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02/15/2012 - Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Wichita State Shockers put their new-found status as Missouri Valley Conference front-runner on the line Wednesday as Missouri State comes to town for a league showdown at Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State gave the rest of the MVC notice Saturday with a sound 89-68 thumping of then No. 17 Creighton, now two games back of the first-place Shockers. WSU went into Omaha and dominated, shooting 58.2 percent from the field and making half of its 16 three-point attempts. The Shockers won the battle on the glass, 37-23, and held the Bluejays to 40.4 percent shooting to earn a fourth straight win and hand Creighton its third consecutive defeat. WSU used an early 11-0 run to take control and pushed its lead to as many as 24 as Joe Ragland scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Ben Smith matched a career high by netting 22 for the visitors, while Demetric Williams and Toure Murry each chipped in 11 points. Williams went 7-for-7 from the foul line, part of a perfect 17-for-17 performance at the stripe for the Shockers, who have won 12 of 13 games overall and now stand at 13-2 in the MVC.
Missouri State buckled down to hold off visiting Bradley Sunday for a 64-53 victory, its third straight and fourth in five games. The Bears found themselves trailing approaching the midpoint of the second half before setting off on a game-altering 14-4 run over nine minutes to break things wide open. MSU then iced the win at the foul line, going 6-for-6 inside the final minute to claim sole possession of third place in the conference standings at 9-6. Anthony Downing collected 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the effort while Caleb Patterson came up with 14 points off the bench. Kyle Weems added 11 points as MSU managed to overcome an off-night shooting (36.4 percent). Bradley was held to 29.8 percent shooting.
Wichita State defeated the Bears, 74-67, February 1st in Springfield after being swept in last year's season series. The Shockers still trail in the all- time series by a 30-28 count but are a stout 19-6 in Wichita versus MSU.
The Bears possess one of the conference's top scorers in Weems, who posts 16.0 ppg alongside a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. The senior also paces the club in three-point shooting with 52 on 41.6 percent shooting. Missouri State suffers a bit in scoring balance, but features four players averaging double figures. Patterson stands second to Weems at 13.0 ppg while Downing and Jarmar Gulley post 11.0 and 10.3-point averages. Downing also chips in with 35 threes on 34.0 percent shooting while Gulley adds a solid 5.7 rpg to the mix. Overall, the Bears average 66.9 ppg and hit at a respectable 44.4 percent from the field. An already tough MSU defense has clamped down recently and now holds opponents to a league-low 61.6 ppg and 39.6 percent shooting. The Bears hold down a decent 34.7-33.7 overall edge in rebounding.
The Shockers are as effective as any team in the country with their unique blend of offense paired alongside a stingy defense. WSU has the seventh-best scoring margin in the country at plus-15.3 and stands at or near the top of nearly every notable statistical category in the conference. Overall, the Shockers throw down 78.3 ppg and shoot 48.4 percent from the field, second to only Creighton on both counts. Wichita State's defense stands out as well, limiting teams to 63.1 ppg and 39.8 percent shooting -- good for third and second place, respectively, in the MVC. The Shockers are also the conference's best rebounding team, pulling down 38.0 boards per game with a MVC-best plus-6.5 margin on the glass overall. The balanced scoring effort for WSU has six players averaging at least 8.8 ppg with big man Garrett Stutz at the top of that list (14.1 ppg) while doubling as the club's best rebounder at 7.9 per contest. Both Ragland and Murry are close behind, averaging 13.2 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. Smith is on the rise and now adds 9.3 ppg to the mix while Carl Hall chips in 9.2 ppg and 5.4 rebound. Finally, David Kyles adds still further depth with an 8.8-point average while serving as the Shockers' best three- point threat with 49 treys on 37.4 percent shooting.
<< Oklahoma State and Missouri battle in Big 12 brawl
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Missouri Tigers continue
their quest for a Big 12 regular season crown, as they welcome the Oklahoma
State Cowboys to Columbia this evening, for a conference showdown at Mizzou
Arena.
Frank H
<< Lobos head to San Diego to take on 13th-ranked Aztecs
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Entering the week there were three teams tied
atop the Mountain West Conference standings and two of those programs go up
against each other tonight, as the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs
entertain the New M
<< Lions visit Gaels in pivotal WCC clash
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels put their
perfect home record on the line for the final time this season, as they
entertain the Lions of Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference clash
tonight at McKeon Pav
<< Wildcats and Hoosiers mix it up in Big Ten action
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten Conference rivals square off in
Bloomington this evening, as the Northwestern Wildcats have come calling on
the 18th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
Northwestern comes in sporting a 15-9 overall record, wh
Racers and Redhawks duke it out in OVC action >>
Cape Giradeau, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Murray State Racers head
to the Show Me Center for a rematch with the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
in what could be another Ohio Valley Conference thriller.
The Racers and Redhawks al
Zambia cracks top 50 in FIFA Rankings >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time since February 2001
Zambia finds itself in the top 50 in the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola
Men's World Rankings.
The African Cup of Nations had a big impact on the ranking
Cavs' Irving cleared to return >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers rookie point guard Kyrie
Irving was cleared to return to action.
Cavs team physician Dr. A.J. Cianflocco gave the first-overall pick the go-
ahead on Wednesday, hours before Cleveland
Rays give Maddon three-year extension >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays rewarded manager Joe
Maddon with a three-year contract extension on Wednesday.
Maddon took over the team prior to the 2006 season and suffered through two
losing campaigns before
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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