Shockers battle Panthers for MVC Tournament crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - St. Louis. MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, top-seeded Northern Iowa takes on second-seeded Wichita State in the title game this afternoon at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

UNI, which defeated Illinois State in overtime last year to capture its second MVC Tournament title, first took care of Drake in the quarterfinals on Friday with a 55-40 triumph and then yesterday dismissed fifth-seeded Bradley by almost an identical score (57-40) to advance.

As for the Shockers, a program that has two MVC crowns but hasn't won it all since 1987, they too received a bye through the opening round and then took care of Missouri State (73-63) on Friday and Illinois State (65-61) yesterday.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, UNI owns a 22-18 advantage, but the programs split a pair of regular-season meetings with each winning on the road.

Toure' Murry tallied a team-best 17 points, shooting 6-og-9 from the field, as he helped lead Wichita State to the win against the Redbirds on Saturday afternoon. Also hitting for double figures were Garrett Stutz and Demetric Williams with 12 points apiece, the squad shooting just 4-of-14 behind the three-point line but still managing to get by. Clevin Hannah, who tallied eight points on a mere 3-of-10 effort from the field, is the leading scorer for the Shockers to this point with his 12.1 ppg, just fractions of a point ahead of Murry (12.0 ppg) who has not only handed out 105 assists and made 49 steals, but it also one of the leaders on the glass for the group with close to five boards per outing. Defensively, WSU has held opponents to just 61.2 ppg this season.

As for the Panthers, they held their second straight opponents to a mere 40 points and limited Bradley to just 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 1- of-10 behind the three-point line yesterday afternoon. Jordan Eglseder and Marc Sonnen both delivered 10 points for the squad in an effort to offset a 2- of-11 shooting effort by Ali Farokhmanesh as he finished with just five points. UNI escaped the meeting with just 37.9 percent shooting from the floor. Adam Koch, who responded with seven points yesterday, is tied with Eglseder atop the overall scoring list this season with 12.1 ppg. Eglseder is good for almost seven and a half rebounds per game, yet it is still difficult to get beyond the fact that he has just 18 assists in his 28 starts. Not much of an offensive team this year with an average of only 63.2 ppg, the Panthers are getting the job done by holding foes to a mere 54.4 ppg, representing one of the top efforts in the nation.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.