Rebels and Horned Frogs square off in MWC matchup

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - Fort Worth, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Locked in a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West Conference standings entering the week, the 11th-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels try to give themselves some breathing room as they take on the TCU Horned Frogs at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth this evening.

UNLV, which is tied with both San Diego State and New Mexico with a record of 6-2 in league play, avenged the loss earlier this season to the Aztecs by claiming a hard-fought 65-63 win in the most recent meeting over the weekend at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels, winners of six of their last seven outings, have matched their highest placement in the AP poll from earlier this season, an achievement not seen in Las Vegas in nearly two decades.

As for the Horned Frogs, a group which is tied with both Wyoming and Colorado State for fourth place in the MWC at the moment, they came away with a 75-71 win over Colorado State on Saturday night, snapping a two-game slide in order to get back to .500 in league play at 4-4. The home victory kept TCU perfect in four tries versus MWC foes in Fort Worth, 11-2 overall in 2011-12.

The Rebels blew the doors off TCU in the first meeting of the season last month in Las Vegas by a score of 101-78. Mike Moser, who just earned MWC Player of the Week honors for the fourth time this season on Monday, posted 16 points and 15 rebounds in the first matchup, one of three UNLV players to score in double figures as the team shot not only 57.8 percent from the floor, but also 11-of-21 behind the three-point line.

With the overwhelming win the first time around, UNLV now owns a 17-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Horned Frogs, taking six straight contests.

The Rebels should have had the meeting with San Diego State in the bag on Saturday, leading by 13 points in the second half, but still the locals had to come up with three steals in the final 42 seconds in order to secure the two- point decision at the Thomas & Mack. Moser came up a rebound shy of yet another double-double as he tallied 19 points, but he still found the time to post six steals, four blocked shots and a pair of assists, against just a single turnover. Oscar Bellfield and Brice Massamba responded with 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Anthony Marshall compensated for just 2-of-9 shooting from the floor by handing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds. Moser has been on a mission for the Rebels all season long and after his performance on Saturday he might finally be getting some much-deserved national recognition with his 14.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Throw in 51 steals, 24 blocked shots and 60 assists and there are few players in the nation who can duplicate his versatility. Chace Stanback (13.3 ppg) helps to shoulder some of the scoring burden thanks to his 44.3 percent accuracy behind the three-point line, but the team as a whole is still shooting only 36.3 percent out on the perimeter as they generate 79.5 ppg.

The Horned Frogs trailed by 10 points late in the first half against Colorado State after allowing the Rams to connect on better than 57 percent from the floor, but the second half was a different story and TCU was able to salvage the close call after surviving eight ties and just as many lead changes. Craig Williams gave the hosts a huge boost off the bench as he tallied 20 points, shooting 4-of-5 behind the three-point line, the team converting 12of-27 beyond the arc collectively. Hank Thorns tallied 15 points and six assists, J.R. Cadot 14 points and seven boards and Garlon Green 10 points for the victors. In the last six games the Frogs have had five different leading scorers which means either they are potentially balanced on offense or that there's too much inconsistency that prevents the group from counting on just one player to lead them on a regular basis. It seems like the answer might be the latter since Thorns (12.9 ppg) leads the team in scoring and assists (111) but is shooting just 38.4 percent from the floor and that has brought the entire team down to only 43.8 percent for the season.

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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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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

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