Big East brawl pits Orange against Golden Eagles

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - 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.

Syracuse has won its last three games to move to 22-8 overall and 10-7 in league play, seemingly eliminating any doubt about the team's prospects for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Orange crushed Rutgers on Tuesday in a 70-40 final and won 16 of their 19 home games during the regular season. Today, they will attempt to even their road record at 5-5.

Marquette has fallen on hard times in recent games, as the club has lost its last two outings to fall out of the race for the conference title. The Golden Eagles are 23-7 overall and 12-5 in league play, but they haven't been the same since losing standout guard Dominic James for the season with an injury. To be fair, however, it is important to point out that the three losses during the current slide have come against UConn, Louisville and Pittsburgh, the three best teams in the Big East.

Today's game marks the only scheduled meeting of the season between the Orange and the Golden Eagles, and Syracuse owns a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series.

There is no shortage of talent in the Syracuse lineup, as the team is capable of beating anyone, anywhere. Point guard Jonny Flynn is a sensational performer who averages 17.0 ppg and has dished out 191 assists. He has started all 30 games thus far, the only member of the team who can make that claim. Eric Devendorf scores 15.4 ppg for the Orange, who are getting 13.0 ppg and 7.9 rpg from Paul Harris. Arinze Onuaku (10.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Andy Rautins (10.0 ppg) bring further balance to the lineup for Syracuse, which is posting 79.9 ppg while allowing 70.5 ppg. Harris scored 18 points to lead the onslaught against Rutgers on Tuesday. The Orange played stellar defense, forcing 20 turnovers while limiting the Scarlet Knights to 25.4 percent shooting from the field.

On Wednesday, Marquette suffered a 90-75 loss to an outstanding Pittsburgh squad on the road. The Golden Eagles struggled mightily at the defensive end of the floor, as they permitted the Panthers to shoot 63 percent overall. Jerel McNeal scored a team-high 23 points in the setback, but he made good on only 8-of-24 field goal attempts. Lazar Hayward contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Wesley Matthews added 16 points. Those three players are sure to be the keys to the team's success in the postseason. McNeal is scoring 19.9 ppg, and he has dished out 120 assists to go with 64 steals. Matthews checks in with 18.7 ppg, and he is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. Hayward, the team's leading rebounder with 8.6 rpg, is netting 16.1 ppg for Marquette, which is posting 79.1 ppg while allowing 69.5 ppg.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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