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03/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 34th-annual Big West Conference Tournament will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena for a ninth straight season. The bottom four seeds of the eight-team field will take part in first-round action Wednesday night. The top two seeds receive byes all the way to Friday's semifinal round, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds get a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Cal State Northridge (15-13, 11-5) locked up its second straight Big West regular-season crown, which means the Matadors get the top seed in the conference tourney and are guaranteed at least an automatic berth to the National Invitation Tournament. Of course, they'll be gunning for the top prize; a ticket to the Big Dance. It's the Matadors' first-ever No. 1 seed, after finishing last season in a three-way tie atop the conference standings. They've got the top spot all to themselves this season, although it almost never happened.
Northridge lost its regular-season finale at Pacific on Saturday, while second-place Long Beach State was having its way with UC Santa Barbara. All the 49ers had to do was hold on to beat UCSB and they'd have the top seed, due to tiebreakers. However, the Gauchos put together a huge rally, eventually beating Long Beach State on a last-second three-pointer. So, as it turned out, Long Beach State (15-14, 10-6) gets the No. 2 seed and will receive the other automatic bye to the semifinal round. The 49ers are tied with Pacific for most tournament titles (4) and most tourney wins (25), with 2007 being their most recent Big West Tournament crown.
Speaking of Pacific (17-11, 10-6), the Tigers locked up the No. 3 seed and will play the lowest remaining seed in Thursday's quarterfinal round. UCSB (15-14, 8-8) has the fourth seed and will play in the night cap of Thursday's quarterfinals, versus the highest remaining seed. Teams aren't exactly lining up to face the Gauchos, who closed out the season by winning three straight and seven of their last eight games.
First-round action will get started Wednesday, with the No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (12-18, 8-8) taking on No. 8 UC Davis. UC Irvine (12-18, 7-9) made it all the way to the Big West Championship game last season as a five-seed. The Anteaters finished the season strong, winning four of their final five games, although they lost both regular-season meetings against UC Davis. The Aggies are making their first Big West Tournament appearance after joining the league in 2008.
The Anteaters have one of the league's top young stars in freshman forward Eric Wise, who earned second-team All-Big West honors after leading UCI with 14.2 ppg. Wise is the league's highest scoring freshman and has six 20-point games under his belt this season, and he is also collecting 5.9 rebounds per game. He is complemented by Michael Hunter (11.8 ppg), who is averaging 2.53 three-pointers per game. Hunter is also one of the team's top defensive presences, averaging a league-best 1.93 steals per game in BWC play. Kevin Bland is a solid presence down on the blocks, where he is posting 10.0 ppg and 7.2 rpg. While the Anteaters do have a few reliable scoring options, they've often struggled on the defensive end, allowing opponents to put up 68.8 ppg and shoot 46.1 percent from the floor. They are also being out-rebounded by an average margin of 3.4 boards per game.
As for the Aggies, they sputtered down the stretch by losing four straight. Their season finale was a 27-point loss to Northridge, which was also their most lopsided defeat of the season. It will be up to guys like Vince Oliver, the program's first-ever All-Big West first-team selection, to bounce back with a much better effort. Oliver led UC Davis with 15.5 ppg, and he stepped up his production to 18.4 ppg in Big West games. Joe Harden (14.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Mark Payne (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) were second-team selections. Harden ranks fifth in the conference in scoring and third in rebounding, and he set a school record with 158 free throws made this season. He posted 18.0 ppg over the final seven games. Payne is shooting a ridiculous 67.8 percent from the field and is also doling out 5.0 assists per game. The Aggies are one of the better shooting teams in the league, as they are knocking down 36.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, and 78.4 percent of their free throws.
Cal State Fullerton (14-16, 7-9) won this tournament last season and the Titans boast this year's Big West Player of the Year in senior guard Josh Akognon. Those factors aside, Fullerton enters first-round action with losses in five of its last six league games. The Titans and Highlanders split the regular-season series. Akognon has been in the top-10 in the nation in scoring all season long, as he finished with 23.5 ppg. He started all 30 games and knocked down 123 three-pointers (36.1 percent) and 125 free throws (88.7 percent). The only other Titan to have started each game this season is Jacques Streeter, a 42.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc who averaged 10.4 ppg. Beyond that however, the Titans simply don't have a whole lot of offensive firepower. They've also struggled with some of the bigger teams, as they are a -4.5 in rebounding margin for the season.
The Highlanders (17-12, 8-8) racked up 17 wins this season, marking their highest win total since joining Division I in 2001. They actually finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with UCSB and UC Irvine, but dropped to sixth after the tie breakers were sorted out. Senior guard Aaron Scott (9.8 ppg) missed Saturday's season finale against Cal Poly, a game that UCR wound up losing and subsequently falling to the No. 6 seed. The team is hopeful Scott will be available for the conference tournament. In any case, most of the scoring onus will still fall on Kyle Austin, who leads the team with 16.8 ppg to go along with 6.2 rpg. Austin is the only double-digit scorer this season for the Highlanders, who average just 60.7 ppg. Javon Borum is tallying 9.7 ppg, though he is a 42.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc. UCR is solid on the boards, out-rebounding foes by an average margin of 3.4 boards per game.
Although they needed a good bit of fortune to lock up the No. 1 seed, the Matadors will certainly take the bye, and the fresh legs, while the other teams battle it out. The 49ers could use the extra two days to figure out how they coughed up such a comfortable lead against UC Santa Barbara. Meanwhile, those UCSB Gauchos have been red-hot of late, and they can stand toe-to-toe with anybody in the Big West. Looking at the rest of the field, while not impossible, the four bottom seeds are facing a pretty big task to win four games in four nights. But in the end Northridge has the deepest roster and, with a two-round head start, the best shot to grab the coveted NCAA Tournament bid.
<< Top-seeded Cavs open trip against Clippers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference's top team faces one of the West's
worst when the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the lowly Los Angeles Clippers at
Staples Center tonight.
The Cavs, who are kicking off a three-game west coast road
<< Suns, Mavs square off in the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a little early to talk about must win games but the
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when they host the Dallas Mavericks in the opener of a three-game homestand.
The S
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to follow up one of their
most impressive performances of the year tonight when they kick off a three-
game road trip against the lowly Sacramento Kings at ARCO Arena.
Nenad Krstic scor
<< Bobcats continue playoff push in San Antonio vs. Spurs
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playoff berth thanks to a franchise-record winning streak and will close out a
quick two-game road trip Tuesday against the tough San Antonio Spurs.
The Bobcats have won
Pens shoot for seventh straight win in home test vs. Panthers >>
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tonight, as the Pittsburgh Penguins shoot for a season-best seventh straight
win when the Florida Panthers enter Mellon Arena for an important late-year
matchup.
P
With Carbonneau gone, Gainey leads Habs against Oilers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens may be coming off one of their
better showings in recent memory, but that still couldn't save the fate of the
team's head coach.
Bob Gainey takes over for the fired Guy Carbonneau behind the bench wh
Red Wings hope to bounce back in home tilt against Coyotes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings will be attempting to put a humbling
home loss behind them when the Phoenix Coyotes take on the defending Stanley
Cup champions tonight at Joe Louis Arena.
Detroit had a two-game win streak come to an
Division-leading Devils, Flames tangle in New Jersey >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of first-place teams will battle tonight in the
Garden State, as the New Jersey Devils welcome the Calgary Flames to
Prudential Center.
The Devils are the top team in the Atlantic Division and with 87 points are
al
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American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6
The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.
Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com. "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis. It's like Week 1 of the NFL. Pre-season means nada!
We do know the 24 finalists however.
Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24. He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway. He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien.
Brandon Rogers - Who?
Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition. He should go a good distance.
Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was. And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition. He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice! People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way.
"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks. He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes. But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.
A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”
Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes.
"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate. "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past. He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far. Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."
Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts)
And the others:
Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter
The girls
"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis. "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has. The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive. I think she will go far."
Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.
"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams. Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth. "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.
Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.
Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.
Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan
MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with).
Last two contestants will be?
1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)
2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)
2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)
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