Beat Vikings and Bulldogs win outright Horizon League title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2009 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Butler Bulldogs will try to wrap up the outright Horizon League title today, as they host the Cleveland State Vikings at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

With a 78-57 trouncing of Youngstown State on Thursday, the Bulldogs clinched a share of their third consecutive HL regular-season championship at 14-3 within the conference. Butler however, is just one game ahead of UW-Green Bay and because the Phoenix own the tie-breaker, the Bulldogs would need a win or UW-Green Bay loss today in order to lock up the top-seed in the upcoming league tournament. The top seed gets to host the later rounds of the HL Tournament and that would be big news for the Bulldogs, who are a healthy 13-1 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

As for CSU, it too has a lot on the line and needs a win in order to secure the No.3 seed in the postseason tourney. CSU, the preseason favorite in the HL, is the hottest team in the conference having won eight straight league bouts, including a 71-64 triumph at Valparaiso on Thursday. The win pushed the Vikings to 21-9 overall and 12-5 in conference play, leaving them just one game ahead of Wright State for the third spot.

Today's game marks the 31st all-time meeting between CSU and Butler, with the Bulldogs holding a commanding 24-6 advantage in the series, including a dramatic 50-48 victory in an earlier meeting this season.

The Vikings shot a scorching 61.0 percent from the floor and converted an efficient 20-of-25 free-throw attempts, as they downed Valpo on Thursday. The team also forced Valpo into 15 turnovers, generating 19 points off those mishaps. J'Nathan Bullock headed the charge with a 25-point, six-rebound performance, while George Tandy tallied 15 points and six boards off the bench. On the season, Bullock tops the roster in each scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg) and he also has 34 steals to his name. Norris Cole chips in with 12.3 ppg, and Cedric Jackson has been in charge of running the offense, dishing out a team-best 5.5 apg. Jackson also has an impressive 89 steals to his credit, helping CSU limit foes to just 59.2 ppg.

The Bulldogs held YSU to a dismal 35.8 percent shooting from the floor, including just 3-of-14 from downtown, as they coasted to victory on Thursday. Butler hit on 54.9 percent of its chances from the field and dominated the boards, 40-25. Leading the way was Matt Howard, who registered a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Gordon Hayward logged 14 points and four assists, and Willie Veasley had 12 points and eight boards in the winning effort. On the campaign, Howard is both the team's leading scorer (14.4 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg) and he has also blocked 44 shots. Hayward has provided a nice complement to him with 13.9 ppg and 6.4 rpg and he also has a team-best 44 steals on the season. Shelvin Mack adds 11.8 ppg and 3.6 apg for Butler, which is holding opponents to a mere 57.5 ppg.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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