Cowboys tangle with Wildcats in Big 12 quarterfinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterfinal action of the Big 12 Conference Tournament pits the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats against the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a semifinal clash with either sixth-seeded Texas or third-seeded Baylor.

Oklahoma State has captured the Big 12 Tournament title twice, and it has been five years since its last championship. The Cowboys finished 21-9 overall during the regular season, including 9-7 versus league opponents, and they closed out the schedule with a 74-55 romp over Nebraska. They carried that momentum into yesterday's first round matchup with Oklahoma, as the result was an 81-67 victory.

Kansas State has never won the Big 12 Tournament and is 7-13 all-time in the event. This year's group of Wildcats is a serious threat to capture the crown, however, as the club enters the tournament with a 24-6 overall record, including 11-5 in league action. On a down note, the final two regular-season contests resulted in defeat, including a 17-point loss to in-state rival Kansas and an overtime setback to a mediocre Iowa State squad at home.

The Cowboys beat K-State in Manhattan in a 73-69 final during the regular season, but the Wildcats still own a 69-46 advantage in the all-time series.

Keiton Page poured in 24 points to lead Oklahoma State to the 14-point victory over Oklahoma last night. Obi Muonelo tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cowboys, while James Anderson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, was limited to 11 points. Matt Pilgrim added 10 points for OSU, which rolled to a 45-23 lead at intermission behind 19 first-half points from Page. Despite a shaky defensive effort in the second half that permitted the Sooners to shoot 60 percent from the floor, the Cowboys cruised to victory. The Pokes shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the game and earned a 31-26 rebounding advantage. Anderson is averaging 22.5 ppg for Oklahoma State, which is generating 74.6 ppg while yielding 67.6 ppg.

The strength of the Kansas State team is its All-Big 12 Conference backcourt duo of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. Pullen is scoring 18.9 ppg this season, and he has dished out 109 assists to go along with a club-best 49 steals. Clemente checks in with 16.0 ppg despite his shaky 39.1 percent shooting from the floor, and he has handed out 118 assists. Jamar Samuels and Curtis Kelly are both contributing 11.4 ppg, and Kelly is ripping down 6.3 rpg to complement his 56 blocked shots. The standout frontcourt performer is shooting 58.9 percent from the field, impressive by any standards. The Wildcats are generating 79.9 ppg on 45.3 percent field goal efficiency, and they are limiting opponents to 69.3 ppg on 41.8 percent shooting. A positive rebounding differential of 5.2 rpg has helped the team to its outstanding win total.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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