Hoyas and Mountaineers square off for Big East crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament title is up for grabs this evening, as the 22nd-ranked Georgetown Hoyas take on the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at famed Madison Square Garden.

The Hoyas were thought to be a regular-season contender in the Big East, but the team faltered in the second half of the season and finished with a rather pedestrian 10-8 mark in-conference. However, Georgetown has certainly made believers out of skeptics with their play in this tournament, as the team has navigated the field out of the eight-seed, with impressive wins over the likes of South Florida (69-49), top-seeded Syracuse (91-84) and most recently, Marquette (80-57) in yesterday's semifinal action. The Hoyas are the most decorated team in Big East Tournament history, with seven tournament titles. The team is making its third appearance in the finals in the last four years, winning the whole thing in 2007.

Standing in Georgetown's way is West Virginia. The Mountaineers earned the three-seed and a double-bye to the quarterfinals with an impressive 13-5 league ledger. In this event, West Virginia has had its hands full, but has come out on top with thrilling victories over both Cincinnati (54-51) in the quarterfinals and Notre Dame (53-51) in the semifinals. There are seven conference members that have never won this event and West Virginia is one of them. The team did however, appear in the championship game in 2005, falling to Syracuse.

These two teams met just once this season, with West Virginia posting an 81-68 victory in Morgantown on March 1st.

The Hoyas are a physical team and have certainly displayed that in this event, running all over the opposition thus far. Center Greg Monroe is a big reason for that and he had another huge game in the win over Marquette, abusing the Golden Eagles for his 13th double-double of the season and third straight, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Three other Hoyas joined Monroe in double-figure scoring, with Chris Wright and Jason Clark pouring in 15 points apiece and Austin Freeman tacking on 12 points. Georgetown made light work of Marquette by shooting 53.6 percent from the floor, including a scorching 60 percent in the decisive second half. The Hoyas are averaging a modest 73.7 ppg on the year, but possess more than enough weapons to run the score up. Freeman currently paces the team with 16.8 ppg, but it is Monroe's presence in the middle that sets everything else up. The sophomore center is converting over 52 percent from the floor and is netting 16.2 ppg, while grabbing 9.7 rpg. Wright (14.7 ppg) and Clark (10.8 ppg) provide more than enough offensive support.

For the second straight game, West Virginia pulled off a victory in the waning moments. After a Da'Sean Butler's three-pointer with under two seconds to play decided the game against Cincinnati two days ago, it was a missed attempt by Notre Dame late that proved to be the difference in a two-point victory yesterday for WVU. Butler was once again instrumental in the win over Notre Dame, as he finished 9-of-15 from the floor for a game-high 24 points. Kevin Jones added 10 points, as West Virginia shot a solid .488 from the field, despite racking up just 53 points. The team did the rest at the defensive end, holding the streaking Irish to a mere .344 shooting effort, while outrebounding them 37-22. Much like Georgetown, West Virginia is averaging a modest 73.4 ppg on the year, despite having solid scoring depth. Butler leads four Mountaineers in double figures with 17.3 ppg. Jones (13.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Devin Ebanks (12.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) are a solid frontcourt duo, while Darryl Bryant (10.0 ppg) helps Butler from the perimeter.

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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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