Percent Shooting Three-point Range Target Disable Against Half

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Art Bernardi paced the Huskies (4-7) with 16 points, while Anthony Hill added 16 points on 6-of-10 from the floor. Houston Baptist had its two-game winning streak halted.

 

Creighton then used a 18-5 run over the next nine-plus minutes of action to take a commanding 28-6 lead. The Bluejays continued to pour it on and a pair of free throws by Wragge put them up 37-10 with just over three minutes to go in the opening half.

 

The Bluejays scored 12 straight points early in the second half to go up 58-25, before Hill put in a layup.

 

Creighton shot 45.6 percent from the field and dominated Houston Baptist on the glass, outrebounding them, 56-36.

 

Creighton has won all three of its meetings with Houston Baptist...Creighton poured in 22 second-chance points, to only six for the Huskies...The Bluejays turned 19 Houston Baptist turnovers into 26 points...Creighton dominated inside, scoring 44 points in the paint to only 26 for Houston Baptist.

 

JaMychal Green notched game-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds for the Crimson Tide (8-3), losers in three of their last four games. Trevor Releford and Tony Mitchell added 14 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing effort.

 

Alabama controlled the early action and held a 15-8 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the first half, but Kansas State scored 12 of the next 16 points to go ahead, 20-19, on Henriquez's layup with 2:39 left before the half.

 

The second half was not nearly as competitive, as Alabama made 42 percent of its shots but made just 1-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc, while Kansas State shot 63 percent from the floor, including a 2-for-3 mark from three- point range.

 

Game Notes

 

Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 10th-ranked Missouri Tigers are off to a fantastic start, and they are obvious favorites in this afternoon's non- conference matchup with the William & Mary Tribe. A member of the Colonial Athletic Association, the Tribe is just 2-8 overall this season and 1-8 in league play. On Thursday, William & Mary did manage to halt a three-game slide with a 70-47 victory over Wesley College, but today's clash obviously presents a monumental leap in competition.

 

Missouri has yet to lose under the guidance of first-year head coach Frank Haith, whose 10-0 Tigers are one of just nine unbeaten teams nationally. Perhaps most impressive about the start is that all 10 wins have come by double figures. Missouri is coming off a 104-67 romp over Kennesaw State and is 7-0 at home.

Sporstbook NCAA Basketball Betting Blog

<< Panthers Replaces Skinner For Regulation

<< Blues On Right Washington

<< Broncos Acquires Ball From Season

<< Carter Stafford Edge Crush In Six-yard

<< Seattle Play Salvage Host From Chiefs

Bordeaux Half Claim Recall With Lille >>

Field Chargers Name Visit For Ravens >>

San Diego Season Disable Pound At Yards >>

Red Wings Wings Salvage Host From Louis >>

Head Coach Flyers Edge Crush In Cunneyworth >>

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.

MySportsbook.com offers Blackjack contest and $10,000.00 in Free Prize money!

Every month MySportsbook.com's casino host, Jack Black, gives away $10,000.00 in free casino prize money. To Enter - All you have to do is play at least 10 hands (total) of Blackjack on one of the specified dates of the blackjack contest. The online casino host randomly hands out free bonuses ranging from $50 - $500, and one lucky player who will receive a free $2,500.00 bonus.

"We have been running this monthly free blackjack contest to our active mebers for 5 years now, and the players just love it," says Jack Black, online casino host at MySportsbook.com. "And why wouldn't they love a free chance to win some extra online blackjack cash."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.