Surging Irish set sights on Panthers in tournament play

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a surprising regular-season showing, the 16th-ranked and second-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers now begin their run in the Big East Tournament tonight against the seventh-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden. The victor of this contest moves on to the semifinals versus Cincinnati or West Virginia on Friday.

Picked to finish ninth in the Big East preseason poll, Pitt defied all odds and overcame a lack of experience for a second place showing at 13-5. The Panthers, who lost a majority of their production from a season ago, also won 24 regular-season games and moved into the Top 25 for the second part of the campaign. Winners of three straight and eight of their last nine games, the Panthers are now ready for another successful run in the postseason. Since 2000-01, Pitt has won a conference-high 19 games in the Big East Tournament, marching its way to seven of the last nine titles games. The team took home two titles during the stretch, with the most recent coming in 2008.

As for the Irish, they continued their late charge last night with a 68-56 besting of 10th-seeded Seton Hall in second-round play. It was the fifth straight victory for ND, which may have just locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament with last night's performance.

ND's current winning streak start with a 68-53 upset of Pittsburgh on February 24th and that victory tied the all-time series at 27-27 between the programs.

Luke Harangody looked like himself last night, recording a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lift ND past Seton Hall. Harangody, who missed five of the last six games of the regular season with a bruised right knee, made 9- of-15 field goals for the game. ND continued its defensive improvement, holding Seton Hall to 56 points and a dismal 34.5 percent shooting performance from the floor. The Irish have now held five straight opponents to 64 points or fewer and that is remarkable accomplishment for a team that allowed over 71.0 ppg in conference play this season. The newly found stingy defense, mixed with a healthy Harangody, who averages 23.2 ppg and 9.7 rpg, makes ND a real threat for the title. Of course the Irish have other players to rely on, as Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough averaged 17.2 and 12.0 ppg, respectively, during the regular season.

Pitt's success this season is due in large part to the emergence of Ashton Gibbs, who earned the Big East's Most Improved Player Award. After averaging just 4.3 ppg as a freshman last season, Gibbs paced the Panthers with an average of 16.2 ppg this campaign. A second-team All-Big East selection, Gibbs is extremely accurate at the foul line (.890 percent) and he also shoots 40.4 percent from three-point range. Brad Wanamaker, a jack of all trades, adds 12.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg, to go along with a team-high 4.7 apg for the Panthers. Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown tack on 10.7 ppg apiece for Pitt, which has done a nice job holding foes to 61.7 ppg and 39.8 percent shooting from the field.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.