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03/12/2010 -
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Arizona's streak of 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances is all but over.
The Wildcats lost to UCLA 75-69 in the Pac-10 tournament on Thursday night, dropping their record to 16-15, a number that almost certainly won't be good enough for the NCAA selection committee this time.
The record is still good enough for the NIT, but not for Arizona freshman Lamont Jones, who came to Arizona fully aware of the streak.
``That's what everybody talks about,'' he said. ``That's the history of the program and the culture of the program, and we just have to understand that. Unfortunately, we're not going to make it this year, but I guarantee we're going to get back there next year.''
The Wildcats salvaged NCAA tournament appearances the last two years, extending their streak thanks mostly to the prestige built by the Pac-10. With a roster dominated by underclassmen, their chances of making it again seemed unlikely.
``Everybody knew from the beginning of the season that it would be tough. We barely made it last year, so it would be even tougher this year,'' said Nic Wise, who led the Wildcats with 16 points. ``It's just been a great accomplishment, and it's tough to have it end this year.''
Derrick Williams added 14 for Arizona, which lost in the Pac-10 quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.
Arizona's NCAA tourney streak began in 1985 under Lute Olson, and ended with first-year coach Sean Miller, who noted he was 16 and ``just learning how to drive'' when the run began.
``Any coach that comes to Arizona is going to find he's a paranoid coach,'' said Miller, who arrived in Tucson in April to find Wise on the fence about returning for his senior season. ``The reason I came to Arizona is to rebuild our program. We have a possibility to get a NIT bid. It's a terrific tournament. I feel very, very good about what we've been able to accomplish.''
Reeves Nelson returned for the Bruins Thursday afternoon, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in UCLA's quarterfinal win. The Bruins will face top-seeded California, which dispatched Oregon 90-74 later Thursday night.
The Bruins (14-17) have also fallen on hard times. Unless they can win the tournament, the Bruins likely aren't going anywhere except back to Westwood to contemplate how losing so much of their best talent to the NBA draft did them in.
Kevin Love would have been a junior this season, but he jumped to the NBA. Nelson is no Love, but he is the Bruins' only solid inside presence offensively.
``He has great strength,'' coach Ben Howland said. ``When he has the ball, it's very hard to wedge it from him.''
Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic added 18 points each, extending their careers for at least another game.
``As I was telling the guys, 'I'm just really not ready to go home,''' Roll said. ``Being out there is fun.''
Arizona played catch-up the entire game, but got to 58-55 with 7:52 remaining on two free throws by Solomon Hill. But the Bruins kept making free throws - they hit 77 percent in the second half - and Malcolm Lee hit a big 3-pointer to push their lead to 64-57 with 5 1/2 minutes left.
``We're not a good defensive team,'' Miller said. ``We'll be better in the future.''
And hope is all Miller has to sustain him as he follows in the Hall-of-Fame footsteps of Olson.
``That's my only choice,'' he said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Three of top 4 seeds bumped in Big East quarters
NEW YORK (AP) -It was a bad day to be a favorite at the Big East tournament.Three of the conference's top four teams were beaten in the quarterfinals Thursday at Madison Square Garden, jumbling the league's NCAA picture and setting up a pair of surp
<< Fish, Moya highlight first-round winners at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Mardy Fish and Spaniard Carlos
Moya were among Thursday's first-round winners at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas
Open, an ATP World Tour Masters event.
Fish, the runner-up here in 2008, rallied f
<< Oudin knocked in first round at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American Melanie Oudin had a short stay at
the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis event, dropping a three-set decision
to Roberta Vinci.
Oudin won the first set then was outplayed in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-
<< Sharks score six times in third to beat Nashville
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski registered two goals and two
assists in the third period, as the San Jose Sharks scored six times over the
final 20 minutes to rally past the Nashville Predators, 8-5, at HP Pavilion.
Dany
Bonnies seek A-10 tourney upset of top-seeded Owls >>
Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two-time defending Atlantic 10
Conference Tournament Champions, the 17th-ranked Temple Owls, hit the floor at
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this afternoon in the quarterfinals of the
34th annual event
Alabama challenges Kentucky in SEC Tournament quarterfinals >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats begin
play in the 2010 SEC Tournament with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the
Alabama Crimson Tide.
The winner of this game will move on to Saturday's semifinals to
Bears and Wildcats meet in Big 12 Tournament semifinals >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats and
the 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are slated to collide in the semifinal round of
the 2010 Big 12 Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
Awaiting the winner
Aztecs and Lobos mix it up in Mountain West semis >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Continuing to build on one of the best
seasons in program history, the eighth-ranked New Mexico Lobos find themselves
in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament tonight and will
be facing the a
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Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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