors face home test vs. Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Raptors have been solid defenders of their home floor and will try to keep it that way Sunday afternoon versus the Atlantic Division-rival Philadelphia 76ers at Air Canada Centre. The playoff-hopeful Rapto

Predators to host Canucks in key conference clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Vancouver Canucks continue on a record sequence of road games, the Nashville Predators have been enjoying their time at home as of late. The playoff-hopeful Predators shoot for a third straight win at Bridgestone

30 Something: Durant, Thunder visit Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder will close out a three-game road trip Sunday against the Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena. Durant led the Thunder to a 104-87 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, pu

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .