Samhan powers upstart Gaels to win over Villanova
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/20/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Omar Samhan carried Saint Mary's with 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting, as the 10th-seeded Gaels upended the second- seeded Villanova Wildcats, 75-68, in the second round of the South Region.
Samhan added seven rebounds and recorded a big block in the final minute for Saint Mary's (28-5), which had little trouble getting past Richmond on Thursday for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 51 years.
Mickey McConnell chipped in 15 points, including a go-ahead, banked three- pointer down the stretch, as the Gaels earned back-to-back wins in the tourney for the first time in program history.
Saint Mary's will next play either Old Dominion or Baylor.
Matthew Dellavedova ended with 14 points and helped shut down Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher, who were both held out of the starting lineup for undisclosed reasons in the first round against Robert Morris.
The Wildcats (25-8) pulled out an overtime win in that one, but a third straight trip to the Sweet 16 wasn't in the cards after Reynolds hit 2-of-11 from the field to finish with a meager eight points in the loss.
Fisher went 3-for-13 for nine points, while Corey Stokes led the way with 15. Maalik Wayns and Antonio Pena came off the bench to provide 10 and nine, respectively, for 'Nova, which shot 36.2 percent from the floor to end its chance at a second consecutive Final Four appearance.
It was a one-possession game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center from the 10-minute mark of the second half to the final minute of the game.
Dellavedova broke a 61-all tie with 4 1/2 minutes left on a three-pointer from the right wing after somehow keeping his dribble when he went to the ground.
Wayns cut the deficit to one with a nifty driving layup, and Saint Mary's turned the ball over with a shot clock violation on its next touch.
Reynolds and Dellavedova exchanged misses, and Corey Stokes fouled Clint Steindl going after yet another errant attempt by Reynolds.
Steindl made 1-of-2 from the foul line, and Fisher tied the game, 65-65, on a pair from the stripe with 1:35 showing.
McConnell then came off a screen and pulled up from five feet beyond the arc, banking in the go-ahead three 20 seconds later. Samhan kept his ground and blocked a driving Reggie Redding shot, and 'Nova was forced to put McConnell on the line with 40 seconds remaining.
McConnell's two makes followed by a Wayns turnover and two more freebies from Dellavedova gave the Gaels a 72-65 lead the West Coast Conference champions never relinquished.
The first 10 minutes of the contest was essentially back-and-forth, and Saint Mary's scored 16 of 20 points over the next six minutes to take control.
Samhan's bucket just past the midway point broke a 17-all tie, and McConnell followed with a deep three the next time down.
Several possessions later the margin reached double digits, as Ben Allen connected on a straightaway three and dished to a streaking McConnell for an easy lay-in, the latter capping the run for a 33-21 score.
Stokes stemmed the momentum with a pair of makes from behind the arc, and Pena's dunk made it a four-point game with a minute left.
Samhan, who had 15 first-half points, answered with a three-point play prior a pair of free throws from both sides, giving the Gaels a 38-31 halftime edge.
The margin reach double-digits again, 45-35, following two Samhan free throws four minutes into the second half, but the Big East-tested Wildcats used their speed and depth to get back in it.
Wayns sparked the rally, as his layup near the 12-minute mark began a string nine straight Villanova points. A little later, Wayns' no-look dish to Pena in transition led to a three-point play and a tie game with 10 minutes to play. Fisher's reverse layup the next time down gave 'Nova a 53-51 advantage.
It was back-and-forth the rest of the way.
Game Notes
The Gaels, who improved to 3-5 all-time in the tourney, broke the school's single-season record of 2,569 points set in 2008-09...Villanova is now 49-31 all-time in the NCAA's...Reynolds, a senior, shot 2-for-15 from the floor in Thursday's win over Robert Morris...Villanova made all 11 of its free throws, but Saint Mary's got to the line 26 times, making 20...The Gaels shot 50.0 percent from the field.
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Jasmin
Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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