Buckeyes on the road to take on Golden Gophers

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The nation's second-ranked team has traveled to Minneapolis, as the Minnesota Golden Gophers host the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten Conference action.

Ohio State owns its highest ranking since 1991, and the team has won nine straight league games, the program's longest streak since 1971. After jumping out to a huge lead early against Penn State on Wednesday, the Buckeyes fell apart and had to hold on for a 64-62 victory.

With four consecutive losses, Minnesota has fallen to 9-17 overall and 3-9 in conference. The Gophers played host to third-ranked Wisconsin on Wednesday, and that game resulted in a 75-62 setback. With that in mind, the team clearly enters tonight's clash as a decided underdog.

Ohio State owns a 71-52 advantage in the all-time series with Minnesota, and the Buckeyes won last season's meeting by a 67-54 final.

Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden has received more attention than any first-year collegiate player in recent memory, and after sitting out the early part of the season with a wrist injury, the big man has played 19 games and put up outstanding numbers. Oden is averaging 15.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 4.3 bpg despite the fact that he is still recovering from the injury. Another Buckeye freshman, Daequan Cook, is scoring 12.1 ppg, and Ron Lewis adds 11.2 ppg for the Buckeyes. The third member of the outstanding rookie trio is Mike Conley Jr., a standout guard who is posting 10.3 ppg. More impressive is the fact that Conley Jr. has dished out 163 assists against only 55 turnovers. Oden had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the narrow win over Penn State. Lewis added 12 points for the Buckeyes, who shot just 38.5 percent from the floor in the second half.

Minnesota is averaging a lackluster 62.2 ppg this season, overshadowing the fact that the team has been able to limit its opponents to 66.2 ppg on 41.5 percent shooting from the field. The Golden Gophers have attempted 130 fewer free throws than their opponents, an obvious reason for the poor record. Also, the team is being outrebounded by nearly four boards per contest. Lawrence McKenzie paces Minnesota with 15.6 ppg, and Dan Coleman adds 14.8 ppg. The third and final double-digit scorer is Spencer Tollackson with 12.9 ppg. In the loss to Wisconsin, McKenzie scored 21 points, while Tollackson (13) and Coleman (12) reached double figures as well. The Gophers committed 16 turnovers, nine more than they forced, and they permitted the Badgers to shoot 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half after a strong defensive performance early on.

Wwwebankinter NCAA Basketball Betting News

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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. 

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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. 

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
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As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

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Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

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Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.