Bearcats hope to clip wings of 18th-ranked Golden Eagles
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles will try to keep pace in the race for the Big East Conference regular-season title, as they entertain the Cincinnati Bearcats today at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Cincinnati comes in sporting a solid 17-7 record, and its 7-4 conference mark has it in the upper half of the Big East standings. The Bearcats are riding a modest two-game win streak, with their most recent triumph coming in a 76-54 rout of St. John's on the road this past Wednesday. It was the sixth road win of the campaign for UC, and a nice way to bounce back following losses in their previous two trips (West Virginia, Rutgers) away from the Queen City.
As for the Golden Eagles, they are one of only two teams in the Big East to have won at least 20 games to this point in the campaign, Syracuse being the other, and their 9-3 conference mark has them just two games behind the first- place Orange. Marquette is an impressive 12-1 at home this season, the only setback coming against SEC foe Vanderbilt back on December 29.
Cincinnati owns a 25-18 lead in the all-time series with Marquette, but things are all square in Milwaukee (9-9). The Bearcats won the last meeting, 67-60, at the Bradley Center last March, and the road team has won four of the last five meetings.
Yancy Gates and Sean Kilpatrick scored 14 points apiece, Cashmere Wright logged his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Dion Dixon chipped in 10 points, as Cincinnati dominated St. John's from start to finish in what turned out to be a 22-point win for the visiting Bearcats. The team knocked down 51.7 percent of its field goal attempts, which included a 7-of-16 showing from three-point range, and it easily won the battle on the boards, 49-29. The Red Storm were limited to 32.8 percent field goal efficiency, actually shooting better from beyond the arc (.417). About the only thing UC coach Mick Cronin could complain about was the fact that his team committed 16 turnovers. Kilpatrick (15.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is one of four starters averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Bearcats, who net 69.7 ppg on the strength of their .362 three-point FG percentage. Defensively, the club allows just 60.1 ppg, with foes shooting a mere 41.1 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from downtown. Gates is close to averaging a double-double, as he accounts for 12.7 points and 9.2 caroms per contest.
Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points, while Jae Crowder and Jamil Wilson both produced double-doubles in helping push Marquette past DePaul earlier this week. In all, five players scored in double digits for the Golden Eagles, who battled from behind by shooting 52.5 percent from the field, despite missing seven of their 10 three-point attempts. Wilson finished with 18 points and 10 boards, the team coming up with 35 rebounds in the game. DePaul's reserves outscored Marquette's, 25-8, but the Golden Eagles outscore the Blue Demons at the free-throw line (22-10), in the paint (50-36) and out on the break (16-6). Johnson-Odom (18.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Crowder (16.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg) are the only two players averaging double figures in scoring for MU, although three others are close to joining the ranks as they net a minimum of 8.5 ppg. As a collective unit, Marquette is lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of 75.9 ppg, while the opposition does so for 65.1 ppg. Foes are shooting just 40.5 percent from the field, and they've committed nearly 100 more turnovers than have the Golden Eagles to this point in the season.
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No.1 Kentucky takes act on the road >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats put their
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John Calipari's Wildcats are you
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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