Blair leads Pitt to blowout of IUP

Cbasketball Betting Lines

11/23/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeJuan Blair dropped a game-high 27 points on 13-of-14 shooting and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds in just 21 minutes of floor time as the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers cruised to an 86-60 win over Indiana University of Pennsylvania as part of the Legends Classic.

Tyrell Biggs and Ashton Gibbs chipped in with 10 points apiece for Pitt (4-0), which opened the season with two blowout victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Miami-Ohio before playing host to Akron, in an 86-67 victory on Friday.

Sam Young scored nine to go along with four assists in limited action. Levance Fields also saw limited action in posting five assists against one turnover with five points and four boards.

Blair, meanwhile, posted his second straight double-double as Pitt dominated the paint with 48 points to IUP's 18, and outrebounded the Crimson Hawks 47-30.

"I thought the biggest thing today was that we were unselfish," Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon said. "We got out to a big lead, but at no point were people looking for their own shot or trying to force things on the offensive end. You had DeJuan (Blair) diving for a loose ball when we're already up by 30 points. That's the kind of attitude and teamwork that's going to take a team very far."

Ashton Smith led the way with 16 points, four assists and four rebounds off the bench for the Crimson Hawks (2-1), who lost their first game in what represented a major leap in competition. IUP has beaten Thiel College and Penn State-Fayette this season.

Julian Sanders had 10 points off the bench and Sean Christiansen donated nine points. Gerald Brooks scored six and had a team-high eight boards as IUP saw its bench outscore the starters by a 32-28 margin.

"This gives us exposure," IUP head coach Joe Lombardi said of playing a team of Pittsburgh's stature. "We find out our weaknesses. Sometimes, players are in denial of bad habits and when you play a team like Pitt, you find them out right away. A game like this gives us a chance, as coaches, to be better teachers and develop better players in the long run. We can learn from Pitt's defense. Championship caliber teams play fundamental defense. Pitt commits to fundamentals and that's what separates teams."

Pitt started the game with a 20-0 run and never looked back, finishing the first half with a 45-17 advantage. A Travon Woodall layup made it a 76-40 game just outside of five minutes remaining and the Crimson Hawks' bench was able to lead a charge that saw the school collect more points over the final five minutes than they were able to muster in the first half.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh has won all nine of its previous meetings with IUP...The Crimson Hawks shot a paltry 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field and were just 9- of-26 from three-point range...Pitt also struggled from beyond the arc hitting only 6-of-22 attempts but shot 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the floor overall.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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