West Regional action features Bulldogs against Miners

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, the Butler Bulldogs kick off first-round action of the 72nd annual event this afternoon against the Miners of Texas-El Paso at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The good news for the Bulldogs is that they have all five starters back from last year's team which fell in the first round of the tourney against LSU, 75-71. Butler is playing in the event for the 10th time overall and is hoping to at least even its record in the tourney because as it stands now the squad is 8-9 since making its first appearance back in 1962.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs ripped through the Horizon League yet again this season with a perfect record of 18-0 and are enjoying the longest win streak in the nation at a staggering 20 games. The most recent loss for the squad came back on December 22nd against UAB, another Conference USA program, by a score of 67-57 on the road.

As for the 12th-seeded Miners, the 1966 NCAA Champions back when they were known as Texas Western, they too are trying to even their record in the tourney (14-15) in this, their 17th appearance. UTEP won its first outright conference title in 23 years during 2009-10 as it finished an impressive 15-1 in Conference USA action and set a school record for the most wins in league play as a result.

The winner of this first-ever meeting will head to the second round of the tourney to face the winner of the Murray State/Vanderbilt contest on Saturday.

Under the direction of Tony Barbee, the 2010 C-USA Coach of the Year, the Miners not only put together one of the best offenses in the league, they also took care of opponents with a stingy defense that allowed foes to shoot just 39 percent from the field and tally 64.2 ppg. Randy Culpepper, the Conference USA Player of the Year who is now fourth on the school's all-time scoring list, knocked down a school-best 80 three-pointers on his way to posting 18.0 ppg. Derrick Caracter, an All-C-USA Second-Team selection, handled the action on the inside for the group with his 8.0 rpg and 13.8 ppg, shooting an impressive 55.6 percent from the floor when he wasn't sitting on the bench because of foul trouble. Jeremy Williams and Arnett Moultrie accounted for 10.1 ppg each, combining for better than 11 rebounds per contest, while Julyan Stone (6.1 ppg) sacrificed his own offense to set up teammates with his 173 assists in 32 starts.

Like the Miners, Butler is also big on defense, having limited opponents to just 60.0 ppg on 41.4 percent shooting from the floor and 30.9 percent beyond the arc this season. The squad is permitting just over 10 assists per contest, which means foes have had to create a lot of one-on-one play in order to get quality looks at the basket. Gordon Hayward is one of four players scoring in double figures with his 15.4 ppg, adding a team-best 8.5 rpg for a team that has managed to top the opposition on the glass by more than three rebounds per game this season. Shelvin Mack (13.9 ppg), Matt Howard (12.3 ppg) and Willie Veasley (10.3 ppg) have all been crucial pieces to a Butler puzzle that has generated 70.1 ppg. Hayward, a finalist for the Wooden Award this year, and Mack could have some inside information on one of the key players for the Miners, seeing as how they both played with Moultrie on the USA Men's Team at the FIBA U-19 World Championships last summer, but that also goes both ways because Moultrie can also use that relationship to his advantage as well.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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