Golden Eagles take aim at Pirates in Big East battle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/31/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to snap a four-game slide, the Seton Hall Pirates take on the 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Conference action tonight at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Seton Hall was a force to be reckoned with through the first 17 games of the season, losing only twice and one of those coming against mighty Syracuse on the road. However, the tide has changed for the Pirates and now they are trying to figure out how to get back on course after losing to Louisville on Saturday in a 60-51 final. In the last two games, Seton Hall has scored a total of just 93 points, one less than the team logged in its last win (94-73) versus DePaul on January 10. Despite the slide in recent weeks, the Pirates still have an overall winning percentage of .714.

As for the Golden Eagles, since losing back-to-back games against Georgetown and the Orange on the road earlier this month, they have not bowed to a single opponent as they've strung together six straight victories. The most recent of those triumphs took place on Saturday afternoon versus Villanova, 82-78, a final that was a bit too close for comfort.

Marquette leads the all-time series with the Pirates by a count of 8-2, but last year Seton Hall broke through for the first time since 1956 as it snapped an eight-game slide in the relationship with an 85-72 triumph at home in New Jersey.

Jordan Theodore scored in double figures for the 14th straight game over the weekend, putting up a team-best 18 points, but still the Pirates succumbed to Louisville at home in the Prudential Center. Theodore led all scorers on both sides, but he did so only after shooting 6-of-20 from the floor and missing all five attempts behind the three-point line. Herb Pope registered a double- double with 12 points and 12 boards in the setback as well. Pope is one of the rare breed who is averaging a double-double this late into the season, producing 15.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest, not to mention having accounted for 35 of his team's 68 blocked shots as well. Theodore is responsible for another 16.1 ppg as the top scorer, handing out 7.0 apg along the way, but his mere 29.3 percent shooting beyond the arc and 38.5 percent from the floor overall is something that certainly could be improved upon moving forward.

Down by 18 points in the middle of the first half, the Golden Eagles stormed back in the second half and managed to overcome 16 turnovers and 38.5 percent shooting from the floor in order to capture the four-point win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Darius Johnson-Odom scored a team-best 26 points, adding six rebounds and five assists, while Jae Crowder registered a double-double with 20 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while Jamil Wilson delivered 12 points off the bench. Johnson-Odom, a leading scorer in each of the last five games for the program, is one of the top scorers in the Big East with his 18.5 ppg, with Crowder putting up another 16.4 ppg and coming down with 7.4 rpg even as he shoos 40.0 percent behind the three-point line. Marquette's scoring output numbers 76.5 ppg at the moment, more than 12 ppg ahead of the competition (64.4 ppg) which is being forced into 14.5 turnovers per game.

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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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