Cyclones shock Kansas State in Big 12 finale

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Christopherson scored 18 points and made two key foul shots with 3.2 seconds left in overtime, as the Iowa State Cyclones upended fifth-ranked Kansas State, 85-82, in the regular-season finale for both clubs.

Craig Brackins fouled out late in the second half but still managed to pour in 19 points and pull down 12 rebounds for the Cyclones (15-16, 4-12 Big 12), who had lost their previous eight games against Kansas State.

Marquis Gilstrap added 13 points and 13 boards. LaRon Dendy and Justin Hamilton each chipped in 10 points for Iowa State, which will be the No. 11 seed in next week's Big 12 tourney.

Jacob Pullen's 27-point performance wasn't enough for the Wildcats (24-6, 11-5), who dropped their final two games heading into the conference tourney as the No. 2 seed coming off Wednesday's lopsided loss to Kansas.

Curtis Kelly donated 19 points for Kansas State, which lost to Iowa State in Manhattan for the first time since February 21, 2001.

This was the last home game for seniors Denis Clemente, Luis Colon, and Chris Merriewether. Clemente finished with 17 points.

Ahead 78-77 late in overtime, Diante Garrett made a layup to put the Cyclones in front by three with 54.8 seconds remaining. The Wildcats cut the margin back to one on Dominique Sutton's slam on the next possession.

Garrett made 1-of-2 shots from the foul line to make it 81-79 with 35.9 ticks to go. After Pullen missed a layup, Gilstrap also went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend Iowa State's lead to three with 26 seconds left.

Clemente was off the mark on a three but Sutton grabbed the offensive rebound. However, Sutton lost control of the ball as he went up for the putback and turned it over.

Gilstrap made 1-of-2 from the line to make it an 83-79 game with 9.7 ticks left on the clock. However, things got interesting when Pullen was fouled on a three-point shot at the opposite end and made all three with 3.2 ticks left.

Christopherson then made a pair of big foul shots to put Iowa State ahead 85-82. Pullen's shot from near midcourt was well off the mark as time expired.

Garrett made 1-of-2 from the foul line to give Iowa State a 74-71 edge with two minutes left in regulation. But Clemente came up big for Kansas State at the other end, draining a three-pointer to tie the contest.

After each team missed on their ensuing possessions, Gilstrap had his layup blocked by Kelly with about 30 seconds to go. After the Wildcats took a timeout, Pullen let the clock go down before missing a long trey.

The Cyclones pulled down the rebound and were left with 0.8 seconds. But Kansas State stole the inbounds pass following a timeout to send the tilt into overtime.

Iowa State held a 42-33 margin following 20 minutes of action.

Pullen scored the first four points of the second half to pull the Wildcats within five, 42-37. Moments later, Pullen made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 46-43 a little more than three minutes in.

The Cyclones responded with a 10-4 burst to build a nine-point lead, 56-47, with 12:14 remaining.

The Wildcats were down by seven, 65-58, a few minutes later before ripping off six straight points to get within one on Jamar Samuels' free throw with less than 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Game Notes

The Cyclones had lost 21 straight games to ranked teams...Kansas State leads the all-time series versus Iowa State 132-77...The last Cyclone win versus KSU was on January 7, 2006.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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