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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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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