Aztecs and Lobos mix it up in Mountain West semis

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Continuing to build on one of the best seasons in program history, the eighth-ranked New Mexico Lobos find themselves in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament tonight and will be facing the always tough San Diego State Aztecs at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

UNM, the regular-season champions in the conference and the top seed in the tourney, was pushed to the limit once again by an over-achieving Air Force squad on Thursday afternoon, just barely getting by in a 75-69 decision. The victory was the 15th in a row for New Mexico, a squad that began the MWC schedule this season with two straight setback to SDSU and UNLV.

As for the Aztecs, the fourth seed in the event, they too had their hands full in the quarterfinals and needed strong play down the stretch to come away with the narrow 72-71 victory over the Colorado State Rams. SDSU, which now has a record of 11-8 in this event over the years, played in the title game in 2009 and lost by a mere two points to Utah, 52-50.

SDSU nearly pulled off the season sweep of the Lobos as it posted a 74-64 win at home in the conference opener back on January 5th and then took New Mexico to overtime in The Pit a month later before bowing in an 88-86 final in Albuquerque. With the split it means UNM still leads the all-time series by a count of 38-28.

The winner of this meeting will be into the title game on Saturday and will face the survivor of the UNLV/BYU contest for the right to move on to the NCAA Tournament.

A pair of free throws by D.J. Gay with 23 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as the Aztecs held on for the one-point win against a pesky CSU squad that played most of the game without Andy Ogide who was ejected in the first half for throwing an elbow. Handling most of the scoring for the Aztecs were Malcolm Thomas, Chase Tapley and Billy White with 15 points apiece, followed by Kawhi Leonard who delivered 12 points and six rebounds before picking up his fifth personal foul. As one of the weakest free-throw shooting teams in the nation, SDSU nearly let the game slip away as it made only 17- of-28 at the charity stripe, not to mention a disappointing 1-of-10 beyond the arc. After 31 games Steve Fisher's group has managed to put up 23 victories in spite of an awkward 60.8 percent effort at the free-throw line. Leonard leads the group in scoring with 12.6 ppg and is also tops with 9.5 rpg, followed by Thomas with his 11.2 ppg and 7.9 rpg as the group holds a huge 6.8 rpg advantage over the competition.

With absolutely nothing to lose, ninth-seeded Air Force came out with guns blazing on Thursday and nearly turned the MWC Tournament upside down, but in the end the height of the Lobos was simply too much for the academy in the six-point decision. Darington Hobson, the first player to be name the MWC Player of the Year and the league's newcomer of the year in the same season, electrified the crowd with his 28 points and 15 rebounds, almost single- handedly beating Air Force (22 rebounds) on the glass by himself. Dairese Gary added 20 points as he made good on 14-of-15 shots at the charity stripe. Hobson, who at times allowed his emotions to get away from him versus the Falcons, has been an incredible performer for the Lobos this season with his 16.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, not to mention his 145 assists and 40 steals. Slowly developing his touch out on the perimeter, Hobson has also converted 37.8 percent of his three-point tries, but it is Roman Martinez (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) who handles most of the perimeter shooting with his 91- of-216 accuracy thus far.

Wwhangame NCAA Basketball Betting News

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2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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