Buckeyes host Wildcats in Big Ten opener

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/28/2011 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes begin their 100th season of Big Ten action, as they welcome the Northwestern Wildcats to Columbus for a showdown at Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes have certainly looked the part of the national title contender. The lone loss on the season for Thad Matta's squad came on the road at Kansas, with OSU's best player on the bench due to back spasms. Since then, the team has posted four straight wins, including a 69-40 rout of Miami-Ohio last week, moving to 11-0 at home this season.

Bill Carmody's Wildcats should present a challenge in this Big Ten opener. Northwestern is an impressive 10-2 to start the 2011-12 campaign, with the two losses coming against top-25 foes in Baylor (69-41) and Creighton (87-79). The loss to the Bluejays however, occurred in the team's last outing and dropped NU to 1-1 in true road games this season.

This marks the 155th meeting in this longstanding series. Ohio State holds a decisive 109-45 advantage overall and has won 27 consecutive games at home against Northwestern. The Wildcats' last victory at Ohio State came back in 1977.

The Wildcats are fueled by the potent one-two punch of John Shurna and Drew Crawford. The Big Ten's scoring leader, Shurna can light it up, averaging 19.4 ppg. The 6-9 forward has plenty of range and is currently knocking down an impressive 44.9 percent from behind the arc (35-of-78). Crawford is another long range bomber, netting 18.1 ppg and shooting 41.9 percent from three-point range (26-of-62). The scoring pool dries up a little after that, with Luka Mirkovic placing third on the scoring list at 8.3 ppg. Crawford went off for a game-high 34 points, but it wasn't enough to lead the Wildcats to a road win at Creighton last time out. Crawford was an impressive 13-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Shurna drained four treys and finished with 18 points. while Davide Curletti chipped in 10 points off the bench. Northwestern shot 50 percent from the floor in the game, but was held at bay by the Bluejays, who hit 12-of-21 from behind the arc.

The Buckeyes jumped on top of the RedHawks early on and cruised to a 29-point victory at Nationwide Arena last week. William Buford led the way with 18 points. Deshaun Thomas poured in 15, while Jared Sullinger tacked on 11. Ohio State, which shot just 39.3 percent from the floor in the first half, still took a nine point lead into halftime (26-17). The Buckeyes converted 50 percent over the final 20 minutes to post the easy victory. Ohio State can win games at either end of the floor and is enjoying a +23.4 scoring margin. The team is shooting .494 overall and netting 78.6 ppg, while limiting foes to just 55.2 ppg. Sullinger is one of if not the best big man in the country, averaging 16.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Thomas and Buford provided plenty of scoring balance at 15.8 ppg apiece. Craft is a steady influence at the point. The 6-2 sophomore is averaging 8.2 ppg, but has really excelled at distributing the ball, averaging 5.5 apg.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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