SEC Tournament showdown pits Volunteers against Wildcats

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The semifinal round of the 2010 SEC Tournament pits the second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

Up next for the winner of this game is a trip to tomorrow's championship showdown against either Vanderbilt or Mississippi State.

Tennessee, the East Division's third seed, knocked off LSU by 10 points in the first round on Thursday. In quarterfinal action yesterday, the Vols pulled away in the second half for a 76-65 victory over a solid Ole Miss squad. They have won the SEC Tournament four times, but it has been 31 years since their last title. Last season, Tennessee reached the title game only to fall to Mississippi State in a 64-61 final. This team is 25-7 overall and has won five straight games dating back to the regular season.

The Wildcats have won this event 25 times and own an incredible 111-22 record in SEC Tournament games. Still, they haven't cut down the nets since 2004 and haven't reached the title game since 2005. Kentucky is a sensational 30-2 overall under first-year head coach John Calipari, and the 'Cats are the top seed from the loaded East Division of the SEC. Yesterday, they survived a scare against Alabama (W-4), erasing an 11-point deficit en route to a 73-67 victory.

Tennessee is one of the only two teams that has beaten Kentucky this season. The programs split a pair of meetings during the regular season, and the Wildcats own a 143-66 advantage in the all-time series.

Wayne Chism was tremendous for Tennessee in yesterday's win over Ole Miss, as the standout forward had 16 points and 15 rebounds. J.P. Prince led the Vols with 17 points, and Cameron Tatum posted 15 points. Bobby Maze rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points, and his Tennessee squad scored 20 points off Ole Miss turnovers. A 26-12 advantage in points from the foul line was key for Tennessee. Through 32 games, the Vols are generating 74.5 ppg while holding foes to 64.7 ppg. Chism is now averaging 12.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg, and he has blocked more than twice as many shots as any other player on the roster. Scotty Hopson, who shot 2-of-11 yesterday and finished with six points, is also netting 12.5 ppg.

Star point guard John Wall of Kentucky recently became just the second freshman ever to receive SEC Player of the Year honors, and he proved worthy of the award with a stellar performance against Alabama yesterday. Wall scored 23 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists to lead his team. Patrick Patterson checked in with 20 points, and Eric Bledsoe tallied 10 points. The Wildcats connected on 50 percent of their field goal attempts in the tilt and earned a 22-16 edge in points from the foul line. The positives helped the team overcome a 45-33 rebounding deficit and a 1-of-13 shooting effort from three-point range. Overall this season, Wall is scoring an even 17.0 ppg to go along with 6.2 rpg. DeMarcus Cousins, another sensational rookie for Kentucky, was quiet yesterday, but he is scoring 15.4 ppg while ripping down 10 boards per contest. Patterson provides 15.1 ppg, and Bledsoe adds 10.4 ppg. The Wildcats are posting 79.5 ppg this season while permitting 65.7 ppg to foes.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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