Mid-American Conference Tournament Recaps

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Max Boudreau scored 18 points off the bench to lead the fifth-seeded Buffalo Bulls to a 72-54 victory over the 12th-seeded Toledo Rockets in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Calvin Betts netted 13 points for Buffalo (18-11), which moves on to battle fourth-seeded Miami-Ohio in the quarterfinals. The Bulls also got 12 points from Sean Smiley.

Justin Anyijong tallied 14 points in defeat for Toledo (4-28), which closed out its season with losses in 21 of the last 22 outings. The Rockets also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Jake Barnett, as well as 12 points from Malcolm Griffin.

Buffalo shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-22 at intermission.

The Bulls registered more field goals in the second half (15) than the first stanza (14), enabling them to cruise to victory.

Buffalo earned a 39-26 rebounding advantage in the clash and finished with 19 assists against only eight turnovers.

Final Score: Western Michigan 75, Bowling Green 73

Kalamazoo, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Kool racked up 20 points, six rebounds and five assists to lift the seventh-seeded Western Michigan Broncos over the 10th-seeded Bowling Green Falcons by a 75-73 final in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Flenard Whitfield added 19 points off the bench for Western Michigan (17-14), which will battle second-seeded Central Michigan in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Broncos also got 12 points from Martelle McLemore.

Scott Thomas scored 23 points in defeat for Bowling Green (14-16). Marc Larson posted 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Falcons, who received 11 points and seven assists from Joe Jakubowski.

Bowling Green led 39-38 at halftime after shooting a stellar 17-of-25 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes.

Over the final 20 minutes, the Falcons shot 50 percent from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Still, Western Michigan was able to prevail because it earned a 10-4 edge in points from the foul line in the second half.

The Broncos finished the tilt with 17 assists against only six turnovers, impressive by any standards.

Final Score: Eastern Michigan 65, Northern Illinois 59

Ypsilanti, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Bowdry posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the sixth-seeded Eastern Michigan Eagles to a 65-59 victory over the 11th-seeded Northern Illinois Huskies in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

Justin Dobbins tallied 13 points for Eastern Michigan (17-14), which will attempt to upset the third-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round. Carlos Medlock added 11 points for the Eagles, who got 10 points from Jay Higgins.

Xavier Silas poured in 20 points in the narrow defeat for Northern Illinois (10-20), which received 15 points and 11 rebounds from Sean Kowal.

Northern Illinois led by a 22-8 margin early on, but the Huskies slowed down an owned less impressive 29-23 lead at halftime

Over the final 20 minutes, the Eagles connected on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts and held the Huskies to 30.8 percent shooting.

Northern Illinois finished the game with 18 turnovers, overshadowing a 39-27 rebounding advantage.

Final Score: Ohio University 85, Ball State 77 (OT)

Muncie, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Armon Bassett poured in 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Ohio University Bobcats to a hard-fought 85-77 overtime victory over the eighth-seeded Ball State Cardinals in the first round of the Mid- American Conference Tournament.

DeVaughn Washington and Tommy Freeman both scored 15 points for Ohio (18-14), which moves on to the quarterfinal round to do battle with the top-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes. D.J. Cooper contributed 12 points. nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats.

Randy Davis scored 21 points in the heart-breaking loss for Ball State (15-15). Jauwan Scaife tallied 17 points, Terrence Watson added 14 points and Jarrod Jones pitched in 12 points.

Neither team was able to build a double-digit lead in the first half, and Ball State owned a narrow 36-33 edge at intermission.

Bassett hit a layup for Ohio with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 69-69. Bassett was fouled on the play and could have given the Bobcats the lead with a free throw, but his attempt missed its mark. Neither team was able to score again down the stretch, and an extra session was needed to decide the outcome.

Ball State scored the first two points of overtime, but Ohio closed the game on a 16-6 run.

A 27-11 advantage in points from the foul line was key to the victory for the Bobcats.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

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The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

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