North Texas takes on Troy in Sun Belt title tilt

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Troy Trojans and the second- seeded North Texas Mean Green have advanced to the championship game of the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, and they will compete for an automatic bid to the "Big Dance" this evening.

North Texas squeaked by 10th-seeded UL-Monroe in the quarterfinal round by three points, and the Mean Green defeated Denver in the semifinals on Monday by a 63-56 final. That victory was the 10th in a row for the squad, which has improved to 23-8 overall. North Texas won its lone Sun Belt Conference championship in 2007.

As for Troy, it is riding a seven-game win streak that has enabled it to move to 20-11 overall, including 4-0 in neutral-site affairs. After a 12-point win over South Alabama in the quarterfinals, the Trojans managed to defeat Western Kentucky last night, 54-48. They are relative newcomers to the conference and failed to win the title in their previous four Sun Belt Tournament appearances.

The Mean Green beat the Trojans in a 75-72 final on the road in the only regular-season meeting between the two teams, and UNT owns a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series.

There are four double-digit scorers on the North Texas roster, and the team is averaging 74.5 ppg while permitting 69.6 ppg to opponents. Josh White leads the Mean Green with 15.0 ppg on 40.4 percent shooting from three-point range, and he has dished out 111 assists. Tristan Thompson provides 14.2 ppg on 41 percent accuracy from behind the arc, and Eric Tramiel checks in with 12.7 ppg. Rounding out the foursome is George Odufuwa with 11.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg, and he is a 61.4 percent shooter from the field. In last night's win over Denver, North Texas earned a 20-8 edge in points from the foul line and a 36-27 advantage on the boards. The Mean Green played tremendous defense, limiting the Pioneers to 38.9 percent shooting from the field.

Troy is generating 75.5 ppg this season while allowing 71.9 ppg to opponents. Brandon Hazzard leads the Trojans with 16.6 ppg, and Richard Delk provides 12.5 ppg. Michael Vogler brings 11.8 ppg to the mix, and Yamene Coleman rounds out the foursome of double-digit scorers with 10.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg. Vogler has dished out 170 assists to go along with 57 steals, and all four players mentioned have started every game this season. The same goes for Antywan Jones (8.8 ppg), and it is rare to see a team make it this far into the season with the exact same starting unit. Against Western Kentucky yesterday, Hazzard scored 17 points to lead a shaky offensive effort in which Troy shot just 37.5 percent from the floor. Fortunately, the Trojans were able to limit the Hilltoppers to 35.7 percent shooting.

Iwonvegas 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
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3. Atlanta Falcons
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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
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4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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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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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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