Ranked SEC foes lock horns in Columbia

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 - Columbia, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Richt leads his 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs into an SEC battle with Steve Spurrier's 24th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia this weekend.

"Our guys are focused on South Carolina right now," said Richt. "I always think the race in the East is wide open, and everybody will have a decent idea in a few weeks. Everybody is hoping to get that first win in league play and get momentum."

The Bulldogs began their season last weekend with a 55-7 romp over Louisiana. Georgia was 8-5 a year ago, and while many programs would consider their season a success if they garnered that record, Richt made it perfectly clear in the offseason that eight wins at Georgia simply isn't good enough. This year's group is not loaded with returning talent, so it remains to be seen if an improvement on last year's mark is possible.

South Carolina cruised to a 41-13 victory over Southern Miss last weekend to begin the campaign, and the lone touchdown scored by the Golden Eagles came with under one minute remaining in the contest.

"Good win for us," said coach Spurrier after the contest. "We missed a few opportunities (but) we played well and won the game. We'll try to improve for the next game against Georgia."

In his first five years at the helm, Spurrier has compiled a 35-28 record, not exactly what the program had hoped for when it signed the former Florida leader. The Gamecocks, who finished 7-6 a year ago, return more talented players than any of Spurrier's five prior seasons, and that's the reason for optimism in Columbia.

Georgia owns a commanding 46-14-2 series advantage over South Carolina, including wins in seven of the last eight meetings between the programs.

The Bulldogs played the opener shorthanded, as their top receiver and rusher from a year ago in A.J. Green and Washaun Ealey were missing from the lineup. Green was held out as the NCAA investigates his alleged improper interaction with an agent, while Ealey was suspended after being charged in late August with hit and run and driving on a suspended license. While Ealey is expected back this weekend, Green's situation remains uncertain.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray made his debut against Louisiana last week for the Bulldogs, and he completed 17-of-26 passes for 160 yards with three touchdown passes. Murray also ran for a score and was intercepted once, an impressive debut overall. Kris Durham benefited from Murray's big day, catching five passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.

The Georgia defense played about as well as Richt could have hoped for in the opener, as the group limited Louisiana to 128 total yards, 60 of which came on one play. The Bulldogs surrendered a mere 14 rushing yards on 29 attempts by the Ragin' Cajuns, who also completed just 8-of-24 passes with three interceptions. Georgia had three sacks in the tilt and held Louisiana to 3- of-16 success on third-down conversion attempts. No one player stood out for the defense, as it was clearly a team effort.

"The defense seemed to be locked in mentally, they played extremely hard and had very few mental errors," Richt said. "They were well-prepared, and we didn't have any penalties on defense."

South Carolina achieved tremendous balance offensively against Southern Miss, as the Gamecocks posted 224 rushing yards and 225 passing yards. Stephen Garcia, the team's quarterback, connected on 16-of-23 passes for 193 yards without an interception, and he also ran for two scores.

"We were last in the SEC in rushing the past two years and that's what we need to get going this year is the rushing game," said Garcia after the victory. "We have the talent and strength up front. If we can run the ball, it's hard to beat us with our defense playing the way they're playing."

Marcus Lattimore also ran for two touchdowns for South Carolina, and standout receiver Alshon Jeffery hauled in seven receptions for 106 yards. USC ran far fewer plays than Southern Miss, 19 to be exact, but the Gamecocks averaged 6.9 yards per play compared to 4.8 for the opposition.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, South Carolina can take pride in the way that it played. Sure, Southern Miss was able to rack up 404 total yards, but the lone touchdown occurred late as mentioned. Also, the Gamecocks surrendered a mere 67 rushing yards, and even the high passing total of USM came on just 8.9 yards per completion. Put simply, South Carolina avoided getting hurt by big plays. Stephon Gilmore had a pair of TFLs in the win.

Wwfreearcade NCAA Football Betting News

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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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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