Big East foes meet in Milwaukee

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/19/2007 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a heart-breaking loss, the Villanova Wildcats will try to help their NCAA Tournament chances with a victory over the 12th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Conference action.

On Saturday, Villanova hosted Georgetown, and the result was a 58-55 setback. That loss halted a four-game win streak for the Wildcats, who are an even 6-6 in league play. On a more positive note, they are 18-8 overall and have recorded several quality victories.

Marquette has hit a slump at the worst possible time, as it has lost three straight games to fall to 21-7 overall and 8-5 in conference. Like the Wildcats, the Golden Eagles lost in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as Louisville hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to claim a 61-59 victory.

Villanova recorded a 72-67 victory over Marquette last season to increase its lead to 6-3 in the all-time series.

Villanova is scoring 73.3 ppg this season while limiting opponents to 63.7 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor. An obvious key to the Wildcats' success is that they are outrebounding foes by 6.5 rpg. Also, they have forced almost 450 turnovers. Curtis Sumpter paces the club with 17.2 ppg and 6.9 rpg, while Mike Nardi is contributing 13.4 ppg to go along with 11 assists. Scottie Reynolds has dished out 110 assists, and he rounds out the trio of double-digit scorers with 12.0 ppg. Reynolds scored 18 points against Georgetown on Saturday, but the standout freshman missed a three-pointer at the end of regulation that would have forced overtime. Sumpter tallied 15 points for the Wildcats, who connected on only 34.6 percent of their field goal attempts in the clash.

Jerel McNeal scored only 18 points for Marquette in the painful loss to Louisville. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles did not have another double-digit scorer in the contest. They earned a 30-22 rebounding advantage and held a 15-6 edge in points from the foul line. Still, Marquette lost the game because it permitted the Cardinals to connect on 53.3 percent of their field goal attempts. Dominic James is the leading scorer for the Golden Eagles with 15.1 ppg, and he has dished out 4.6 apg to go along with 55 steals. Unfortunately, he has struggled in recent weeks, dropping his shooting efficiency to 40 percent for the season. McNeal is netting 14.6 ppg, and he has logged 74 steals. Wesley Matthews adds 11.9 ppg for Marquette, which is limiting foes to just 63.1 ppg.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to bet on the NBA. With the regular season about to hit the homestretch, it is important to point out that MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

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