Gaels and Zags duke it out for West Coast Conference crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/08/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As expected, the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and the second-seeded Saint Mary's-CA Gaels will meet this evening in the championship game of the 2010 West Coast Conference Tournament.

This game is a rematch of last year's title showdown, as Gonzaga beat Saint Mary's by a staggering 83-58 final to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The Gaels won this event back in 1997 and have been searching for another title ever since. They improved to an impressive 25-5 overall last night with a 69-55 victory over a solid University of Portland squad in the semifinal round.

As for Gonzaga, it is fresh off Sunday's 77-62 decision over Loyola Marymount. The Bulldogs own 10 WCC Tournament titles, far more than any other conference member, and the Zags have captured five of the last six crowns. While some believe that Saint Mary's needs to win this game to reach the NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga would certainly be in line for an at-large bid should it falter this evening.

The Bulldogs won both regular-season meetings with Saint Mary's, and Gonzaga owns a 52-23 advantage in the all-time series between the rivals.

Saint Mary's connected on 55.6 percent of its field goal attempts against Portland last night while limiting the Pilots to 28.8 percent shooting. The Gaels also earned a 37-25 rebounding advantage, helping them overcome 19 turnovers and a 22-12 deficit in points from the foul line. Omar Samhan, Mickey McConnell and Matthew Delladova all scored 16 points, and Samhan ripped down 13 rebounds while blocking four shots. Overall this season, SMC is scoring 79.4 ppg on the strength of 48.7 percent shooting from the floor, including 40.9 percent accuracy from three-point range. Defensively, the Gaels are permitting 66.2 ppg. Samhan is posting 21.3 ppg and 11.1 rpg to go along with his 88 blocked shots, and he was recently named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year as well as a First-Team All-WCC performer. McConnell also earned a spot on the all-league first team, and he is scoring 13.3 ppg in addition to 159 assists and 44 steals. Delladova, a All-WCC Honorable Mention performer, provides 12.6 ppg and 135 assists.

Last night, Mark Few tied Hank Anderson as the winningest coach in Gonzaga history with 290 victories, and he can obviously break the record with a win tonight. The Bulldogs shot 52.1 percent from the floor against Loyola Marymount and held the Lions to 36.7 percent efficiency. Gonzaga also earned a 23-16 edge in points from the foul line and a 37-32 rebounding advantage. Steven Gray posted 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Zags, while Elias Harris added 16 points. Matt Bouldin, who was recently named the WCC Player of the Year, tallied 12 points, and he is averaging 15.8 ppg this season. Harris checks in with 14.9 ppg and 7.2 rpg, while Gray provides 13.6 ppg. Robert Sacre pitches in 10.1 ppg from his center position, and Gonzaga is averaging 78.1 ppg while holding foes to 66.5 ppg. The Bulldogs are outrebounding opponents by five boards per contest.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

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