Hoyas and Bulls collide in Big East Tourney

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament continues today, as the ninth-seeded South Florida Bulldogs tussle with the 22nd-ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in second-round action at Madison Square Garden. The winner of this game will move on to the quarterfinals against top- seeded Syracuse on Thursday.

Winner of its last three games heading into the postseason, USF finished 9-9 within the league, by far its best mark since joining the Big East. The Bulls carried over their success into the league tourney yesterday, notching a 58-49 win over 16th-seeded DePaul. It was the first-ever win in the team's second appearance in this event, as USF also reached the 20-win plateau for just the third time in the 39-year history of the program.

The Hoyas meanwhile, have a storied history, especially in the Big East Tournament, where they have won a record 46 games and seven titles. Georgetown earned a first-round bye with its 10-8 finish in conference play, although the team won just two its final six outings.

Georgetown leads the head-to-head series with USF, 5-3, but the Bulls knocked off the Hoyas, 72-64, in Washington, D.C. on February 3rd.

The Bulls held DePaul to a dismal 29.9 percent shooting performance from the floor, as they came away with a 58-49 victory in first-round play yesterday. USF, which took a 30-15 lead to the intermission, made 43.3 percent of its field goals and scored 50 points in the paint. Dominique Jones led the charge with an all-around effort of 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. It was a typical effort from Jones, one of the premier players in the Big East. A first-team all-league choice, Jones averaged a league-best 23.2 ppg in Big East play during the regular season and he also posted 6.1 rpg and 3.7 apg. Mike Mercer added 14 points and five boards in yesterday's win, a nice improvement from his regular-season production of 9.5 ppg.

The Hoyas are a good shooting team, as they are hitting on 49.8 percent of their attempts from the floor and 38.8 percent from long range. Austin Freeman, a second-team all-conference pick, leads the team in scoring at 17.3 ppg and he shoots 47.9 percent from beyond the arc. Greg Monroe is another big time talent for this Georgetown club, as the 6-11 center nearly averages a double-double with 16.0 ppg and a team-high 9.6 rpg. A first-team all- conference choice, Monroe is also a terrific passer for a big man, dishing out 3.6 apg. Chris Wright adds 14.2 ppg and a team-high 4.0 apg to the mix for Georgetown, while Jason Clark chips in with 10.3 ppg.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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