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02/27/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 12th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers have lost their hold on first place in the Big East Conference standings, and they will play a critical game against the West Virginia Mountaineers today.
West Virginia has been painfully inconsistent lately, as the team has rotated wins and losses in each of the past six outings. The Mountaineers have been idle since last Tuesday when they dropped a 64-61 decision at Providence. They are now 3-5 in true road games, not exactly reason for confidence heading into tonight's clash.
Pittsburgh dropped a 61-53 decision to Georgetown on Saturday, allowing the Hoyas to move into first place. The Panthers are a half game back and cannot afford another loss tonight. They are 15-2 at home and certainly have reason to be confident.
Pitt recorded a 60-47 victory over West Virginia just a few weeks ago, but the Mountaineers own an 82-80 edge in the all-time series.
Frank Young is the top offensive performer for West Virginia, as he is scoring 14.2 ppg on 40.2 percent shooting from three-point range. Joe Alexander checks in with 12.1 ppg despite the fact that he averages less than 27 minutes of action per contest. Darris Nichols (10.3 ppg) and Da'Sean Butler (10.0 ppg) add balance to the lineup for the Mountaineers. West Virginia is scoring 71.3 ppg while limiting opponents to 59.7 ppg. Nichols and Young both scored 14 points in the loss to Providence last week, and Alexander added 11 points. The Mountaineers finished with 17 assists against only nine turnovers, but they shot a lackluster 36.9 percent from the field, including 9-of-41 from three-point range. A 41-33 rebounding disadvantage certainly didn't help matters.
Against Georgetown on Saturday, Pittsburgh shot just 32.8 percent from the floor, including a 7-of-24 effort from three-point range. A 22-8 deficit in points from the foul line proved costly as well, as the Panthers simply did not play nearly as well as they have this season. Ronald Ramon and Sam Young scored 11 points apiece in defeat, while Aaron Gray returned from injury to net 10 points. Gray is averaging 14.3 ppg on 58 percent shooting from the field, and he is pulling down 9.9 rpg to go along with 45 blocks. Mike Cook is the lineup's only other double-digit scorer, as he is posting 10.3 ppg. Strong defense has been the key to Pitt's success this season, as it is limiting foes to a mere 61.3 ppg on 40.4 percent shooting from the field.
<< League-leading Cougars head to Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The BYU Cougars own sole possession
of first place in the Mountain West Conference standings, and are set
for a much-anticipated matchup with the 25th-ranked Air Force Falcons
this e
<< Report: Livingston's season over
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers guard Shaun Livingston
will reportedly miss the remainder of the season because of a severe knee
injury suffered Monday night.
Livingston dislocated his left knee early in the
<< Twins sign P Crain to three-year deal
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins agreed to terms with
pitcher Jesse Crain on a three-year contract through the 2009 season.
The 25-year-old Crain went 4-5 with a 3.52 earned run average and one save in
68 appearanc
<< Moose, Bulldogs tighten North Division Race
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It may still be cold outside, but its
getting hotter in the North, where two points separate the divisions top
three teams as the American Hockey Leagues 2006-07 season sees February give
way to March.
The
'Canes aim to keep playoff hopes alive against Sens >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes appear to be back on track towards
securing a playoff berth. Tonight the defending Stanley Cup champions aim for
a third consecutive victory when they host the Ottawa Senators at the RBC
Center.
Ca
First-place Canucks wrap up road swing in St. Louis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks hope to complete a four-game road
trip on a positive note tonight, when they visit the St. Louis Blues at
Scottrade Center.
So far the Canucks have earned a point in each stop on the tre
Streaking Canadiens begin road swing against Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having re-discovered their winning ways, the Montreal
Canadiens begin an important road trip tonight at Madison Square Garden
against a New York Rangers team in desperate need of a victory.
The Canadiens have rebounded str
Cavs, Hornets square off in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers try and stop a two-game losing
streak this evening when they host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets at
Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs have dropped two in a row after a two-game win
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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