Marquette and DePaul meet in Big East action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Rosemont, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a humbling loss, the Marquette Golden Eagles will try to bounce back tonight against the DePaul Blue Demons in a Big East Conference battle at Allstate Arena.

This will be the 111th meeting in the all-time series. Marquette leads the series 66-44 after a dominant 94-64 victory on Jan. 18th, 2011 last season. The Blue Demons did however pick up a 51-50 victory in their last encounter with the Golden Eagles in Rosemont.

Head coach Buzz Williams has led his team to a 19-5 overall record, as it fell to 8-3 in Big East action after a 76-53 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. The Golden Eagles struggled offensively in the loss to the Irish as they were held under 40 percent shooting from the field and set a season- low with a three-point percentage of .154. Marquette is now 2-3 on the road in Big East games this season. The Golden Eagles have one of the best offenses in the Big East, as they are ranked second in scoring offense with an average of 75.4 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting from the field.

Marquette is led by its star seniors Darius Johnson-Odum and Jae Crowder. Johnson-Odom is leading the team with 18.0 ppg on 44.3 percent shooting from the floor. The senior guard has been consistent as he has scored in double- figures in all of his appearances this season. Crowder is second on the team in scoring (16.0) and the teams top rebounder with 7.5 boards per game. Crowder is also making a difference on the defensive end with 2.3 steals per outing. Davante Gardner, Todd Mayo, Vander Blue, and Junior Cadougan are decent role players who add depth that makes Marquette nearly impossible to match up with.

Head coach Oliver Purnell has led his DePaul team to a 11-11 overall record, but just a 2-8 mark in Big East action after its 74-66 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. The Blue Demons pulled down a season-high 40 rebounds in the loss to the Bearcats, but still found themselves on the losing end after they committed 18 turnovers. Although DePaul is serviceable on the offensive end in league play with an average of 7-.5 ppg, it has the worst scoring defense in Big East action with an allowed average of 80.8 ppg. Conference foes have connected on 51.3 percent of their field goal attempts against DePaul.

Cleveland Melvin is pacing DePaul with 18.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The sophomore forward recorded his second-straight double-double his last time out as he finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the team's loss to Cincinnati. Brandon Young is second on the team in scoring (15.5) and the top passer with an average of 5.0 assists per outing. Young has averaged 11 points and nine assists per game in his last two games. Jeremiah Kelly provides a scoring spark off the bench for DePaul, while freshman Jamee Crockett continues to improve while starting at small forward.

Betarn66 NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.