BYU's lengthy home win streak in danger against No. 6 Wake Forest

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/03/2009 - Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The nation's longest home win streak appears to be in serious jeopardy tonight as the BYU Cougars entertain the sixth-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Marriott Center in Provo.

Off to their best start since 1987-88, the Cougars have won an astounding 53 consecutive games at the Marriott Center, with the last setback for the squad coming against Loyola Marymount in the 2005-06 home opener. This year, the squad is a perfect 6-0 in the building and 5-1 elsewhere thanks to a 74-68 victory against Tulsa on the road Tuesday. The win came 10 days after the Cougars suffered their first and only loss of 2008-09, a 76-75 defeat at the hands of Arizona State as a potential game-winning basket at the buzzer was waved off.

As for the Demon Deacons, they've maintained an unblemished record to this point in the campaign, thanks in part to a questionable non-conference slate that has included early meetings with the likes of NC Central, Winston-Salem State, East Carolina and Radford. Aside from the double-digit win over Baylor as part of the 76 Classic in Anaheim in late November, the team has cruised in almost every other outing. On Tuesday, Wake Forest easily dismissed Radford in an 83-61 final at home which means the Demon Deacons have scored at least 81 points in all but one of the last eight games.

Wake Forest leads the all-time series with the Cougars by a count of 3-1 after picking up a 79-62 victory at home in Winston-Salem a season ago. Against ranked opponents, the Cougars have an all-time record of 50-112 and are 14-20 versus such teams at the Marriott Center over the years. BYU is just 17-61 versus schools in the top-10, with Wake being the highest-ranked, non- conference opponent ever to face BYU in this building.

Wake had a little trouble with the Highlanders in the first half of their game on Tuesday, leading by only seven points at the break, but in the second half the offense opened up and the Demon Deacons cruised to the 22-point win. Jeff Teague scored a game-high 19 points for the home team, leading four players in double figures, while Al-Farouq Aminu was one of two with a double-double as he dropped in 18 points and cleared 10 rebounds. James Johnson came up with 12 points, 12 boards and five assists, followed by Chas McFarland who tallied 10 points, but on just 2-of-8 shooting from the field. Teague leads the team in scoring after 12 games with his 18.8 ppg, shooting not only 52.5 percent from the field but also 51.7 percent behind the three-point line. In addition, Teague is also first with 50 assists and 28 steals, which tells the story of a player who makes a full effort at both ends of the floor. Aminu, a 54.8 percent shooter from the field, checks in with 12.9 ppg and a team-best 9.1 rpg, followed by Johnson and his 12.8 ppg and 7.7 rpg. At the moment Wake is shooting an impressive 51.3 percent from the floor, one of the best marks in college basketball, while limiting the opposition to just 36 percent from the floor and 27.8 percent out on the perimeter.

Down by four at the break versus Tulsa at the Reynolds Center, the Cougars picked up the pace at both ends of the floor in the second half in order to land in the win column. In addition to holding the Golden Hurricane to just 34.4 percent from the field after the intermission, the visitors also converted 57.7 percent from the floor themselves. Lee Cummard led a trio of double-digit scorers with his game-high 26 points, but it was Jonathan Tavernari who put it all together with his 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Jimmer Fredette managed to work through six turnovers by posting 13 points. Cummard leads the team in scoring overall this season with his 18.4 ppg, but now Tavernari is right on his tail with 18.3 ppg of his own. The former is shooting an amazing 59.9 percent from the field, 45.7 percent behind the three-point line and 82 percent at the charity stripe, all while averaging close to six rebounds per game and better than three assists per outing. Tavernari checks in with 7.3 rpg to lead the group and give them a rebounding advantage of more than five per game against the competition. Like Wake, the Cougars are also shooting the ball extremely well from the field at a 52.1 percent clip and are holding foes to just 28.9 percent out on the perimeter.

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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.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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