Three of top 4 seeds bumped in Big East quarters

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 -

NEW YORK (AP) -It was a bad day to be a favorite at the Big East tournament.

Three of the conference's top four teams were beaten in the quarterfinals Thursday at Madison Square Garden, jumbling the league's NCAA picture and setting up a pair of surprising matchups in the semifinals.

Third-seeded West Virginia was the only one to escape - and the Mountaineers needed a 3-point bank shot at the buzzer from Da'Sean Butler to beat 11th-seeded Cincinnati 54-51.

``I think that's what is great about tournaments,'' Villanova coach Jay Wright said after his 10th-ranked team lost 80-76 to Marquette. ``We've all played each other. We all know each other. I think that's what makes the games great.''

Lazar Hayward and the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (22-10) will play in the first semifinal Friday night against No. 8 seed Georgetown. The 22nd-ranked Hoyas (22-9) were a 91-84 winner over top-seeded and third-ranked Syracuse, the league's outright regular-season champion.

West Virginia takes the court in the nightcap against seventh-seeded Notre Dame (23-10), which grinded out a 50-45 victory over 16th-ranked Pittsburgh, the No. 2 seed.

It's the fourth time in Big East tournament history that three of the top four seeds failed to reach the semifinals. Of the four teams remaining, Georgetown is the only one with a title.

All of a sudden, the Big Apple is upset city.

``So much for the double byes, huh? I do think there's some advantage to being able to play a little bit,'' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

Indeed, the double-bye format has turned into a major topic at the Big East tournament.

Last year, the first time all 16 teams participated, the top four seeds were awarded double byes straight into the quarterfinals.

Those four teams went 2-2 in their openers, with No. 2 Pittsburgh losing to rival West Virginia and third-seeded Connecticut falling short in a six-overtime epic against Syracuse.

This season, the teams with double byes were 1-3.

``I'm not a fan of the double bye, but I don't know that that had that much to do with it,'' West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said.

Despite his team's early elimination, Wright remains a fan of this format.

``If we would have won, you only have two more games to win a championship,'' he said. ``We all know the NCAA tournament is important. Your top teams aren't beat down. ... There's still a great advantage to only playing three games in a tournament and having a chance to win it all.''

Despite the surprises, the top eight finishers in the Big East regular-season standings are still expected to make the NCAA tournament. Seeding, however, could change based on this wild week in New York.

``The league is so good. The teams are so good. I think usually when you get a double bye, you think in most situations you're going to get a team that's a big difference,'' Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. ``In this league, that's not the case.''

Georgetown and Marquette had each lost twice during the season to the teams they beat Thursday.

``It's just who you get and where they finish. It's such a long year, guys are going to be playing better in January than other teams,'' Dixon added. ``So a double bye had nothing to do with it. It's just a team that's playing well against another team that's playing very well. Probably the teams with the best records down the stretch are playing together in the quarterfinal game. And that's really what you had.

``I think we won eight of our last nine. They won their last four,'' Dixon said, referring to Notre Dame. ``Those two teams playing in the quarterfinals. It speaks to our league.''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.

Wwwracingcasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Fish, Moya highlight first-round winners at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Mardy Fish and Spaniard Carlos Moya were among Thursday's first-round winners at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event. Fish, the runner-up here in 2008, rallied f

<< Oudin knocked in first round at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Melanie Oudin had a short stay at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis event, dropping a three-set decision to Roberta Vinci. Oudin won the first set then was outplayed in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-

<< Sharks score six times in third to beat Nashville
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski registered two goals and two assists in the third period, as the San Jose Sharks scored six times over the final 20 minutes to rally past the Nashville Predators, 8-5, at HP Pavilion. Dany

<< Roy leads Portland rally over Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 41 points and had eight rebounds, as Portland locked down Golden State in the fourth quarter and rallied for a 110-105 victory. Andre Miller contributed 15 points and seven assist

<< UTEP cruises past UCF into C-USA semifinals
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeremy Williams was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in a 17-point effort, and 25th-ranked UTEP cruised to a 76-54 win over UCF in the quarterfinals in the Conference USA Tournament. Randy Culpeppe

Kansas State, Kansas romp in Big 12 quarterfinals >>
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas State is one win away from getting one last shot at its archrival.Both the Wildcats and No. 1 Kansas advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday, keeping alive hopes for a Sunflower State showdown fo

Arizona's NCAA run all but over at 25 >>
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Arizona's streak of 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances is all but over.The Wildcats lost to UCLA 75-69 in the Pac-10 tournament on Thursday night, dropping their record to 16-15, a number that almost certainly won't be good

Browns sign Ben Watson >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed unrestricted free agent tight end Ben Watson to a multi-year contract. Financial terms of the deal for the former New England Patriots veteran were not disclosed. "We vi

Bonnies seek A-10 tourney upset of top-seeded Owls >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two-time defending Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Champions, the 17th-ranked Temple Owls, hit the floor at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 34th annual event

Alabama challenges Kentucky in SEC Tournament quarterfinals >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats begin play in the 2010 SEC Tournament with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The winner of this game will move on to Saturday's semifinals to

Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.

Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

Get all your baseball betting lines, MLB lines and MLB team props at the My Sportbook.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your baseball sportsbook needs.