Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
02/11/2012 - Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Ragland had 24 points and six assists, as Wichita State downed No. 17 Creighton, 89-68, on Saturday.
Ben Smith added 22 points while Toure' Murry and Demetric Williams had 11 apiece for the Shockers (22-4, 13-2 MVC), who have won four straight and 12 of their last 13.
The Bluejays (21-5, 11-4) could have tied Wichita State atop the MVC standings with a win, but instead lost their third straight game. They were paced by Gregory Echenique's 16 points. Leading scorer Doug McDermott had 13 on 5-of-14 shooting while Antoine Young and Ethan Wragge scored 11 apiece.
The Shockers took control of the game late in the first half, using an 8-0 run to grab a 33-23 advantage. Murry had four points during the surge before Creighton responded with five straight to make it 33-28. But Wichita State continued to pull away.
A Smith three-point play stretched the lead back to 10, 42-32, with two minutes left in the half and it was 49-36 at the break courtesy of Smith's trey seconds before the buzzer.
Despite the sizeable margin, recent history cautioned that the Bluejays were capable of making it a game.
Since 2003, Creighton has overcome a double-digit deficit to down Wichita State six times, including an 11-point comeback win on New Year's Eve of this season.
But the Shockers didn't falter. They dominated the second half, stretching the lead to 19, 70-51, on another bucket from Smith. The Bluejays answered with a McDermott layup and two free throws from Echenique but Wichita State had it back to 19 minutes later and the margin reached 20 on a pair of Williams' foul shots with 4:10 to play.
Game Notes
The Shockers shot 58.2 percent from the field and hit 8-of-16 three- pointers...Wichita State improved to 8-1 on the road this season...Creighton leads the all-time series, 53-44...McDermott entered Saturday ranked first in the MVC and third in the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game.
<< Wi still leads; Tiger 4 back at Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Wi posted a bogey-free, three-
under 69 Saturday to maintain his three-stroke lead after three rounds of the
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Wi, who will go for his first PGA Tour win on Sunday, fini
<< Montana's Gregorak elevated to defensive coordinator
Missoula, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Montana assistant football
coach Ty Gregorak was promoted to defensive coordinator, Grizzlies third-year
head coach Robin Pflugrad announced Saturday.
Gregorak, 33, rejoined the Montana program
<< Plumlees dominate as Duke routs Maryland
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miles Plumlee scored 13 points and pulled down a
career-high 22 rebounds as No. 10 Duke defeated ACC-rival Maryland, 73-55, at
Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Plumlee became the first Duke player to gra
<< Hymn Book captures Donn Handicap
Hallandale Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hymn Book, making his 2012 debut,
outfought Mission Impazible down the stretch to win Saturday's $500,000
Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The six-year-old gelding covered the 1 1/8-
miles i
France tops Canada to take lead in Davis Cup >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra took
down Canadians Daniel Nestor and Milos Raonic in straight sets, 7-6 (7-1),
7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to give France a 2-1 edge in the third rubber of a best-of-
five tie
Spartans snap Ohio State's long home win streak >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adreian Payne scored a team-high 15 points as
No. 11 Michigan State handed third-ranked Ohio State its first home loss in
almost two years with a 58-48 decision at Value City Arena.
Keith Appling added 14
Baylor thumps Texas A&M to stay perfect >>
Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner dropped in a game-high 21 points
to go with 10 rebounds and six blocks as top-ranked Baylor took care of
business with a 71-48 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Odyssey Sims finishe
Pinceton continues home dominance of Harvard >>
Princeton, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Harvard's unbeaten mark in the Ivy League
came to a halt Saturday night against a team they haven't solved on the road
in more than 23 years.
Ian Hummer scored 20 points, pulled down nine rebounds and h
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting