Top-seeded Duke faces upstart Miami in ACC semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fourth-ranked Duke Blue Devils are the top seed in the 2010 ACC Tournament, and they are set to clash with the 12th- seeded Miami-Florida Hurricanes in the semifinal round this afternoon.

The winner of this tilt will do battle in the title game tomorrow against either NC State or Georgia Tech, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament up for grabs. Duke will obviously receive a "dance ticket" regardless, but the Hurricanes seemingly need to win this conference tournament championship to get an invite.

Miami crushed fifth-seeded Wake Forest by an 83-62 final in Thursday's opening round, and the team managed another upset yesterday with a 70-65 triumph over fourth-seeded Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes, a relative newcomer to the ACC, have never won this event. The club is 20-12 overall in 2009-10, a solid record considering a 4-12 finish versus league foes during the regular season.

As for Duke, it earned a bye through the opening round of this event and managed to knock off Virginia by a 57-46 final in yesterday's quarterfinal round. The Blue Devils are now 27-5 overall, including 5-0 in neutral-site affairs, and they have won 10 of their last 11 games overall. Duke has won the ACC Tournament 17 times, tying it with North Carolina for the most titles among all league members. Last season, the Blue Devils captured the crown by defeating Florida State by 10 points in the championship game.

Duke beat Miami by an 81-74 final during the regular season, and the Blue Devils own a commanding 12-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Miami played tremendous defense in the second half of yesterday's game against Virginia Tech, holding the Hokies to 29 percent shooting. The Hurricanes earned a dominant 46-29 rebounding advantage in the tilt and shot a respectable 46.3 percent from the floor. The positives enabled them to overcome 18 turnovers. Durand Scott paced Miami with 17 points, and DeQuan Jones pitched in with 14. As for Reggie Johnson, he pulled down 12 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who are generating 72.4 ppg while allowing 64.3 ppg to opponents. Dwayne Collins is considered by many to be Miami's best player, but a leg injury is expected to keep him out of this tournament. It is surprising that the club has played so well without Collins and his 12.0 ppg and 7.8 rpg. James Dews (11.7 ppg) is the only active double-digit scorer for the 'Canes, who are averaging 72.4 ppg while allowing 64.3 ppg.

The Blue Devils connected on only 38.2 percent of their field goal attempts against Virginia yesterday, including 4-of-14 from three-point range. Fortunately, they did play tremendous defense, limiting the Cavaliers to 32.1 percent shooting from the floor. As usual, the trio of Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer led the way to victory. In fact, those three players accounted for 48 of the team's 57 points. Singler scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who got 15 points apiece from Scheyer and Smith. Scheyer, the team's standout point guard, is netting 18.8 ppg to go along with 5.2 apg. Smith adds 17.5 ppg, while Singler contributes 17.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg. The fact that no other player on the roster averages more than 5.5 ppg for Duke emphasizes the importance of the "big three". The Blue Devils are generating 78.4 ppg while holding foes to 61.3 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting.

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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl

NFL Super Bowl Betting

The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.

Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.

The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

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