03/21/2008 - Washington, DC (Cbasketball Betting) - Alex Ruoff and Darris Nichols combined to make nine three-pointers, as West Virginia moved into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 75-65 victory over Arizona.
Ruoff had 21 points and Nichols 14 for the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (25-10), who will play Saturday against second-seeded Duke, which survived a 71-70 squeaker over Belmont earlier Thursday night. Ruoff went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Nichols was 4-of-7.
Da'Sean Butler tallied 19 points and seven rebounds for West Virginia, which also got 14 points and eight boards from Joe Alexander.
The Mountaineers, who went 11-for-19 from three-point range, are hoping to at least repeat their success from 2006 when they reached the regional semifinals before losing to Texas.
"Coming in tonight we knew we were going to get the looks," Ruoff said. "With the attention on Joe and how hot he has been, we knew we were going to get the looks. The difference between our run two years ago and now is we kind of went inside out first and made some great passes."
Chase Budinger had 23 points for the Wildcats (19-15), who extended their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to 24 straight years, the longest of any program in the country. Jordan Hill had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause.
It also marked the final game for Kevin O'Neill as interim coach. He took over for longtime Arizona coach Lute Olson, who took a year's leave of absence, but will now return for the 2008-09 season.
This was the 10th time during Arizona's run that the Wildcats lost in the first round.
Jerryd Bayless drilled a three that had Arizona within 60-59 with under five minutes left, but Nichols and Ruoff countered with shots from beyond the arc. After Hill made two free throws, Nichols buried another three with 2 1/2 minutes remaining for a 69-61 margin. The Wildcats couldn't get closer than six points the rest of the way.
Alexander, who came in averaging nearly 17 points a game, had four in the early going, but just six by halftime. Still the Mountaineers made it a point to try and get him the ball.
"We ran the first three sets of the game to throw the ball to Joe," said WVU first-year head coach Bob Huggins. "We knew they were going to give him a lot of attention and run at him when they put the ball on the floor. We talked to our other guys about getting out of line and stepping in the shots."
The supporting cast was great for WVU, as Nichols and Ruoff hit back-to-back threes for an 8-3 edge.
Seven straight points later in the half had WVU ahead 20-13, but Arizona eventually tied it before going to the locker room in a 31-30 hole.
A 7-2 push early in the second half carried the Mountaineers to a 50-41 lead before Arizona bounced back.
Game Notes
Huggins is making his 16th NCAA Tournament trip at his third different school...Nic Wise had 12 points and Bayless 11 for Arizona, which shot 46.7 percent from the field, compared to 50.9 for WVU.
<< Butch, Wisconsin knock off Cal State Fullerton to advance
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Butch posted 14 points to lead three-seed
Wisconsin over Cal State Fullerton, 71-56, in first round action from the
Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament.
Joe Krabbenhoft and Jason Bohannon registe
<< Flames edge Avs to keep pace in logjammed Northwest
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in the first period as the Calgary Flames held on to edge the Colorado
Avalanche, 2-1, in a crucial Northwest Division contest.
Miikka Kiprusoff stopped
<< Notre Dame has no trouble with George Mason; advances to second round
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Harangody scored 18 points and raked down
14 rebounds as the fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish ripped George
Mason, 68-50, in East Region action of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kyle
<< Texas Three-Step: Celtics complete Lone Star sweep in Dallas
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three-pointer in the final minute to help the Boston Celtics top Dallas,
94-90, at American Airlines Center.
Paul Pierce finished with 22 points and a seaso
Adu double puts USA through to Beijing >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team
booked a spot in the Beijing Olympics on Thursday as Freddy Adu scored two
goals en route to a 3-0 win over Canada.
Adu opened the scoring in the 27th minute
Raiders, Falcons complete deal for CB Hall >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders' off-season shopping spree
continued Thursday, as the club completed a deal with the Falcons for Pro Bowl
cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
The Raiders sent their second-round pick, 34th overall,
Kings win wild one in shootout over Coyotes >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick O'Sullivan scored in the fourth round
of the shootout as the Los Angeles Kings blew a two-goal lead but recovered to
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Rams re-sign C Romberg >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams agreed to terms with
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on the R
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
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