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.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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