Oakland seeks upset of Pittsburgh in NCAA Tournament
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/19/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding an 11-game win streak, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies are in to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history as they confront the Pittsburgh Panthers in first-round action in the West Regional at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Oakland, the 14th seed in the 72nd annual event, has lost only once in the last 21 outings, a 78-54 setback at IUPUI as part of a four-game road trip through Summit League foes back on January 28th. The squad has won a school- record 26 games thus far, thanks in part to capturing the Summit League Tournament title with a 76-64 triumph over that same IUPUI program 10 days ago.
As for third-seeded Pittsburgh, this is its 22nd appearance in the tourney, showing a record of 21-22 over that stretch. Guided by Jamie Dixon, who needs just once more win to tie the NCAA Division I all-time record for wins through seven seasons as a head coach (188), the Panthers are one of two Big East teams in this bracket along with top-seeded Syracuse. Playing in what many consider to be the toughest league in the country, Pitt finished 13-5 as it tied for the second-highest win total in Big East action since the school joined the conference back in 1982-83.
Only one of seven teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine seasons, the Panthers own a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series against Oakland. The winner of this meeting heads to the second round on Sunday to challenge the winner of the Xavier/Minnesota contest.
Sporting three players who started all 34 games thus far, the Grizzlies are led on offense by Keith Benson who not only averaged a double-double with his 17.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg, he also logged an astounding 116 blocked shots to lead the league. The Summit League Player of the Year, Benson needs just 10 more rebounds to tie the single-season league record and considering he posted 18 double-doubles this season that's not out of the realm of possibility. Johnathon Jones (12.4 ppg) was not only tied for second on the team in scoring, he also was first with a staggering 219 assists and recorded 63 steals to lead the group at both ends of the floor. Derick Nelson (12.4 ppg) and Larry Wright (11.1 ppg) were also key factors in the team generating almost 77 ppg, considering no one else on the roster is putting up even seven points per game at this stage.
Pittsburgh, a team that fell to Notre Dame twice in the last month, only had a handful of games in which the offense took control. In fact, the team's most recent outing eight days ago is something the group would rather forget as the Panthers delivered a weak 45-point effort versus the Fighting Irish, a team that lost to Old Dominion in the first round of this tourney on Thursday. One of four players to have started every game, Ashton Gibbs is responsible for 15.8 ppg this season, having made good on not only 89 percent of his free- throw attempts but also 40.2 percent behind the three-point line. Brad Wanamaker (12.1 ppg) is a player who can do it all for the Panthers, from his team-best 149 assists and 39 steals, to 5.7 rpg which is second only to Gary McGhee (7.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg). Jermaine Dixon has had his moments coming up with 10.7 ppg, but considering he has made just 21.9 percent of his three-point tries, he'd be better off giving the ball to a teammate than taking a bad shot out on the perimeter.
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers are obviously heavily favored in this afternoon's clash with the 15th-seeded Morgan State Bears in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Awaiting the winner o
<< Cat Fight in Buffalo, as Missouri takes on Clemson in "Big Dance"
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-seeded Clemson Tigers and the 10th-
seeded Missouri Tigers will do battle this afternoon in the first round of the
2010 NCAA Tournament from HSBC Arena in Buffalo.
The winner of this East Regional b
<< Big Red hoping to score upset of Owls in NCAA Tournament
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What is expected to be one of the most
competitive games of the NCAA Tournament's first round pits the fifth-seeded
Temple Owls against the 12th-seeded Cornell Big Red in East Region action at
Veterans Memori
<< Terps open tourney play against Cougars
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins have won
their last nine first-round matchups in the NCAA Tournament and they will try
to continue that streak tonight against the 13th-seeded Houston Cougars at
Spokane Memori
<< Midwest Regional action pits Cowboys against Yellow Jackets
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
and the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys go head-to-head tonight in the
first round of the NCAA TOurnament at the Bradley Center. The winner of this
Midwest Regio
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With teams from the Big East Conference an endangered species after just one day of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Syracuse Orange try to prove that they deserved their top seeding in the West Regional as they take
Top-seeded Duke opens tourney play against Arkansas-Pine Bluff >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions will
take part in their first-ever NCAA Tournament and their reward is a meeting
against the Duke Blue Devils in first round action of the South Region at
Jacksonville Vet
Upset-minded Saints set sights on Boilermakers >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Siena Saints will try to shake things up in
the NCAA Tournament when they battle the Purdue Boilermakers this afternoon in
first-round action of the South Region at Spokane Veterans Arena.
The Saints will b
Utah State and Texas A&M meet in South Regional action >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aggies will collide in first-round action in
the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, when Utah State and Texas A&M meet at
the Spokane Memorial Arena.
The Aggies from Utah State will be making their 19th a
Buckeyes battle Gauchos in first-round action in Milwaukee >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes square
off against the 15th-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos tonight in a Midwest
Regional matchup of the NCAA Tournament at the Bradley Center. The winner will
advance to th
SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting
NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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