Butler hosts Wright State in Horizon League semis

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Butler Bulldogs will finally take the floor in the 2009 Horizon League Tournament, when they host the Wright State Raiders in semifinal-round action at the Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Raiders find themselves in the semis after defeating UW-Milwaukee, 80-70, in quarterfinal play on Friday. Wright State, which finished 12-6 in conference, earning the fourth-seed, opened the tournament with a 68-56 victory over Valparaiso.

As for the 22nd-ranked Bulldogs, they earned the top seed in this event and a bye into this round with a 15-3 conference ledger. It was the seventh Horizon League regular season championship for Butler, which is participating in the semifinals for the 11th time in 13 seasons and will be trying to repeat as conference tournament champion. The Bulldogs will have a clear advantage playing at home where the team is 14-1 this season, and 124-16 since 1999-2000.

The Bulldogs defeated Wright State twice this season, and that included a convincing 64-48 decision over the Raiders at Hinkle Fieldhouse back in January. With the two victories over Wright State this season, the Bulldogs now own a 19-15 mark in the all-time series.

The Raiders opened the second half against UW-Milwaukee with a 15-2 run, and never looked back as the team went on to defeat the Panthers in an 80-70 final. Wright State shot a sizzling 53.2 percent from the floor in the win, and that included an even more impressive 12-of-18 showing from behind the arc. Cory Cooperwood's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds led the way, while Cooper Land tallied 13 points off the bench. N'Gai Evans added 12 points and five assists in the win, and Scott Grote chipped in 10 points. It was without question a surprising performance by WSU, which is averaging just 60.6 ppg. The team's leading scorer, Todd Brown (11.8 ppg), was not even a factor in the win over UWM, as the guard finished with just eight points. Although the Raiders were offensive-oriented in their recent win, the team still relies on its tenacious defensive play, which has held opponents to just 57.3 ppg on the season.

Butler's success this year also stems from the its outstanding defensive play. The Bulldogs allow a mere 57.4 ppg, and just a 37.9 percent shooting from the field. Butler is also forcing 13.6 turnovers per matchup, and as a team the Bulldogs are outrebounding the competition by 3.2 rpg. The Bulldogs were at it again in the regular-season finale against Cleveland State, as Butler held the Vikings to 56 points on a 40.4 percent shooting from the floor. Butler forced 14 turnovers. Offensively, the team was paced by Willie Veasley who scored 16 points and also collected seven rebounds. Matt Howard contributed 12 points, while Ronald Nored tallied 11. The HL's Newcomer of the Year, Gordon Hayward, chipped in with nine points and six boards for Butler. Hayward, who was also selected to the All-Horizon First Team, is contributing 13.8 ppg on the season, but the main scoring threat has been Howard who is averaging 14.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Shelvin Mac has been a terrific floor general for Butler, handing out 103 assists, to go with his 11.7 ppg.

Wwwflalottery NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Big East brawl pits Orange against Golden Eagles
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of strong Big East Conference teams are set to close out the regular season in Milwaukee this afternoon, as the 13th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles play host to the 25th-ranked Syracuse Orange. Syracu

<< Huskies visit Panthers in clash of Big East titans
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what could prove to be one of the best games of the college basketball season, the top-ranked Connecticut Huskies invade the Steel City for a Big East Conference showdown with the third-ranked Pittsburgh Pan

<< 'Hawks host 'Horns in pivotal Big 12 showdown
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks close out their regular season at home this afternoon, as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Lawrence for a Big 12 showdown from the Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are coming

<< Germany leads Austria 2-1 in Davis Cup first-rounder
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Germans got a doubles victory from Nicolas Kiefer and Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday to grab a 2-1 lead over Austria in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup tie. Kiefe

<< Golden Bears visit Sun Devils in Pac-10 action
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils will try to break out of their slump today, as they entertain the California Golden Bears in Pac-10 Conference action at Wells-Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils were on

Bruins cling to Pac-10 title hopes >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked UCLA Bruins will try to keep their Pac-10 Conference regular season title hopes alive, as they host the Oregon Ducks at Pauley Pavilion this afternoon. The Bruins enter the day one game behi

OVC title up for grabs in clash between Eagles and Governors >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament pits the second-seeded Austin Peay Governors against the fourth-seeded Morehead State Eagles. The winner of this game will earn an automatic bid to

Memphis takes aim at third straight perfect C-USA slate >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked Memphis Tigers will attempt to clinch their third consecutive perfect Conference USA regular season in today's finale against the Tulane Green Wave. After going 16-0 in C-USA play in both 2006-

Huskies sniffing around first outright league title since 1953 >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Washington Huskies will try to wrap up the outright Pac-10 Conference regular season title today, as they host bitter rival Washington State at Bank of America Arena in Seattle. With a win over

Xavier can clinch outright A-10 title with win at Richmond >>
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the top-seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament already locked up, the 17th-ranked Xavier Musketeers take aim at the outright regular season crown as they tangle with the Richmond Spiders at the Robins C

Credit Card Betting: Sportsbook accepts U.S. credit cards

Online Sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard

MySportsbook.com is the best at processing US credit cards for deposits. Welcome to the most player friendly online sportsbook on the planet!

The principals behind MySportsbook are obviously a management group that understands the players needs as evidenced by their commitment to provide easy depositing with their high credit card acceptance rate and free weekly $10 bets they offer to clients with active betting accounts.

The perks don't end there! MySportsbook offers casino, poker and horses as well. Twice named Best Sportsbook by eGaming Review, this place is rock solid financially so you don't ever have to sweat the payout as you may with some other online bookies operating with less betting volume and client base.

Sign up today and grab your share of a 10% bonus that is added instantly to your betting account. Enjoy 52 risk free bets throughout the year as well!

Reasons to Play There: You have to see their no hitter, cycle hitter and slaughter rule promos for baseball. Worth a laugh and probably a few bucks throughout the MLB season. They offer supersized bonuses of 15% if you up your minimum deposit to $500 or more. Lay -105 on Friday NBA! Contests during the NFL football season!