Sam Houston State wins Southland, goes to NCAA Tournament

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Katy, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilberto Clavell scored 21 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists, as the top-seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats punched their ticked to the NCAA Tournament with a 64-48 victory over Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game at the Merrell Center.

Corey Allmond added 19 points and six rebounds for the Bearkats (25-7), who won the Southland Conference title for the first time since 2003. Ashton Mitchell chipped in 13 points and six assists for the victors.

Jereal Scott finished with 13 points and seven boards for the Lumberjacks (23-9), who won the league title last year. Walt Harris ended with nine points and five rebounds for Stephen F. Austin, which was making its fourth appearance in the championship game since 2003.

The Bearkats took control from the opening tip, scoring the first five points of the contest. Holding an 11-7 lead with less than 14 1/2 minutes left, Clavell made a layup to spark a 20-5 Sam Houston State run. Allmond ended the burst with a three-point play to make it a 31-12 game with under five minutes to go. The score was 35-19 at the break.

Trailing 42-23 in the second half, the Lumberjacks went on a brief 9-2 spurt to make things a bit interesting. Harris bookended the flurry with a trey and three-point play to cut the deficit to 12, 44-32, with about 11 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Bearkats responded with a 10-4 surge to essentially seal the victory. Allmond's layup extended SHSU's margin to 54-36 with a little over seven minutes to play.

Sam Houston State maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Lumberjacks still hold a 92-90 edge over Sam Houston State in the all-time series, but the Bearkats have won eight of the last 11 meetings, including a 66-57 decision over Stephen F. Austin earlier this season...This was the fourth time SHSU and SFA met in the Southland Conference Tournament...Sam Houston State shot 46.7 percent from the field, while the Lumberjacks made just 31.4 percent of their shots.

Luckusurf NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Richmond reaches first A-10 title game since 2002
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Anderson posted 27 points and six rebounds as Richmond advanced to the Atlantic 10 final with an 89-85 decision over 24th-ranked Xavier. David Gonzalvez added 26 points and five assists for the

<< Redskins re-sign OL Montgomery
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins re-signed offensive lineman Will Montgomery on Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound Montgomery played in all 16 games with Washington last season and started three contests at right gua

<< Odysseus rallies to win Tampa Bay Derby
Oldsmar, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Odysseus, ridden by Rajiv Maragh, rallied down the stretch to win Saturday's $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs. In recent years, the event has become an important prep for the Triple Crown r

<< Mallorca stumbles at Getafe
Getafe, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mallorca's troubles away from home continued on Saturday as the club suffered a 3-0 defeat at Getafe. Mallorca entered the weekend in fourth place, level on points with Sevilla and only four behind third-p

<< Mississippi State downs Vandy, heads back to SEC final
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barry Stewart had 14 points and eight rebounds to help Mississippi State upend No. 20 Vanderbilt, 62-52, for a return trip to the SEC Tournament title game. Jarvis Varnado was his usual domina

Els and Schwartzel share first at Doral >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ernie Els was joined atop the leaderboard by fellow South African Charl Schwartzel after Saturday's third round of the WGC- CA Championship. Els, the second-round leader, managed a two-under 70 at the TPC

Quinn exit may be near as Delhomme lands with Browns >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed quarterback Jake Delhomme, lending credibility to the rumors that Brady Quinn will soon be dealt. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Saturday that Delhomme si

Allen's OT goal leads Florida over San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryan Allen scored at the 2:46 mark of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion. In the extra season, a left circle faceoff was won by Shawn Matthias a

Zardana edges Rachel Alexandra in New Orleans Ladies >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, making her first start in six months, was defeated by Zardana in Saturday's $200,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Fair Grounds. The 1 1/16-mile race had a field of five

Minnesota crushes Purdue to reach Big Ten final >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ralph Sampson III scored a team-high 13 points and Minnesota continued its quest to an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid with a dominating 69-42 drubbing of No. 6 Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tou

Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

Get free 2009 Super Bowl Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting VISA Mastercard