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03/16/2010 -
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -The Big 12's coaches spent an entire season, even some time before it, telling anyone who'd listen this was the conference's strongest year ever.
Turns out, they were right.
The Big 12 earned a conference-record seven NCAA tournament bids Sunday, including the No. 1 overall seed and two more in the top three, validating what its coaches have been saying all along.
``The more the merrier,'' Oklahoma coach Travis Ford said Monday. ``I know our coaches are always pleased when they see people value the product that the Big 12 schools are putting out there. To get over half your teams into the NCAA tournament is a very, very nice compliment.''
Football has been the calling card for the Big 12 since it formed in 1996, the perception being that Kansas and Oklahoma State were the only teams playing real basketball.
The league has gradually changed its acumen over the past few years as Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri joined the Jayhawks in making deep runs in the NCAA tournament.
Still, six NCAA berths was the best the Big 12 could do - seven times, including the past two seasons - feeding an inferiority complex, as if the basketball power conferences were a big brother who wouldn't let them win at anything.
Now that Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas are in, this relatively new conference has moved up to a level usually reserved for older powerhouses like the Big East and ACC.
``As far as us getting seven in this year, my response is: It's about time,'' Kansas State coach Frank Martin said.
Kansas, no surprise, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Jayhawks start Thursday in Oklahoma City, against Lehigh.
A monumental mismatch? Probably. But after that, the road gets tougher.
The Midwest regional is considered the toughest in the tournament, one potential land mine after another awaiting the top-ranked Jayhawks.
Get by Lehigh and the second round, Kansas could face Michigan State or Maryland in the regional semifinals, then could face Georgetown or one of the two teams that gave the Jayhawks their two losses, Oklahoma State or Tennessee.
Even for a team that's as deep as any in the country, one that spent all but four weeks at No. 1, that's a tough gauntlet.
``I do believe this is a very, very difficult region,'' Kansas coach Bill Self said. ``But, from my standpoint, to get to where you want to go, you should have to beat good people. I'm sure no matter who gets to Indianapolis they're going to have a tough road.''
Kansas State set a school record for wins and has its highest seeding ever, No. 2 in the West. The seventh-ranked Wildcats open the NCAA tournament against North Texas in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Baylor, No. 3 in the South and 19th in the nation, also starts on Thursday, against Sam Houston State in New Orleans. No. 23 Texas A&M gets Utah State in Spokane, Wash., as the fifth seed in the South, and Oklahoma State faces a tough first-round matchup against Georgia Tech as the seventh seed in Milwaukee. The Aggies and Cowboys both play Friday.
The other Big 12 teams in the NCAA tournament need to make quick turnarounds.
Missouri closed out the season by losing three of its final four games, including to last-place Nebraska in the conference tournament. The Tigers open Friday in Buffalo, N.Y., against Clemson in what's likely to be the fastest game of the tournament.
Then there's Texas.
The former No. 1 team in the nation, the Longhorns followed a 17-0 start with a crash, going 9-7 during the Big 12 regular season. Texas is the eighth seed in the East regional and opens against Wake Forest on Thursday in New Orleans, hoping to get one potentially momentum-changing win.
``One game, it can swing quickly,'' Texas coach Rick Barnes said. ``We see it all the time, teams come into that have been down and out, and they catch it and kind of ride the wave with it ... This time of year, one game here or there, one play here or there can really swing it.''
After playing in the rugged Big 12, the Longhorns should be ready for it.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Bryant and Lakers hang on against Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and the Los
Angeles Lakers held on for a 124-121 win over Golden State, their ninth
straight win over the Warriors.
Pau Gasol added 26 points, while Andrew Bynum c
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Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic snuck into
the fourth round, while third-seeded Victoria Azarenka and 14th-seeded Kim
Clijsters were third-round losers Monday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open
tennis
<< Thornton keys late spurt as Hornets beat Clippers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thornton hit a pair of three-
pointers during a big New Orleans run in the fourth quarter, and David West
led all scorers with 24 points, as the Hornets pulled away late to beat the
Los Ang
<< Quinn diplomatic about chance at earning No. 1 QB role
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brady Quinn officially became a member of the
Denver Broncos on Monday after passing his physical and was immediately
inundated with questions if he'll go into training camp trying to wrestle the
startin
Hawks visit lowly Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will hit the road for two straight games
starting with tonight's showdown against the lowly New Jersey Nets at the IZOD
Center.
Atlanta will visit Toronto as well and is 16-16 as the guest this season. It
Cavs closing in on Central title; visit Pistons >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's best road team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, will pay
a visit to the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The playoff-bound Cavs have won 14 of their last 19 road games and are 23-11
away from
Heat resume homestand vs. Spurs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams battling for playoff positioning get together
tonight in south Florida, as the Miami Heat continue a six-game homestand
versus the San Antonio Spurs at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat have won the first three te
Struggling Bruins visit Hurricanes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will fight to hold onto their playoff
spot when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at RBC Center.
The Bruins are currently eighth in the East with 72 points and are just one
point ahead of the New
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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