Hoosiers host Hawkeyes in Big Ten battle
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/29/2012 -
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 16th in the nation to close out the
week, the Indiana Hoosiers try to get back to .500 in Big Ten Conference play
this evening as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall in
Bloomington.
Since putting together a three-game win streak against the likes of Ohio
State, Michigan and Penn State, the Hoosiers have fallen on hard times and are
now a mere 4-5 in conference. The squad has dropped four of its last five
contests, including a 57-50 final at Wisconsin on Thursday night. Indiana may
be an impressive 12-1 at home in 2011-12, but against opponents on their
floors the team is just 3-4.
As for the Hawkeyes, already 2-2 this season against nationally-ranked foes,
they too have hit a rough patch in the schedule over the last three weeks
since defeating Wisconsin and Minnesota in back-to-back matchups. Three nights
ago, the squad was taken down by Nebraska at home in a 79-73 final, the second
straight loss and the fourth in five tries for Iowa overall.
In a series that dates back more than a century, Indiana has the advantage at
94-73. However, the Hawkeyes have rattled off four straight wins, including a
narrow 64-63 final in Bloomington last season.
In a game that experienced six ties and five lead changes, the Hawkeyes picked
the wrong time to have shooting issues as they dropped from 53.6 percent from
the floor in the first half to just 44.4 percent after the break, en route to
the six-point loss to the Cornhuskers. Zach McCabe was responsible for 20
points and six rebounds before fouling out, followed by Roy Devyn Marble who
tacked on 15 points, mostly at the free-throw line where he was 9-of-10
shooting. Matt Gatens and Aaron White chipped in 12 and 11 points,
respectively, the latter collecting nine rebounds as well. In conference games
Iowa has four players scoring in double figures, led by Gatens and Marble with
12.0 ppg apiece, the former also clearing better than five rebounds per game
to give the group a presence in the paint even as he takes more three points
shots (33) than anyone else on the roster. Defensively the team has limited
opponents to only 29.0 percent success on the perimeter, yet still those foes
see fit to send up an average of more than 21 three-pointers per game.
Against the top defensive team in the nation the Hoosiers managed to generate
50 points, still seven shy of the Wisconsin Badgers as the hosts took the win
earlier this week. Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III both tallied 12
points for Indiana, combining to shoot 10-of-16 from the floor, which means
the rest of the unit made a collective 11 baskets. Several aspects of the game
were lacking on Indiana's behalf, the team handing out just four assists,
shooting 3-of-8 behind the three-point line and just 5-of-10 at the free-throw
line. Even though he didn't show up as a scoring leader at Wisconsin, Cody
Zeller is still one of the top producers for the team with his 14.2 ppg in
league play. Watford (13.2 ppg) is not only deadly from three-point range in
conference (.472), he is also the top man on the glass for the Hoosiers with
close to six and a half boards per outing. Jordan Hulls (12.3 ppg) accounts
for a team-high 19 triples over nine league bouts and because of his efforts
the squad has connected on 43.2 percent out on the perimeter.
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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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