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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.
<< Vols visit Jayhawks in intriguing non-league matchup
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers of the
SEC and the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 will collide at Allen Fieldhouse in
Lawrence this afternoon.
Tennessee has won its last three games to improve to 9-2 overa
<< Fighting Irish hope to calm Red Storm
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes will collide in New
York City this afternoon, as the St. John's Red Storm welcomes the seventh-
ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to town.
Notre Dame carries a four-game win streak into
<< UConn seeks first Big East win in clash with Rutgers
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Connecticut Huskies will
attempt to avoid their first 0-2 start to Big East play since the 1989-90
season, as they welcome the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to Storrs for a conference
showdown at Gampel
<< Spartans takes aim at 2-0 start to Big Ten play
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten Conference foes will collide in
Evanston tonight, as the Northwestern Wildcats play host to the 10th-ranked
Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan State has won its last six outings to improve to 10-2 overa
Big East showdown pits Panthers against Hoyas >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the Big East's best teams collide
in our nation's capital this afternoon, as the third-ranked Pittsburgh
Panthers come calling on the 11th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas. This game is a
rematch of the last tw
Buffalo and UConn head north of the border for International Bowl >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bulls will make their first-ever
bowl appearance when they take on the Connecticut Huskies this Saturday
afternoon at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, in the third annual
International Bowl.
Spartans take aim at 2-0 start to Big Ten play >>
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten Conference foes will collide in
Evanston tonight, as the Northwestern Wildcats play host to the 10th-ranked
Michigan State Spartans.
Michigan State has won its last six outings to improve to 10-2 overa
Report: Jones on his way out of LA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Los Angeles
Dodgers will soon part ways with outfielder Andruw Jones.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Jones has agreed to deferred payments on
the $22 million the Dod
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The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.
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