55 and counting: Memphis pulls away to beat UAB

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/26/2009 - Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doneal Mack had 17 points, as fifth-ranked Memphis pulled away to defeat UAB, 71-60, and clinch its fourth consecutive Conference USA regular season title.

Antonio Anderson added 16 points, and Robert Dozier finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis (25-3, 13-0 C-USA), which extended its conference win streak to 55 and its overall victory string to 19 -- the longest in the nation. The Tigers ended the game on a 15-5 run, though trailed multiple times in the second half.

Shawn Taggart ended with 13 points and 11 boards for Memphis, which won despite committed 19 turnovers.

Lawrence Kinnard had a game-high 25 points and added 11 rebounds for UAB (19-9, 9-4), which had won six in a row and nine of its last 10. Paul Delaney III scored 18 and Channing Toney provided 11 points in the Blazers' loss.

UAB's Robert Vaden, who came into the game averaging a team-leading 18.2 points, finished with zero points, going 0-for-17 from the field. That included an 0-for-12 clip from three-point range.

With 5:37 left, Dozier grabbed a rebound on the offensive end and went right back up with it, sinking the basket and drawing the foul. It was a key basket, as the free throw gave Memphis a two-possession lead at 54-50.

Kinnard answered at the other end with a three-pointer, and after the teams traded baskets, an Aaron Johnson layup drew UAB within 56-55 with 4 1/2 minutes on the clock.

But the Tigers pulled away from there, getting four consecutive free throws -- two each from Anderson and Taggart. After a UAB miss, Mack drained a contested three from the right corner for a 63-55 Memphis lead, and the Blazers called a timeout with 2:31 left.

Kinnard got a layup on the other end, but Anderson's three-pointer gave Memphis a 66-57 advantage. A bad pass into the backcourt on UAB's next possession gave the ball right back to Memphis. Anderson made a pair of free throws, and the Tigers held on from there.

The teams were tied at 28 after a back-and-forth first half, and the game remained close until Memphis gained some separation. Back-to-back buckets from Mack gave the Tigers a 42-34 lead a little more than four minutes into the second half.

But UAB came back with a nine-point burst, during which Kinnard had five points. His three-pointer with just under 13 minutes to go put the Blazers on top, 43-42, and the teams traded the lead several times as the game went to the stretch run.

Game Notes

UAB scored 26 points off turnovers, while turning the ball over only nine times itself...Tyreke Evans had eight points for Memphis.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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