ACC heavyweights square off in Chapel Hill

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One of the greatest rivalries in all of sports adds another chapter to its storied history this evening, as the 10th- ranked Duke Blue Devils and fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels square off in ACC action at the Dean E. Smith Center.

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils are once again among the ACC's elite, but have little room for error the rest of the way as they are coming off a heart- wrenching 78-74 overtime loss to Miami-Florida at home this past weekend. The loss halted a three-game win streak for Duke and dropped it into third place in the ACC, trailing both North Carolina and Florida State by a game in the standings.

Roy Williams' Tar Heels have had to face their own adversity of late, losing a key starter to injury when Dexter Strickland went down with a torn ACL. Depth has been the key for UNC however, as the team has strung together five straight victories to move to 7-1 in-conference. Most recently, North Carolina dropped Maryland in College Park, 83-74.

North Carolina is one of the few teams with a winning record against Duke. The Tar Heels are up 131-101 in a series that dates back to 1920. The Blue Devils have won four of the last five meetings however, including a 75-58 decision in last year's ACC Championship Game. The two schools close out the regular season against one another in Durham on March 3rd.

The Blue Devils fought back from a 16-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but could not sustain it in the extra session, falling at home for the second time in the last three games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Guards Seth Curry and Austin Rivers led the way in defeat with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Mason Plumlee struggled offensively with just six points, but managed to grab a game-high 13 rebounds.

Duke is at its best when it gets a balanced effort at the offensive end of the floor. The team is averaging almost 80 points per game (79.8), behind a healthy .482 shooting. Four players are averaging double figures coming into this contest, led by Rivers' 14.5 ppg. The standout freshman is followed in the scoring column by Ryan Kelly and Curry at 12.6 ppg each. Mason Plumlee headlines the play down low, averaging a near double-double with 11.6 points and a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game. Plumlee, who is delivering on nearly 60 percent from the floor (.592), ranks second in the ACC in rebounding. Andre Dawkins (9.7 ppg) is inching closer to double digits, as he is the team's top threat from long range, hitting 51-of-125 from behind the arc.

There aren't many teams that can match Duke's offensive proficiency, but North Carolina is one of them. The Tar Heels lead the nation in scoring at 84.1 ppg, and possess three of the ACC's top nine scorers and two of the top three rebounders. UNC boasts of the nation's premier frontcourt, as Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller are a dominating trio. Barnes can score from anywhere on the floor and ranks third in the league at 17.3 ppg. Zeller (15.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Henson (14.3 ppg, ACC-leading 10.0 rpg) are a devastating duo around the rim. Kendall Marshall isn't much of a scorer (6.5 ppg), but is as good as any point guard in the nation in getting his teammates involved, ranking second nationally with 9.8 apg.

Zeller led the way in the recent win over Maryland with 22 points. Barnes poured in 18, while Henson recorded a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Reggie Bullock added 11 points to round out the double-digit scorers. Marshall just missed a double-double, finishing with nine points, while dishing out an impressive 16 assists.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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