Panthers and Huskies square off in Big East showdown
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/13/2010 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers invade the XL Center this evening for a top-25 Big East showdown with the 15th-ranked Connecticut Huskies.
The Panthers are on a bit of a run right now and enter this contest with a six-game win streak in tow. Jamie Dixon's squad has been flawless in league play thus far, including back-to-back huge road wins at Syracuse (82-72) and Cincinnati (74-71) since the start of the new year.
Jim Calhoun's Huskies are simply treading water in the Big East thus far, splitting their four league tilts. The team opened conference play with a road loss at Cincinnati, but followed with a pair of home wins against Notre Dame and Seton Hall. However, the road was once again unkind to UConn this past weekend, when the team dropped a 72-69 decision at Georgetown.
The Huskies hold a 30-26 advantage in the all-time series with the Panthers, although Pittsburgh has closed the gap a bit with three wins in the last four meetings.
Not much has changed with the Panthers this season, as the team still relies on hard-nosed defense to set up everything else. Pittsburgh has certainly thrived in that area this season, limiting the opposition to a mere 58.0 ppg and just .381 shooting. In addition, Pitt is outrebounding foes by as a solid 7.3 caroms per outing. Offensively, the team has a trio of double-figure performers, led by Ashton Gibbs. A deadly three-point shooter (.409), Gibbs is putting up 17.5 ppg. Brad Wanamaker follows with 12.2 ppg and the addition of Gilbert Brown (10.0 ppg in four games this year) to the lineup will only aid this team in the second half of the season. Brown scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the second half, as Pittsburgh earned a huge road win at Cincinnati. Gibbs led all scorers in the game with 19 points, while Jermaine Dixon tallied 10. Pitt shot a solid .490 from the game and outscored the Bearcats 20-8 at the free-throw line.
The Huskies let one slip away at Georgetown over the weekend, as they blew a 15-point halftime lead to lose by three points. Stanley Robinson led four Huskies in double figures with 16 points. Jerome Dyson chipped in with 12, while Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel added 11 points apiece. Oriakhi completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, but15 UConn turnovers led to 18 points for the hometown Hoyas. UConn is by no means an offensive juggernaut, averaging a rather modest 74.3 ppg. Still, the team does possess two of the more explosive players in the Big East in Dyson and Robinson. Dyson can do it all and currently leads the team in scoring at 19.3 ppg, while also showing his ability as a rebounder (5.3 rpg) and distributor (81 assists). Robinson adds 17.1 ppg and ranks second on the team with 7.7 rpg. Kemba Walker (12.7 ppg, team-high 92 assists) aids in the backcourt, while Gavin Edwards (10.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, team-high 43 blocks) is a strong presence in the paint.
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first loss of the season and losing the top ranking in the nation, the now third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks embark on the their Big 12 schedule, as they invade Lincoln this evening, for a conference s
<< Yellow Jackets hope to sting Cavaliers
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Cavaliers get a three-game
homestand started tonight by entertaining the 20th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow
Jackets in an ACC affair at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavs kicked off their ACC sla
<< Cougars set to pounce on Falcons in Mountain West action
USAFA, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Enjoying their highest national ranking since the
1987-88 season, the 18th-ranked BYU Cougars take their act on the road tonight
to do battle with the Air Force Falcons in Mountain West Conference play at
Clune Aren
<< Rebels seek return to win column in SEC clash with Bulldogs
Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC foes are slated to collide in Athens this
evening, as the Georgia Bulldogs welcome the 21st-ranked Ole Miss Rebels to
Stegeman Coliseum.
Ole Miss retained a spot in the most recent AP poll despite falling to
<< Golden Gophers challenge seventh-ranked Spartans
East Lansing, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked Michigan State Spartans
figure to have their hands full tonight with the visiting Minnesota Golden
Gophers in what promises to be a hard-fought Big Ten Conference battle.
Minnesota has l
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of seven of their last eight, the 24th- ranked Clemson Tigers will try to stake their claim as one of the ACC's elite when they play host to the 12th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels tonight at Littlejohn C
Orange hit road to battle Scarlet Knights >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange kick off a
three-game road trip tonight, as they square off against the Rutgers Scarlet
Knights in a Big East clash at the RAC.
This is only the second true road game of the
Owls and Quakers do battle at The Palestra >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Temple Owls meet the Penn
Quakers tonight in a Philadelphia Big 5 battle at The Palestra.
Temple enters the tilt having won nine of its past 10 outings, with the lone
loss during that stret
Badgers come to Evanston to take on Wildcats >>
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and
Northwestern Wildcats come together in Evanston tonight, as they do battle in
a Big Ten clash at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Badgers head into the contest looking to build off a
Mountaineers in Sunshine State to take on Bulls >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers make
their way to Tampa tonight, as they take on the South Florida Bulls in a Big
East matchup at the Sun Dome.
After opening league play with three straight wins, the M
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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