Washington upends No. 7 Oregon

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/26/2007 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Dentmon scored 24 points and dished out six assists as Washington toppled seventh-ranked Oregon, 89-77, at Bank of America Arena.

Ryan Appleby donated 16 points while Spencer Hawes ended with 15 for the Huskies (12-7, 2-6 Pac-10), who snapped a three-game skid. Jon Brockman totaled 14 points and eight rebounds in victory.

Bryce Taylor paced his team with 19 points and Chamberlain Oguchi scored 15 for Oregon (18-2, 6-2), which had a five-game winning streak snapped. A win in this contest would have given Oregon its best start in team history.

Dentmon got 15 of his points before the break and also delved out four assists to help give Washington a 51-40 halftime edge. The big statistic over the first 20 minutes was points off turnovers, as the Huskies outdueled the Ducks 15-4 in that category.

Oregon, though, put up a fight in the second stanza. The road team came out of the locker room and netted the first seven points to pull within four.

The Ducks cut the deficit to two, 59-57, on a Tajuan Porter lay-in, then used back-to-back threes by Malik Hairston and Oguchi to claim a two-point lead with 14:25 on the clock.

Washington, though, broke off a 13-4 run in the latter stages of the half to claim an 83-73 advantage. Dentmon had five points in the spurt, including a jumper that pushed the lead to double-digits with about three minutes left.

Oregon never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Washington improved to 12-1 at home...The Huskies lead the all-time series, 179-100...Washington has won the last six against Oregon at home.

Wwwmapau NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Sun Devils roar past Cal
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jill Noe poured in a season-best 19 points and added seven rebounds to pace 10th-ranked Arizona State past No. 20 California, 66-54, at Wells Fargo Arena. Emily Westerberg scored 15 points and Briann January

<< Sessions, Nevada rout Louisiana Tech
Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Sessions dropped in 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to guide No. 18 Nevada past Louisiana Tech, 84-67, at Lawlor Events Center. Sessions also had seven rebounds and six assists while Nick Fazekas scored

<< No. 9 Stanford downs Arizona
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooke Smith scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as ninth-ranked Stanford held on to beat Arizona, 86-76, to remain perfect in the Pac-10 standings. Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel each scored 18

<< UCLA tops Cal
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arron Afflalo scored 25 points to lead the third-ranked UCLA Bruins past the California Golden Bears, 62-46, at Haas Pavilion. Afflalo made 7-of-13 shots from the floor and was a perfect 9-for-9 fro

<< Cubs release Rusch
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs released pitcher Glendon Rusch on Thursday after a blood clot in his left lung cut short his 2006 season. The left-hander, 32, was 3-8 with a 7.46 earned run average in 25 gam

Mobley's late three lifts Clippers over Nets >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cuttino Mobley hit a three with .6 seconds to play, as the Los Angeles Clippers bested the New Jersey Nets, 102-101, at the Staples Center. Elton Brand and Corey Maggette each netted 18 while Mobley f

Stanford upsets USC >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brook Lopez easily had the best game of his young career, recording a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks to lead Stanford to a 65-50 upset of 25th-ranked USC. Lawre

Cougars drop Beavers >>
Pullman, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robbie Cowgill scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as 20th-ranked Washington State defeated Pac-10 foe Oregon State, 70-55. Kyle Weaver scored 12 points and Ivory Clark chipped in with 11

Gonzalez blasts Haas to reach Aussie Open final >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fernando Gonzalez earned his first trip to a Grand Slam final with a straight-set victory over Tommy Haas on Friday in the semifinals of the Australian Open. The 10th-seeded Gonzalez rolle

Black/Huber capture Aussie Open doubles crown >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked women's doubles team of Cara Black from Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa bested the Chinese Taipei team of Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 to win

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.