Big East quarterfinals pits Panthers against Mountaineers

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers begin defense of their Big East Tournament title tonight, as they battle the West Virginia Mountaineers in the quarterfinal round at Madison Square Garden. The team that comes out on top will earn the right to face either Syracuse or UConn in the semifinals on Friday.

With a 70-60 triumph over UConn in their regular season finale, the Panthers finished in a second place tie with the Huskies at 15-3. Pitt, though, was awarded the second seed, as it swept both meetings with highly ranked UConn. The Panthers, who held the No.1 ranking on two occasions this season, are a healthy 28-3 overall and very much in the mix for a top seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Pitt though, must first focus on the Big East Tournament, where it has reached the finals in seven of the past eight years. The program has taken home two titles during the stretch, including last season, when it won four straight games as the seventh seed.

As for WVU, it finished 10-8 within the conference and that was good enough to earn a first-round bye in this field of 16 teams. The seventh-seeded Mountaineers got their postseason run going last night, recording a 74-62 victory over 10th-seeded Notre Dame. The victory improved the program to 8-12 all-time in this event and pushed the team one win closer to its second straight semifinal appearance.

WVU leads the all-time series with rival Pitt, 93-84, but the Panthers took both meetings from the Mountaineers during the regular season.

WVU dropped in 11-of-20 attempts from three-point range and 17-of-23 at the foul line, as it defeated Notre Dame in second-round action. The Mountaineers shot only 35.9 percent from the floor, but compensated for that by dominating the boards, 52-32. Alex Ruoff posted 25 points on 4-of-7 three-pointers for WVU, and Da'Sean Butler had 20 points. Darryl Bryant also went 4-of-7 from downtown on his way to 17 points, while Devin Ebanks ripped down 18 caroms. On the season, Butler guides the Mountaineers in scoring at 17.2 ppg and he is also bringing in 6.0 rpg. Ruoff delivers 16.0 pg and 3.4 apg for WVU, and Ebanks logs 9.7 ppg and a team-high 7.7 rpg.

The Panthers are a strong, physical team and they have certainly used that to their advantage on the glass, where they are outrebounding opponents by an eye-popping 10.4 rpg. DeJuan Blair is a big reason for the success on the boards, as the Co-Big East Player of the Year not only leads Pitt, but the entire conference with 12.4 rpg. The 6-7, 265-pound center also contributes 15.6 ppg and he has posted 17 double-doubles on the campaign. While Blair is certainly dominant, it is Sam Young who leads the Panthers in scoring at 18.8 ppg. The First-Team All-Big East selection has recorded 13 20-point games thus far and he also pulls in 6.1 rpg. Levance Fields chips in with 10.9 ppg and he has been in charge of running a Pitt offense that generates a hardy 78.5 ppg. The senior guard and Third-Team All-Big East honoree hands out an impressive 7.6 apg to lead the conference in that department.

Gamblingforfun NCAA Basketball Betting News

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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