Cyclones blow into Waco seeking upset of Bears

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/13/2012 - Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The tie for third place in the Big 12 Conference Standings will be broken tonight, as the Iowa State Cyclones square off with the Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

The Cyclones have played Baylor 20 times leading up to tonight's clash, and Iowa State leads the all-time series 12-8. As mentioned, the Cyclones and Bears are tied for third place in the Big 12 standings with identical 8-4 league ledgers, two games behind both Kansas and Missouri.

Iowa State won its fourth game in five tries on Saturday as it handled Texas A&M on its home floor, 69-46. The decision improved ISU's overall record to 18-7. The Cyclones were able to knock down 10 three-pointers in the contest, which put them in a tie for seventh in the nation in three-pointers made per game (8.9). Head coach Fred Hoiberg had to be pleased with his squad's dominant 38-22 rebounding advantage. Iowa State has the fifth-best scoring offense in the Big 12 (73.8 ppg), and the seventh-best scoring defense (66.0 ppg).

Royce White is the go-to-guy for Iowa State, and he is the only player in the country to lead his team in points (13.2 ppg), rebounds (9.4 rpg), assists (4.8 apg), steals (1.2 spg), and blocks (1.1 bpg). Chris Allen is ISU's second-leading scorer with 12.7 ppg, and he has been deadly from three-point range, going 17-of-29 from downtown in his last four games. Scott Christopherson and Chris Babb both produce for the Cyclones as well, and both demand extra attention when out on the perimeter.

Baylor head coach Scott Drew can't be criticized too harshly for his team's current two-game slide, as it went up against the talented Kansas Jayhawks prior to suffering a 72-57 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Baylor lost to Kansas and Missouri in consecutive games earlier this season as well, which has contributed all of the losses to its 21-4 overall record. BU shot the ball poorly against Mizzou, as it connected on only 36.2 percent of its field goal attempts, which included a dismal 4-of-17 showing from three-point range, while the Tigers were able to hit 14-of-28 from beyond the arc to run away with the victory. Baylor is third in the Big 12 in scoring margin (+11.4).

Baylor has a deep attack as five players average double figures in the scoring column. The Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Perry Jones III leads the team with 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Quincy Miller was excellent in the recent loss to Missouri, as he poured in a 20 points. Quincy Acy and Pierre Jackson are both contributing just under 13.0 ppg. Acy is an exciting high-flyer who leads the team with 53 blocks. Brady Heslip is a serious threat from long range as he has knocked down 43.5 percent of his shots from beyond the arc coming into this contest.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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