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Huskies in Queen City to open Big East playNCAA Basketball Betting Lines12/30/2009 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that will likely factor into the race for the Big East title, will open conference play this evening against one another, as the 10th-ranked Connecticut Huskies hit the floor at the Fifth Third Arena to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Huskies have enjoyed some home cooking for the most part this season and will actually be playing their first true road game on the year in this contest. The team has lost a pair of games to top-10 foes in Duke and Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, but UConn does bring a three-game win streak into this contest, with the most recent win coming on Sunday, a 93-74 rout of Iona. The Bearcats have defended their home court well this year and are a perfect 6-0 as the host team, including back-to-back wins over Lipscomb (80-52) and Winthrop (74-57) entering this matchup. The Huskies own this series, having won all five previous meetings, including last year's lone clash, an 82-71 decision at Cincinnati. UConn jumped all over the Gaels early on, shooting .516 from the floor in the first half, taking a 14-point lead into the break and never looking back. The team shot an even more effective .680 in the second half, and finished at .589 in the game overall. Stanley Robinson had his way offensively, hitting 13- of-18 shots to tally 29 points in all. Jerome Dyson poured in 17 points, while doling out seven assists. Backcourt mate Kemba Walker tallied 14 points and an identical seven assists, while Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Gavin Edwards came off the bench to add 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Huskies are not an offensive juggernaut by any means, but the team is shooting an efficient .468 from the floor, leading to 74.9 ppg. What the team does have is a pair of explosive players in Dyson and Robinson. Dyson is a complete player, leading the team in scoring at 19.8 ppg, while making his presence felt as both a rebounder (5.3 rpg) and distributor (52 assists) as well. Robinson has been strong up front, averaging 17.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Walker (13.3 ppg, team-high 70 assists) is a superb floor general, while Edwards (10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, team-high 40 blocks) gives the team a physical presence down low. For the second straight game, the Bearcats were able to convert over 50 percent from the floor, leading to a lopsided win over Winthrop last week. Yancy Gates led three double figure scorers for Cincinnati, hitting 6-of-10 shots from the floor en route to a 16-point effort. Ibrahima Thomas and Deonta Vaughn provided adequate support with 11 points apiece. The Bearcats are getting strong play at the defensive end of the floor, fueling the team's success thus far. Opponents are averaging a mere 61.6 ppg on an anemic .374 shooting. The team has also done a masterful job on the boards, posting 42.8 rebounds per game and enjoying a solid +8.9 rebounding edge thus far. Offensively, the team looks to Lance Stephenson (12.5 ppg) and Gates (11.1 ppg) to lead the way. Vaughn (9.8 ppg), Dion Dixon (8.5 ppg) and Rashad Bishop (8.0 ppg) provide some scoring depth.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence Work left to do: Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8. Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday. DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ... West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule. Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games. For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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