No. 1 Kansas begins Big 12 Tournament play against Texas Tech

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they are slated to do battle with the ninth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders this afternoon in the quarterfinal round.

The winner of this game will do battle with either fourth-seeded Texas A&M or 12th-seeded Nebraska in the semifinals.

Texas Tech was impressive in yesterday's 82-67 victory over eighth-seeded Colorado, a team that beat the Red Raiders by 11 points in the regular-season finale last weekend. Tech is gunning for its first-ever Big 12 Conference Tournament title, and although the team did lose its final seven regular- season bouts, it appears that confidence has been restored.

Kansas has won six Big 12 Tournament titles, at least twice as many as any other active member of the league. The Jayhawks captured three consecutive crowns from 2006-2008, and they are 25-7 all-time in this event. At 29-2 overall, including 15-1 in league action, Bill Self's squad was highly impressive during the regular season.

The Jayhawks crushed the Red Raiders earlier this season in an 89-63 final, and Kansas owns a decided 18-4 advantage in the all-time series.

Through 30 games, Texas Tech was scoring and surrendering the same exact amount of points (76.4 ppg). There are three double-digit scorers in the fold for the Red Raiders, and Mike Singletary led the way with 14.9 ppg and 6.8 rpg heading into yesterday's affair. John Roberson checked in with 14.4 ppg, and he had handed out 161 assists. Nick Okorie rounded out the trio with 10.8 ppg, and he was shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range. In Wednesday's win over Colorado, Texas Tech connected on 55.6 percent of its field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes to seal the deal. Roberson posted 19 points and nine assists, Okorie had 18 points, and Brad Reese 16 points off the bench. As for Singletary, he registered 13 points for the Red Raiders, who forced 19 turnovers and earned a 39-29 rebounding advantage.

A combination of vast talent and big-game experience makes this Kansas team one of the favorites to win the national title. It all starts with senior Sherron Collins, a 5-11 point guard who is scoring 15.3 ppg to go along with 4.3 apg. Collins is an 83.9 percent shooter from the foul line, and he will undoubtedly have the ball in his hands at the end of every close game. Xavier Henry, a standout freshman, checks in with 13.9 ppg, and he leads the club with 48 steals. Marcus Morris brings 12.4 ppg to the mix on 55.9 percent shooting from the field, and he is pulling down 6.2 rpg. Finally, center Cole Aldrich is averaging 12.4 ppg and 9.7 rpg to complement his 110 blocked shots. While Aldrich has certainly been solid, he is capable of being much more dominant at the offensive end. The Jayhawks are generating 82.2 ppg while holding opponents to 63.6 ppg on 37.6 percent field goal efficiency. A positive rebounding differential of 6.8 rpg has certainly helped the cause.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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