Big 5 matchups pits Hawks against Owls

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Temple Owls and the Saint Joseph's Hawks are set to open Atlantic 10 Conference play in Philadelphia this evening.

Saint Joseph's is off to a disappointing 4-8 start this season, including 0-4 in true road games. Clearly, things have fallen apart for the squad since a promising 3-0 start to the campaign. Phil Martelli's Hawks were most recently in action on Saturday when they fell to Princeton in a 70-62 final.

As for Temple, it was clearly outclassed by top-ranked Kansas on Saturday, as that game resulted in an 84-52 defeat. That blowout loss halted a seven-game win streak for the Owls, who are 11-3 overall. Their most impressive victory thus far came over Villanova, a Philadelphia Big 5 rival and top-10 squad.

Temple owns an 83-65 series lead over Saint Joseph's, which includes five straight wins over the Hawks.

In the loss to Princeton on Saturday, Saint Joseph's connected on only 37.3 percent of its field goal attempts, including a 3-of-18 effort from three- point range. The team also suffered a 41-32 rebounding disadvantage, and all of the negatives overshadowed the fact that the Hawks only committed eight turnovers in the clash. They got 17 points from Carl Jones off the bench in the setback, and Darrin Govens netted 13 points before fouling out. Govens is the leading scorer for Martelli's team through 12 outings, as he is netting 12.7 ppg. Garrett Williamson provides 11.7 ppg and 3.2 apg, while Idris Hillard adds 10.8 ppg. Jones rounds out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 10.7 ppg.

Temple is not an explosive team by any means, as the club is scoring 63.2 ppg on 40.8 percent shooting from the floor. Defensively, the club is outstanding, allowing just 56.4 ppg to opponents on 37.8 percent field goal efficiency. Ryan Brooks is the leader for the Owls with 15.4 ppg, and Juan Fernandez checks in with 14.1 ppg. As for Lavoy Allen, he provides 10.6 ppg and 10.2 rpg. Both Brooks and Fernandez scored 11 points against Kansas, and Allen added 10 points. Unfortunately, the Owls connected on only 25 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 5-of-29 effort from three-point range. They were also outrebounded by a 43-31 margin, and all of the negatives overshadowed the fact that the team turned the ball over just six times.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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