State bragging rights on line, as Spartans visit Wolverines

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2009 - Ann Arbor, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - State and Big Ten rivals will collide in Ann Arbor tonight as the Michigan Wolverines attempt to upset the ninth-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

Michigan State owns a stellar 19-4 record this season, including an impressive 9-2 mark in Big Ten play. The club is fresh off a 75-47 thrashing of Indiana on Saturday, and four of the last five outings have resulted in victory. There are plenty of reasons for optimism heading into this evening's tilt for Michigan State, including the fact that it has won all six of its true road games this season.

As for Michigan, its 15-9 overall record is clearly more impressive than the 5-6 league mark that the team has compiled thus far. The Wolverines actually got off to a promising start in conference, but three of the last four outings and six of eight have ended in defeat. On Saturday, they took a break from Big Ten action to take on top-ranked UConn, and the result was a 69-61 loss on the road. Clearly, Michigan was competitive in the setback, so that loss may actually spark some confidence.

Tonight's game marks the only scheduled meeting of the season between these rivals, and the Wolverines hold a 91-71 series lead over the Spartans.

Michigan State has been forced to play without standout Raymar Morgan because of pneumonia, and it is unclear when he will be back in the lineup. Morgan is averaging 12.3 ppg to place second on the squad, and he is grabbing 6.0 rpg as well. Kalin Lucas is the leader for the Spartans with 14.8 ppg, and he has dished out 112 assists against only 40 turnovers. As for Goran Suton, who is the club's third and final double-digit scorer, he provides 10.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg. Michigan State is posting 75.5 ppg through 23 outings while limiting foes to 64.4 ppg. The Spartans were outstanding at the defensive end against Indiana on Saturday, as they held the young and inexperienced Hoosiers to 31 percent overall shooting while forcing 21 turnovers. Chris Allen scored 16 points off the bench for Michigan State, while Draymond Green added 15 points and 12 boards. Suton (12 points) and Lucas (10 points) added balance.

Michigan is only scoring 68.2 ppg this season on 42.1 percent shooting from the field. Fortunately, the club has been able to limit its opponents to 63.4 ppg, and strong defense is a major reason the club has been able to win 15 games. Manny Harris is the leading scorer for Michigan this season, as he is racking up 17.5 ppg to go along with other team highs of 106 assists and 31 steals. The only other double-digit scorer on the roster is DeShawn Sims, as he is netting 14.8 ppg while grabbing 7.5 rpg. Considering the fact that Michigan shot just 38.6 percent from the field against UConn on Saturday and was outscored by 11 points from the foul line, it is hard to believe that the Wolverines were even able to stay close. They were outrebounded by a 47-24 margin but forced 17 turnovers while committing just 10 of their own. Stu Douglass had 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range to pace Michigan in defeat.

Wwwisfa NCAA Basketball Betting News

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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