Moultrie lifts No. 22 Mississippi State over Auburn

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lift No. 22 Mississippi State to a 91-88 win over Auburn.

Renardo Sidney had 17 points, Dee Bost added 15 points with seven assists and Jalen Steele had 13 points off the bench for the Bulldogs (18-5, 5-3 SEC), who bounced back from a loss to Florida last Saturday.

Kenny Gabriel had 22 points and 11 rebounds while Frankie Sullivan added 16 points for the Tigers (13-10, 3-6), who have dropped three of four.

Near the midway point of the second half, the Bulldogs held a 13-point lead on a Moultrie dunk, but the Tigers got a layup and three-pointer from Sullivan and Allen Payne followed with a dunk to make it a 68-62 game.

Two free throws from Gabriel with nine minutes to play made it a 69-64 game, but Moultrie and Sidney followed with a pair of free throws each.

It stayed close the rest of the way and Payne made it a four-point game on a jumper late in the contest as the score was 88-84, but Shaun Smith made his two from the line.

A quick layup from Sullivan was followed by a Moultrie free throw and Sullivan was then fouled on a three-pointer, but he made just two of his three shots and it was 91-88 with 0.2 seconds to play.

The Tigers led early, but Rodney Hood hit a three-pointer and Moultrie followed with a pair of baskets for a 16-12 lead seven minutes in.

The game stayed close for the rest of the half, but Payne hit a pair of free throws and Gabriel made a three-pointer late in the half to give Auburn a 44-43 lead at the break.

Bost opened the second half with three straight three-pointers to give Mississippi State a lead it didn't relinquish the rest of the game.

Game Notes

Mississippi State hosts Ole Miss on Thursday...Auburn welcomes Alabama on Tuesday...Auburn still leads the series, 71-65, but the Bulldogs have taken 11 of the last 12 home encounters against the Tigers.

Wwlooksmart NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< North Carolina downs Maryland
College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Zeller scored 22 points and Harrison Barnes had 18, as No. 5 North Carolina used a late surge to down Maryland, 83-74, at Comcast Center on Saturday. The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 ACC) had lost fi

<< Schenkeveld brace lifts Excelsior out of the cellar
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Led by a two-goal performance from Bart Schenkeveld, Excelsior climbed out of last place thanks to a 3-1 win over 10-man Venlo on Saturday. The Dutch defender, on loan from Feyenoord, grabbed goals

<< Wyoming upsets No. 11 UNLV
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz netted 16 points apiece as Wyoming upset No. 11 UNLV, 68-66, on Saturday. Luke Martinez added 15 points and Adam Waddell contributed 14 for Wyoming (18-5, 4-3 Mountain

<< Tello, Messi lead Barcelona past Real Sociedad
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristian Tello and Lionel Messi scored a goal apiece as Barcelona edged Real Sociedad, 2-1, at Camp Nou on Saturday to keep pace with Real Madrid in the chase for the La Liga title. Tello put Barcelona

<< No.4 Stanford cruises against Arizona
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joslyn Tinkle led the way for No. 4 Stanford with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as it demolished Arizona 91-51 at McKale Center on Saturday. All five starters scored in double figures including Chiney Og

No. 4 Stanford cruises past Arizona >>
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joslyn Tinkle led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds and No. 4 Stanford demolished Arizona, 91-51, on Saturday. All five starters scored in double figures including Chiney Ogwumike, who had 18 points and 1

Alpha rolls to victory in Withers >>
Ozone Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odds-on favorite Alpha cruised to victory on Saturday in the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct. The race, which was not run last year, is a prep event for Aqueduct's $1 million Wood Memorial on April 7

Levin extends lead at Phoenix Open >>
Scottsdale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spencer Levin didn't have the kind of big performance he put together during his first two days at the Phoenix Open, but avoided big mistakes Saturday and emerged with a commanding lead. Levin shot a

Battle Hardened gains victory at Tampa Bay >>
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lightly raced Battle Hardened came from off the pace to capture Saturday's $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The 1 1/16-mile race is the final local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby on March 10.

Northern Iowa knocks off No. 13 Creighton >>
Cedar Rapids, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After Antoine Young's three-pointer from the top of the arc tied the game at 62 with five seconds remaining, Anthony James raced up the floor and buried a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer, lifting

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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.