Cowboys tangle with Wildcats in Big 12 quarterfinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterfinal action of the Big 12 Conference Tournament pits the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats against the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a semifinal clash with either sixth-seeded Texas or third-seeded Baylor.

Oklahoma State has captured the Big 12 Tournament title twice, and it has been five years since its last championship. The Cowboys finished 21-9 overall during the regular season, including 9-7 versus league opponents, and they closed out the schedule with a 74-55 romp over Nebraska. They carried that momentum into yesterday's first round matchup with Oklahoma, as the result was an 81-67 victory.

Kansas State has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 7-13 all-time in the event. This year's group of Wildcats is a serious threat to capture the crown, however, as the club enters the tournament with a 24-6 overall record, including 11-5 in league action. On a down note, the final two regular-season contests resulted in defeat, including a 17-point loss to in-state rival Kansas and an overtime setback to a mediocre Iowa State squad at home.

The Cowboys beat K-State in Manhattan in a 73-69 final during the regular season, but the Wildcats still own a 69-46 advantage in the all-time series.

Keiton Page poured in 24 points to lead Oklahoma State to the 14-point victory over Oklahoma last night. Obi Muonelo tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cowboys, while James Anderson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, was limited to 11 points. Matt Pilgrim added 10 points for OSU, which rolled to a 45-23 lead at intermission behind 19 first-half points from Page. Despite a shaky defensive effort in the second half that permitted the Sooners to shoot 60 percent from the floor, the Cowboys cruised to victory. The Pokes shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the game and earned a 31-26 rebounding advantage. Anderson is averaging 22.5 ppg for Oklahoma State, which is generating 74.6 ppg while yielding 67.6 ppg.

The strength of the Kansas State team is its All-Big 12 Conference backcourt duo of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. Pullen is scoring 18.9 ppg this season, and he has dished out 109 assists to go along with a club-best 49 steals. Clemente checks in with 16.0 ppg despite his shaky 39.1 percent shooting from the floor, and he has handed out 118 assists. Jamar Samuels and Curtis Kelly are both contributing 11.4 ppg, and Kelly is ripping down 6.3 rpg to complement his 56 blocked shots. The standout frontcourt performer is shooting 58.9 percent from the field, impressive by any standards. The Wildcats are generating 79.9 ppg on 45.3 percent field goal efficiency, and they are limiting opponents to 69.3 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting. A positive rebounding differential of 5.2 rpg has helped the team to its outstanding win total.

Jazzsportd NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Redskins add TE Ryan
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins agreed to terms with tight end Sean Ryan on Thursday. Details of the contract were not disclosed. Ryan appeared in 10 games, making eight starts, for Kansas City last season and ha

<< Redskins sign free-agent tight end Sean Ryan
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -Free-agent tight end Sean Ryan has signed with the Washington Redskins.Ryan caught 14 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns for the Kansas City Chiefs last season.He has 26 catches for 240 yards and those two TDs in six NFL seas

<< Noh among four British Open qualifiers
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than a week after winning his first European Tour event, Seung-yul Noh was one of four qualifiers at the International Final Qualifying for the British Open, which will be contested at St.

<< Johnson carries Montana past Weber State for Big Sky title
Ogden, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Anthony Johnson set a tournament record with 42 points and knocked down the game-winning jumper with 10.4 seconds left to cap a furious second-half comeback, as Montana upended Weber State, 66-65, to claim t

<< Evans' triple-double leads Kings over Raptors
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans logged his first career triple- double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and as many assists, as Sacramento cruised to a 113-90 win over a struggling Toronto Raptors club. Beno Udrih led all scorers

No. 1 Kansas begins Big 12 Tournament play against Texas Tech >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they are slated to do battle with the ninth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders this afternoon in the quarterfinal round.

Falcons face tall task in Mountain West Tourney tilt with Lobos >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 24 hours after picking up just their second win all-time in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the Air Force Falcons are back on the hardwood of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as they

TCU seeks upset of BYU in Mountain West quarterfinals >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch of the regular-season finale has 14th-ranked and second-seeded BYU taking on the seventh-seeded TCU Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament tonight at the Thom

Miners open C-USA Tournament play against Knights >>
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of 14th straight games, the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas El Paso Miners set their sites on a C-USA Tournament championship, starting with tonight's quarterfinal-round matchup against the ninth-seeded UCF

Longhorns and Bears meet in Big 12 Tournament >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are seeded third in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will begin action in the event tonight with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the sixth-seeded Texas Longhorns.

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.

For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.