Alabama visits Kentucky in SEC action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2010 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide invade Rupp Arena this evening for an SEC clash with the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

Alabama is a respectable 13-10 overall, but that record is overshadowed by a 3-6 mark versus league opponents. The Crimson Tide have suffered three consecutive defeats, including a 74-67 setback at Ole Miss on Saturday. The two previous losses to Auburn and Florida both came by one point.

Kentucky opened this season with 19 consecutive wins before finally tasting defeat against South Carolina in late January. Since that setback, the Wildcats have recorded three consecutive victories, the most recent of which came on Saturday over LSU in an 81-55 final. Coach John Calipari's club is now 7-1 in SEC action and carries a 14-0 home record into this evening's affair.

The Wildcats own a commanding 98-35 series advantage over the Crimson Tide, which includes wins in the last two meetings.

The Crimson Tide depend heavily on the duo of Mikhail Torrance and JaMychal Green to be productive at the offensive each time out. Torrance leads the club with 15.3 ppg and 128 assists. As for Green, he provides 14.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 47 blocks while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor. Alabama is generating 68.2 ppg while limiting opponents to 62.9 ppg on 41.5 percent field goal efficiency. In the seven-point loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, Green scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Tony Mitchell netted 16 points. Torrance finished with 12 points and seven assists for the Tide, who committed twice as many turnovers as the Rebels and were outscored 25-13 from the foul line. The negatives clearly overshadowed 50 percent shooting from the floor.

For much of this season, Kentucky freshman John Wall has been hyped as the best player on the Wildcats roster and perhaps the top performer in all of college basketball. Recently, however, fellow rookie DeMarcus Cousins has emerged as the true standout on a loaded Kentucky team. Cousins has paced the squad in both scoring and rebounding in four consecutive games and is now averaging the same amount of points as Wall (16.4 ppg). The big man is shooting 54.2 percent from the field and grabbing 10.0 rpg, while Wall, a point guard, has dished out 146 assists to complement 41 steals. Patrick Patterson provides 15.1 ppg for the Wildcats, who are generating 82.3 ppg while surrendering 65.9 ppg on 38.1 percent shooting by opponents. In the romp over LSU on Saturday, Cousins racked up 19 points and 13 rebounds. Patterson added 16 points, while Wall struggled his way to six points.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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