2010 Big West Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 35th annual Big West Conference Tournament will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena for a tenth straight season. The bottom four seeds of the eight-team field will take part in first-round action on Wednesday. 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.

The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, top-seeded Cal State Northridge defeated third-seeded Pacific in overtime, 71-66, to advance to the "Big Dance" for the first time in nine years.

UC Santa Barbara (20-10) won the Big West regular-season title with a 12-4 mark in league play this year. As the top seed in this tournament, the Gauchos will play the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals on Friday. UCSB's only BWC title came in 2002, and the Gauchos have a 13-25 record in this event all- time. They wrapped up this season by winning seven of their final eight games. UCSB is led by Orlando Johnson, who tops the league with 18.0 ppg.

The No. 2 seed belongs to the Pacific Tigers (20-10, 12-4), who have captured a Big West-best four tournament titles, most recently in 2006. The Tigers' 27 tournament wins are also tops in the league. They'll face the highest remaining seed in the semis. First-Team All-Big West forward Joe Ford was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, while Sam Willard compiles 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. The Tigers closed out the regular season with a three-game win streak.

Holding down the No. 3 seed are the Long Beach State 49ers (15-15, 8-8), who are tied with Pacific with four tournament titles, the latest of which came in 2007. LBSU will face the lowest remaining seed in Thursday's quarterfinal round. T.J. Robinson headlines the group, as he averages a double-double with 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per tilt. Robinson, a 52.2 percent shooter from the floor, earned First-Team All-Big West honors this season. Long Beach State wrapped up its schedule by winning three of its final four games, with the lone loss coming at Pacific two weeks ago.

The No. 4 seed belongs to the UC Davis Aggies (13-17, 8-8), who have a 1-1 record all-time in the BWC Tournament. The Aggies have not won more than two games in a row since opening their league slate back in early-January. Dominic Calegari leads the team with 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Joe Harden is averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 boards per tilt. UC Davis will take on the highest remaining seed on Thursday.

First-round action will get started on Wednesday, with the fifth-seeded Cal State Fullerton Titans (15-14, 8-8) taking on No. 8 seed Cal State Northridge (11-20, 6-10). These teams split the season series, with the visiting squad winning each meeting. Fullerton won in a 113-112 triple-overtime thriller when they last met on February 13th.

Fullerton closed its schedule with back-to-back home losses to Pacific (70-64) and UC Davis (92-86). This past Saturday, the Titans took UC Davis to overtime when Jacques Streeter drained a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation. But in the extra session, the Aggies knocked down back-to-back-to-back threes to swing the momentum. Three-point shooting was the difference in the game, as UC Davis knocked down 12-of-21 treys, while the Titans shot just 6-of-21 from the perimeter. Streeter and Gerard Anderson scored 23 apiece to pace Fullerton, while Devon Peltier added 20 points off the bench. Jer'Vaughn Johnson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards in the losing effort. Five different Titans average double figures this season, including three who tally at least 11 points and six boards per contest.

The Matadors won this tournament last season, but for a repeat they'll have to win four games in four nights. Twelve of the Matadors' games this season have been decided by five points or less, though they are just 4-8 in those contests. They closed out the year with losses in four of their final five games. This past Saturday, Northridge put up little fight in a 66-47 loss at home to Pacific. Kenny Daniels scored a team-high 17 points in the setback, while Willie Galick finished with 13 points. However, their supporting cast didn't offer much, as the Matadors went 1-of-15 from beyond the arc and shot a combined 32.7 percent from the floor. Daniels leads the team with 15.6 ppg, while Lenny Daniel (11.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Galick (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) have been steady contributors.

Later in Wednesday night's first-round action, the sixth-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs (11-18, 7-9) will tangle with No. 7 seed UC Irvine (14-17, 6-10). These teams closed out the regular season against one another this past weekend, with Irvine claiming a 91-84 overtime victory at Cal Poly. Earlier this season, the Mustangs notched a 95-81 win over the Anteaters.

The Mustangs are led by First-Team All-Big West guard Lorenzo Keeler, an 85.8 percent foul shooter who averages 16.0 ppg. Shawn Lewis is next in line with 12.0 ppg, followed by David Hanson with 10.4 ppg. The team lost leading rebounder and starting center Will Donahue (11.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg) in late- December due to eligibility issues. As for the Anteaters, they boast three double-digit scorers who have started every game this year, led by Eric Wise with 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per tilt. Rounding out that trio are Michael Hunter (14.0 ppg) and Darren Moore (10.9 ppg).

The Anteaters put together an improbable comeback to beat Cal Poly on Saturday, as they overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute of regulation. Had the Anteaters lost that game, they would not have made the field for this tournament. With 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Darren Moore hit a fadeaway three-pointer from the corner to send the game into overtime, his second trey of the final nine seconds. UCI took control in the extra session, and Moore went on to score a career-high 24 points. The Anteaters got off to an ugly start, making only one of their first 18 field- goal attempts. Still, UCI trailed by only five at halftime. Both teams shot just 36 percent from the floor for the game.

Joining Moore in double figures for UCI was Patrick Rembert with 20 points. Michael Hunter scored 19 for the Anteaters, while Eric Wise finished with 17. For Cal Poly, Shawn Lewis led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Keeler scored 21, Kyle Odister added 16 points, and David Hanson recorded a double- double with 11 points and 10 boards.

Imustlottto NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Best Horse Betting Online

(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.