Oh no, Canada! Aussies advance on late equalizer

Soccer Betting Lines

09/20/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cheryl Salisbury put Australia in the quarterfinals for the first time in the team's history as she scored a dramatic equalizer in the 90th minute to earn a 2-2 draw with Canada.

Trailing by a goal in the dying minutes, Australia needed to earn a draw to advance, and Salisbury, the team captain, picked a good time to score her first goal of the tournament.

Lisa DeVanna once again provided a spark off the bench for Australia, and a great piece of individual skill inside the box allowed DeVanna to shake free from two defenders.

Canada's Candace-Marie Chapman was able to poke the ball away from DeVanna, but it ended up on the foot of Salisbury, and she buried her shot from eight yards to knock Canada out of the tournament.

Needing a win to progress, Canada got off to a dream start by scoring the second fastest goal in Women's World Cup history.

A long ball from the back found the head of Kara Lang on the right flank. Lang nodded the ball into the path of Melissa Tancredi, and she lobbed her shot over the head of keeper Melissa Barbieri to put Canada in front after only 31 seconds.

The shortest-ever goal came in the 1991 World Cup, with Sweden's Lena Videkull scoring 30 seconds into a match against Japan.

However, a fantastic free kick by Collette McCallum leveled the match in the second half for Australia. It appeared that Canada would sneak past the Aussies when Christine Sinclair headed home from close range to put Canada up with just five minutes to play, but Salisbury broke the Canadians hearts with her late goal.

The Matildas were not stunned by the early strike, and they went to work trying to find the equalizer.

Caitlin Munoz found a chance for Australia, heading a corner over the net from close range. Sarah Walsh then continued her strong play up top by getting a number of opportunities, only to be denied by Erin McCleod.

First, Walsh turned with the ball at the right corner of the box and drove a near-post shot low that forced a diving stop by McCleod. Australia was beginning to take over the game, but Canada proved to be dangerous on the counter attack.

Lang crossed from the right and ended up putting the ball off the crossbar. Christine Sinclair picked up the rebound and knocked it to Tancredi in front of goal, but her volley ended up sailing over the net.

Midway through the half, Walsh continued to give the Canadian defense fits. She first got in behind the back line on the right and beat McCleod with her shot, only to be denied by the far post. Minutes later, Walsh had a chance after a scramble in the box resulted in the striker with the ball on her foot eight yards from goal. McCleod came charging off her line, however, and did well to cut down the angle, getting on top of Walsh and deflecting the shot away.

Joanne Peters kept the pressure on the Canadian goal, driving a shot just inches wide of the right post from 20 yards before the halftime whistle.

The Matildas have been a second-half team so far this competition, and that trend continued shortly after the restart with Walsh drawing a foul 25 yards from goal.

McCallum stepped up to the kick and sent a dipping shot over the wall and inside the right post past a diving McCleod. It was a perfect free kick and it put Australia in position to claim a spot in the quarterfinals.

Australia missed a great chance to move in front minutes later, with super-sub DeVanna once again sparking the attack. DeVanna carried the ball through midfield and slid a pass to Walsh on the right. The striker then ripped a strong shot toward the far post, but it slid just inches wide.

Jodi-Ann Robinson thought she had given Canada the lead in the 70th minute when she headed a cross from the right past the keeper. However, the ball struck the post and stayed out.

With just five minutes to play in its World Cup, Canada relied on Sinclair to carry it through. A corner kick from the left was lofted to Chapman and she headed it back through the face of goal to Sinclair, who headed it home with two defenders positioned on the goal line.

However, Salisbury's heroics sent Canada home early, and the Canadians, just one World Cup removed from a semifinal appearance, will have to wait four more years to prove that they belong among the world's elite.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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