Bruins cling to Pac-10 title hopes

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked UCLA Bruins will try to keep their Pac-10 Conference regular season title hopes alive, as they host the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion this afternoon.

The Bruins enter the day one game behind Washington for first place and a game ahead of California for second at 12-5. With a win today, UCLA would be assured of no worse than a second-place finish, but it could also earn a share of its fourth straight Pac-10 title with a Washington loss to Washington State. The Bruins have won three straight and four of the last five outings, including a 79-54 blasting of Oregon State on Thursday. The triumph was the 15th in 17 home outings, as the Bruins improved to 23-7 overall.

As for Oregon, it assured itself of a last-place finish by dropping the first 14 games of its league schedule. The Ducks ended that drought with back-to- back wins last week, but they were unable to keep things going on Thursday, falling at USC in an 80-66 final. The loss was the ninth straight on the road for the team.

The all-time series between Oregon and UCLA leans heavily in favor of the Bruins, who extended their lead to 80-25 following an 83-74 decision over the Ducks in the first meeting of the season.

The Ducks hung tough early and trailed just 36-35 at the break, but in the second half, they shot a dismal 31.3 percent from the floor in what turned out to be an 80-66 setback at USC on Thursday. Oregon was also outdone at the foul line, where it went just 13-of-20 compared to a 22-of-28 effort by USC. Tajuan Porter guided the team in the defeat with 20 points, but he also accounted for seven of the squad's 13 turnovers. Still, Porter has been one of the few consistent players for Oregon and he is averaging a team-high 15.4 ppg, while shooting 38.6 percent from three-point range and 88.5 percent at the foul line. LeKendric Longmire is the only other player on the team contributing double figures at the moment, with 10.2 ppg.

The Bruins broke an 11-11 tie by outscoring Oregon State 32-8 the rest of the half and they would coasted to the 25-point victory on Thursday. UCLA shot an electric 58.5 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 from long range, and also held a 33-20 advantage on the boards. Josh Shipp was sensational in the win, as he poured in a career-high 27 points and knocked down 5-of-8 buckets from downtown. Nikola Dragovic added 13 points and eight boards, and Darren Collison had 11 caroms and eight assists. Collison was limited to just six points, but he is averaging much better and team-high 14.7 ppg on the season. He is also the engineer of the Bruin attack, dishing off 5.0 apg. Shipp checks in with 13.9 ppg, while Alfred Aboya logs 11.7 ppg and a team-best 5.9 rpg. Overall, UCLA is generating 76.5 ppg behind a nation-best 50.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Megasportscasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Butler hosts Wright State in Horizon League semis
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Butler Bulldogs will finally take the floor in the 2009 Horizon League Tournament, when they host the Wright State Raiders in semifinal-round action at the Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Raiders fin

<< Big East brawl pits Orange against Golden Eagles
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of strong Big East Conference teams are set to close out the regular season in Milwaukee this afternoon, as the 13th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles play host to the 25th-ranked Syracuse Orange. Syracu

<< Huskies visit Panthers in clash of Big East titans
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what could prove to be one of the best games of the college basketball season, the top-ranked Connecticut Huskies invade the Steel City for a Big East Conference showdown with the third-ranked Pittsburgh Pan

<< 'Hawks host 'Horns in pivotal Big 12 showdown
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out their regular season at home this afternoon, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Lawrence for a Big 12 showdown from the Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are coming

<< Germany leads Austria 2-1 in Davis Cup first-rounder
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Germans got a doubles victory from Nicolas Kiefer and Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday to grab a 2-1 lead over Austria in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup tie. Kiefe

OVC title up for grabs in clash between Eagles and Governors >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament pits the second-seeded Austin Peay Governors against the fourth-seeded Morehead State Eagles. The winner of this game will earn an automatic bid to

Memphis takes aim at third straight perfect C-USA slate >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers will attempt to clinch their third consecutive perfect Conference USA regular season in today's finale against the Tulane Green Wave. After going 16-0 in C-USA play in both 2006-

Huskies sniffing around first outright league title since 1953 >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Washington Huskies will try to wrap up the outright Pac-10 Conference regular season title today, as they host bitter rival Washington State at Bank of America Arena in Seattle. With a win over

Xavier can clinch outright A-10 title with win at Richmond >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the top-seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament already locked up, the 17th-ranked Xavier Musketeers take aim at the outright regular season crown as they tangle with the Richmond Spiders at the Robins C

Bobcats try to stay on winning path at New York >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats will shoot for a franchise-record sixth straight win tonight when they kick off a quick two-game road trip against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Charlotte kept its winning streak intac

NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.