2010 Big West Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 35th annual Big West Conference Tournament will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena for a tenth straight season. The bottom four seeds of the eight-team field will take part in first-round action on Wednesday. The top two seeds receive byes all the way to Friday's semifinal round, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds get a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, top-seeded Cal State Northridge defeated third-seeded Pacific in overtime, 71-66, to advance to the "Big Dance" for the first time in nine years.

UC Santa Barbara (20-10) won the Big West regular-season title with a 12-4 mark in league play this year. As the top seed in this tournament, the Gauchos will play the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals on Friday. UCSB's only BWC title came in 2002, and the Gauchos have a 13-25 record in this event all- time. They wrapped up this season by winning seven of their final eight games. UCSB is led by Orlando Johnson, who tops the league with 18.0 ppg.

The No. 2 seed belongs to the Pacific Tigers (20-10, 12-4), who have captured a Big West-best four tournament titles, most recently in 2006. The Tigers' 27 tournament wins are also tops in the league. They'll face the highest remaining seed in the semis. First-Team All-Big West forward Joe Ford was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, while Sam Willard compiles 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest. The Tigers closed out the regular season with a three-game win streak.

Holding down the No. 3 seed are the Long Beach State 49ers (15-15, 8-8), who are tied with Pacific with four tournament titles, the latest of which came in 2007. LBSU will face the lowest remaining seed in Thursday's quarterfinal round. T.J. Robinson headlines the group, as he averages a double-double with 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per tilt. Robinson, a 52.2 percent shooter from the floor, earned First-Team All-Big West honors this season. Long Beach State wrapped up its schedule by winning three of its final four games, with the lone loss coming at Pacific two weeks ago.

The No. 4 seed belongs to the UC Davis Aggies (13-17, 8-8), who have a 1-1 record all-time in the BWC Tournament. The Aggies have not won more than two games in a row since opening their league slate back in early-January. Dominic Calegari leads the team with 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Joe Harden is averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 boards per tilt. UC Davis will take on the highest remaining seed on Thursday.

First-round action will get started on Wednesday, with the fifth-seeded Cal State Fullerton Titans (15-14, 8-8) taking on No. 8 seed Cal State Northridge (11-20, 6-10). These teams split the season series, with the visiting squad winning each meeting. Fullerton won in a 113-112 triple-overtime thriller when they last met on February 13th.

Fullerton closed its schedule with back-to-back home losses to Pacific (70-64) and UC Davis (92-86). This past Saturday, the Titans took UC Davis to overtime when Jacques Streeter drained a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation. But in the extra session, the Aggies knocked down back-to-back-to-back threes to swing the momentum. Three-point shooting was the difference in the game, as UC Davis knocked down 12-of-21 treys, while the Titans shot just 6-of-21 from the perimeter. Streeter and Gerard Anderson scored 23 apiece to pace Fullerton, while Devon Peltier added 20 points off the bench. Jer'Vaughn Johnson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards in the losing effort. Five different Titans average double figures this season, including three who tally at least 11 points and six boards per contest.

The Matadors won this tournament last season, but for a repeat they'll have to win four games in four nights. Twelve of the Matadors' games this season have been decided by five points or less, though they are just 4-8 in those contests. They closed out the year with losses in four of their final five games. This past Saturday, Northridge put up little fight in a 66-47 loss at home to Pacific. Kenny Daniels scored a team-high 17 points in the setback, while Willie Galick finished with 13 points. However, their supporting cast didn't offer much, as the Matadors went 1-of-15 from beyond the arc and shot a combined 32.7 percent from the floor. Daniels leads the team with 15.6 ppg, while Lenny Daniel (11.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Galick (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) have been steady contributors.

Later in Wednesday night's first-round action, the sixth-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs (11-18, 7-9) will tangle with No. 7 seed UC Irvine (14-17, 6-10). These teams closed out the regular season against one another this past weekend, with Irvine claiming a 91-84 overtime victory at Cal Poly. Earlier this season, the Mustangs notched a 95-81 win over the Anteaters.

The Mustangs are led by First-Team All-Big West guard Lorenzo Keeler, an 85.8 percent foul shooter who averages 16.0 ppg. Shawn Lewis is next in line with 12.0 ppg, followed by David Hanson with 10.4 ppg. The team lost leading rebounder and starting center Will Donahue (11.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg) in late- December due to eligibility issues. As for the Anteaters, they boast three double-digit scorers who have started every game this year, led by Eric Wise with 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per tilt. Rounding out that trio are Michael Hunter (14.0 ppg) and Darren Moore (10.9 ppg).

The Anteaters put together an improbable comeback to beat Cal Poly on Saturday, as they overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute of regulation. Had the Anteaters lost that game, they would not have made the field for this tournament. With 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Darren Moore hit a fadeaway three-pointer from the corner to send the game into overtime, his second trey of the final nine seconds. UCI took control in the extra session, and Moore went on to score a career-high 24 points. The Anteaters got off to an ugly start, making only one of their first 18 field- goal attempts. Still, UCI trailed by only five at halftime. Both teams shot just 36 percent from the floor for the game.

Joining Moore in double figures for UCI was Patrick Rembert with 20 points. Michael Hunter scored 19 for the Anteaters, while Eric Wise finished with 17. For Cal Poly, Shawn Lewis led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Keeler scored 21, Kyle Odister added 16 points, and David Hanson recorded a double- double with 11 points and 10 boards.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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