West Virginia survives again to reach Big East final

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler scored 24 points and hauled in six rebounds, and the seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers survived yet again with a 53-51 win over Notre Dame to advance to the Big East Tournament title game.

Kevin Jones added 10 points for the third-seeded Mountaineers (26-6), who are riding a five-game win streak heading into Saturday's final against 22nd- ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown. WVU has been able to win several close games in a row, as the combined winning margin in its last three contests is just seven. The team beat Villanova by two in overtime to end the regular season before Butler banked a game-winning three at the buzzer in Thursday's thrilling win over Cincinnati.

Devin Ebanks and Joe Mazzulla both posted eight points for West Virginia, which is 7-0 this season at a neutral site and will have an opportunity to capture its first Big East Tournament title in school history.

Ben Hansbrough, brother of former Tar Heel Tyler, led a late Notre Dame (23-11) charge and had a team-high 17 points in all, but the Irish failed in their attempt to advance to their first tourney final since joining the Big East in the mid-1990s. Luke Harangody came off the bench and ended with 10 points but did not have a large impact on the outcome.

Notre Dame's season-high six-game win streak came to an end after Tory Jackson's potential game-winning three in the final moments hit the front of the rim.

The Irish trailed by 10, 41-31, with eight minutes to play, but seventh-seeded Notre Dame put together a rally.

Harangody went a combined 5-for-5 from the line on the team's next two offensive possessions, and Hansbrough sank consecutive three-pointers around the four-minute mark to pull the Irish to within 48-45.

Jackson's pair from the line made it a one-point game moments later, but Jones capped two straight successful WVU possessions with two free throws for a 52-47 Mountaineer lead with two minutes to play.

Hansbrough kept Notre Dame within two, 53-51, with 47.4 ticks left on a pair from the line, and Butler missed what would have been a game-sealing three- pointer.

Harangody grabbed the rebound with 12 seconds left and, as Notre Dame was without any timeouts, sprinted up the court and dished it to Jackson, whose three-point attempt grazed the front rim. The Irish's Tyrone Nash grabbed the offensive board but had the ball stripped before he could get a shot off, and time expired to give WVU the win.

A low-scoring first half saw the Mountaineers come away with a 23-20 lead after a Hansbrough three-pointer was disallowed at the buzzer.

West Virginia increased its lead to six, 29-23, on a pair of Jones baskets in the early moments of the second half, and the Mountaineers later scored nine of 12 points to grab a 41-31 edge with just under 10 minutes to go.

Game Notes

Notre Dame advanced to Friday's semifinal by beating Seton Hall on Wednesday and Pittsburgh on Thursday...The Irish still lead the all-time series, 25-11, and had beaten the Mountaineers on the road during the regular season...WVU was the lone team out of the four that earned a double-bye to post a win in the tourney...The Mountaineers outrebounded Notre Dame, 32-19...WVU shot 50 percent from the field, compared to just 34.1 percent for the Irish...The Mountaineers advanced to the final for the first time since 2005.

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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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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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