Big East brawl pits Bulls against Orange

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The South Florida Bulls will take their four- game winning streak into the Carrier Dome tonight as they square off with the second-ranked Syracuse Orange in a Big East Conference battle.

The Bulls and Syracuse have met nine times in the past, and the Orange hold a 8-1 lead in the all-time series. Syracuse is a perfect 5-0 against USF at the Carrier Dome.

USF comes in with a 17-10 overall record and has already set a new program record for wins in Big East action with its 10-4 league record. The Bulls extended their current winning streak to four games on Sunday in their 56-47 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers. Head coach Stan Heath had to be pleased with his team's defensive performance, as it held the Panthers to a season-low 47 points and held Pitt's stars Tray Woodall and Ashton Gibbs to two points each. USF has the lowest scoring defense in the Big East, with an allowed average of just 58.2 ppg. However, the Bulls are also ranked last in scoring offense as they net only 61.1 ppg.

Augustus Gilchrist is leading the balanced Bulls with a scoring average of 10.5 ppg. Victor Rudd, Jawanza Poland, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, and Ron Anderson Jr. are all steady contributors for USF as well. Fitzpatrick is leading the team with 6.5 rpg. Anthony Collins had a breakout performance against Pittsburgh on Sunday, as he scored a career-high 22 points and handed out six assists. The freshman guard has been a superb distributor as of late, as he has handed out six assists or more in six-straight games.

Syracuse extended its winning streak to seven games on Sunday as it escaped its road tilt versus Rutgers with a 74-64 victory. Jim Boeheim has led his team to sole possession of first place in the Big East as it has a 13-1 record in league play. Syracuse managed to hit 50 percent of its shots from the floor to power past the Scarlet Knights. The Orange's only loss this season was to Notre Dame, which they played without their center Fab Melo. Syracuse leads the league in scoring with an average of 76.8 ppg, and has held its opponents to 60.8 ppg.

The Orange have had all their success come this season through a total team effort. There is not any player on Syracuse with overwhelming statistics, but the team's play as a solidified unit has led to superb results. Kris Joseph leads Syracuse in scoring with 14.0 ppg on 44.1 percent shooting. The senior forward went 5-of-10 from the floor to score 14 points time out as he helped his team past Rutgers. Dion Waiters averages a second-best 12.0 ppg, while Brandon Triche chips in 9.4 ppg. Scoop Jardine controls the offense for the Orange and leads it with 5.0 assists per contest. Melo anchors the patented 2-3 zone with 3.0 blocks per game. C.J. Fair had a big performance off the bench against Rutgers, as he had team-highs of 21 points and grabbed eight boards.

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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.

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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