ETSU wins Atlantic Sun for second straight year

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Macon, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Tubbs led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers secured their second consecutive Atlantic Sun tournament championship with a 72-66 victory over Mercer.

Tommy Hubbard added 14 points and six rebounds for the Bucs (20-14), who will make their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ninth in school history. ETSU lost a hard-fought battle with top-seeded Pittsburgh last year, 72-62, in a first-round matchup.

Micah Williams contributed 13 points and nine boards, Isiah Brown had 12 points and Adam Sollazzo posted 11 points for East Tennessee State, which, as the fifth seed, beat fourth-seeded Campbell in the quarters before knocking off second-seeded Jacksonville in the semis.

The Bucs had lost both regular season games to Mercer this season.

E.J. Kusnyer led the Bears (16-17) with 16 points, but Mercer was unable to capture its first conference championship since 1985. Brandon Moore added 13 points in the loss.

A Daniel Emerson tip shot and Jeff Smith free throw helped the Bears tie the game, 60-60, with just over two minutes to go.

ETSU, though, went ahead for good on a pair of Williams free throws that were followed by a Tubbs three-pointer for a 65-61 advantage with under 1 1/2 minutes remaining.

Sollazzo padded the lead with two free throws for a six-point edge with a minute to play, although Kusnyer answered with a three for Mercer to make it a one-possession game.

Emerson brought the Bears to within 68-66 with 35 seconds left with a pair from the line, but Tubbs was able to hit both of his shots after a foul to restore a four-point lead. Mercer was unable to respond.

ETSU held an 11-point lead, 21-10, after a Jocolby Davis dunk midway through the first half, but Mercer battled back and faced only a two-point deficit at halftime, 37-35.

The Bears grabbed a 42-41 lead with 15 minutes left on a James Florence three, but the Bucs answered with the next seven points and held a slim lead down the stretch.

Game Notes

Mercer, the sixth seed, beat third-seeded Belmont in the quarterfinals and eighth-seeded Kennesaw State in the semifinals...ETSU had won the first eight games in this series before getting swept by the Bears in the regular season...The Bucs have won this tournament only twice -- 2009 and 2010...East Tennessee State is 2-9 all time in the NCAA Tournament, with its last win coming in 1992 over Arizona...Emerson and Florence each finished with nine points.

Wwraceo NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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