Wake Forest and Texas do battle in 2010 NCAA Tournament

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East Region of the 2010 NCAA Tournament features a first-round matchup between the eighth-seeded Texas Longhorns and the ninth-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a second-round matchup with either top- seeded Kentucky or 16th-seeded East Tennessee State.

Wake Forest is making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row under third-year head coach Dino Gaudio. The Demon Deacons, who are 27-21 at this event all-time, earned an at-large bid after compiling a 19-10 record through the close of the ACC Tournament. They own six wins over the RPI top-50 teams and certainly have the talent to challenge the Longhorns.

Texas was the nation's top-ranked team for two weeks in January, and the fact that the club fell completely out of the Top-25 in March tells the tale of a rapid decline. The Longhorns, who are 24-9 overall, have lost nine of their last 16 games. They have 28 previous NCAA Tournament appearances to their credit and own a 33-30 record at the event. They were knocked out in the second round a year ago and continue to be led by long-time head coach Rick Barnes.

Wake Forest owns a 3-1 series lead over Texas, and one of those three victories for the Demon Deacons came in the second round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

The strength of the Wake Forest team is its play at the defensive end of the court, as it is limiting opponents to 68.4 ppg on 38.3 percent shooting from the field, including 28.9 percent from three-point range. Offensively, the club is generating 73.0 ppg. Al-Farouq Aminu is the top performer for the Demon Deacons with 15.7 ppg and 10.7 rpg, and the Second-Team All-ACC performer is the only player in the conference to average a double-double this year. Aminu also paces the club in blocks (44) and is second in steals (43). The leader in steals is Ishmael Smith with 52, and he is netting 13.3 ppg to complement an impressive total of 173 assists. C.J. Harris rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10.0 ppg for Wake, which is outrebounding foes by 4.5 rpg. Turnovers have been a problem for the Deacs this season, as they have give the ball away approximately 15 times per outing.

The best player on the Texas roster is clearly Damion James, an athletic forward who was recently selected as a First-Team All-Big 12 performer. James has started all 33 games this season and is scoring 18.0 ppg on 50.9 percent shooting from the floor, including 40.2 percent from three-point range. More than just a scorer, he is ripping down 10.4 rpg to go with 54 steals and 39 blocked shots. Avery Bradley provides 11.7 ppg for the 'Horns, and Dexter Pittman adds 10.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg to the mix. Texas is generating 81.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 69.7 ppg on 40.2 percent shooting from the floor. The club is outrebounding opponents by 6.8 rpg, but all of those positive numbers were considerably more impressive at the midway point of the season.

Wwwinsidetheweb NCAA Basketball Betting News


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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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