Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/11/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies are the fourth-seeded team in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will play a quarterfinal-round game against the surprising 12th-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers today.
Next up for the winner of this game is a semifinal clash with either top- seeded Kansas or ninth-seeded Texas Tech.
Not only did Nebraska manage to upset fifth-seeded Missouri yesterday, but the game was rather lopsided, as the Cornhuskers cruised to a 75-60 triumph. Nebraska has never won this tournament and owns a 6-13 record in the event all-time. The Huskers racked up a 12-3 record against non-conference foes during the regular season, but that mark was clearly overshadowed by a 2-14 record against Big 12 opponents. Still, the win in Wednesday first-round affair offers renewed confidence.
Texas A&M has only won three of the 16 Big 12 Conference Tournament games it has played, and the team is still in search of its first league crown. The Aggies are certainly playing with a great deal of confidence right now, as they closed out the regular season with three consecutive wins to move to 22-8 overall and 11-5 in conference. Last Saturday, they easily disposed of Oklahoma in a 69-54 final on the road.
The Aggies beat the Cornhuskers, 64-53, back in January, but Nebraska still owns an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series.
The Cornhuskers are a modest offensive team, averaging 66.3 ppg on 43.5 percent shooting from the floor heading into this tournament. Defensively, the Cornhuskers were permitting 65.8 ppg by the end of the regular season, and Ryan Anderson (11.0 ppg) was the only double-digit scorer on the roster. Brandon Richardson was the best player for Nebraska yesterday, as he scored 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Anderson also shot 6-of-8 from the field and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Both Jorge Brian Diaz and Lance Jeter scored 10 points in the triumph, and Jeter added seven boards and six assists. The Cornhuskers connected on 55.8 percent of their field goal attempts against Missouri, including an 8-of-14 effort from three-point range. They also shot 19-of-22 from the foul line, earned a 38-22 rebounding advantage and limited Missouri to 33.9 percent shooting.
When fans discuss the best players in the Big 12, Texas A&M's Donald Sloan is rarely mentioned. The fact of the matter is that while Sloan doesn't possess impressive numbers in assists, rebounds or steals, his 17.9 ppg have been a major key to the success of the Aggies this season. There is only one other active double-digit scorer in the lineup for A&M, as Bryan Davis provides an even 10.0 ppg. While Sloan, Davis and company are averaging 72.0 ppg, they are limiting opponents to 64.4 ppg on 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Against Oklahoma in the regular season the finale, the Aggies connected on 51 percent of their field goal attempts while limiting the Sooners to 36.2 percent. A 36-26 rebounding advantage also helped the cause.
<< Longhorns and Bears meet in Big 12 Tournament
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are seeded
third in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will begin action in the
event tonight with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the sixth-seeded Texas
Longhorns.
<< Miners open C-USA Tournament play against Knights
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of 14th straight games, the top-seeded
and 25th-ranked Texas El Paso Miners set their sites on a C-USA Tournament
championship, starting with tonight's quarterfinal-round matchup against the
ninth-seeded UCF
<< TCU seeks upset of BYU in Mountain West quarterfinals
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch of the regular-season finale has
14th-ranked and second-seeded BYU taking on the seventh-seeded TCU Horned
Frogs in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament
tonight at the Thom
<< Falcons face tall task in Mountain West Tourney tilt with Lobos
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 24 hours after picking up just
their second win all-time in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the Air
Force Falcons are back on the hardwood of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las
Vegas as they
Orange and Hoyas clash in Big East quarterfinals >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked and top-seeded Syracuse
Orange make their much anticipated debut in the Big East Tournament today, as
they lock up with the 22nd-ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the
quarterfinals at
Wildcats and Golden Eagles square off in Big East Tourney >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that have a history of playing close
games meet in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament today, as the
fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles battle the fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked
Villanova
Surging Irish set sights on Panthers in tournament play >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a surprising regular-season showing, the
16th-ranked and second-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers now begin their run in the
Big East Tournament tonight against the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting
Irish in the
Thrashers try to end slide in Columbus >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers will be out to halt a poorly-timed
three-game losing streak in tonight's matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets
from Nationwide Arena.
Atlanta had put itself in the Eastern Conference playoff mix with
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting