Hawks seek upset of 19th-ranked Musketeers

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/26/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Xavier Musketeers are trying to hold on to first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, and they will take on the Saint Joseph's Hawks tonight at The Palestra in Philadelphia.

Xavier is 10-3 in A-10 play, but it is trailed closely by Temple and Dayton, which both entered the week with three league losses as well. The Musketeers have lost three of their last five outings to lose what was a firm grip on first place, although last Sunday's clash with George Washington did result in a 71-53 triumph.

Saint Joseph's has also struggled recently, as the club has suffered four consecutive losses to crush its conference title hopes. The Hawks are 14-12 overall and 7-5 in league play, mediocre records for a mediocre team. The four losses during the current slide have come by a total of 12 points, including a 70-69 setback against UMass on Sunday.

Saint Joseph's owns a 21-15 series advantage over Xavier, and the Hawks bounced the Musketeers out of the A-10 Tournament last year.

Despite its success this season, Xavier does not possess a star-caliber player who is capable of consistently taking over a game at the offensive end of the floor. Derrick Brown leads the club with 13.7 ppg, and B.J. Raymond provides 13.6 ppg. C.J. Anderson is the third and final double-digit scorer for the team, as he checks in with 10.5 ppg. All three of those players have started every game this season, and the same can be said of Jason Love (7.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg). Xavier depends heavily on strong defense to win games, and the club is holding opponents to 63.0 ppg on 38.6 percent field goal efficiency. In the 18-point victory over George Washington on Sunday, the Musketeers had five double-digit scorers, and Anderson led the way with 14 points. They limited the Colonials to 38.6 percent shooting from the floor and forced 17 turnovers.

Saint Joseph's missed all seven of its three-point attempts against UMass on Sunday and permitted the Minutemen to connect on 50 percent of their field goal attempts. The Hawks got 21 points and 11 rebounds from Ahmad Nivins in the setback, while Idris Hilliard and Tasheed Carr contributed 12 points apiece. Hilliard tallied 11 boards, and Carr dished out eight assists. Garrett Williamson pitched in 10 points for the Hawks, who are scoring 68.8 ppg while allowing 66.4 ppg. Nivins is posting 19.5 ppg and 11.6 rpg this season to go along with his 50 blocks. Darrin Govens provides 13.3 ppg, and Carr adds 13.0 ppg. Nivins was clearly the frontrunner for A-10 Player of the Year, but the team's recent slide may put that honor in jeopardy.

Xportsbook NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Bruins try to right ship in clash with Cardinal
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked UCLA Bruins will attempt to bounce back from a shocking loss as they take on the Stanford Cardinal tonight in a Pac-10 Conference showdown. UCLA has hit a rough patch, as the team has lost thre

<< Boilermakers hope to keep pace in Big Ten title race
Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers continue their push toward the Big Ten Conference regular-season title, and they need to beat the Michigan Wolverines on the road this evening. Purdue is hot on the heels o

<< Zags to try and pad stats in clash with Broncos
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having already claimed the West Coast Conference regular season title for the ninth consecutive season, the 17th- ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will attempt to add yet another win to their already impressive record

<< Pac-10 showdown pits Sun Devils against Huskies
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils are riding a five-game win streak, and they are set for a Pac-10 showdown with the 21st-ranked Washington Huskies in Seattle. Washington owns the top spot in the Pac-10

<< LeBron leads Cavs into Houston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams riding five-game winning streaks square off tonight in Houston, as the Rockets welcome LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Toyota Center. The Cavaliers will open a four-game road trip

Butler can claim share of Horizon League crown with win >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Butler Bulldogs can clinch at least a share of the Horizon League regular-season title with a win over the Youngstown State Penguins this evening. Youngstown State has won five of its last

Illini welcome Gophers to Champaign >>
Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Still in the hunt for the Big Ten title, the 20th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini, welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Champaign this evening, for a key conference clash at Assembly Hall. Bruce Weber's Il

Demon Deacons and Wolfpack meet in ACC clash >>
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the oldest rivalries in the ACC adds another chapter this evening, as the NC State Wolfpack invade Winston- Salem to battle the 13th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons in conference action from the Law

Fifth-ranked Tigers put win streak on the line in Birmingham >>
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers continue their run through their Conference USA schedule, as they invade the Bartow Arena to take on the UAB Blazers in conference action in Birmingham tonight. The Tigers hav

Golf Tidbits: Youth is served >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I was going to be like hundreds of my fellow golf writers and compose a column about Tiger Woods, but I'd rather not write about his comeback mid-tournament. Instead, I'm going to introduce you to three pl

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.