North Carolina among NIT field

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Illinois, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State were anointed as the top seeds for the 32-team 2010 National Invitation Tournament.

The field was revealed Sunday night, approximately three hours after the NCAA Tournament disclosed its participants. Some teams that were on the bubble to make the Big Dance will play in the NIT, hoping to make its final four, which slated for Madison Square Garden on March 30, with the championship game two nights later.

North Carolina (16-16), which won the NCAA Tournament last year, is seeded fourth in the Mississippi State region and will open against William & Mary. This is UNC's sixth NIT appearance and first since 2003. The winner of that game will play the victor of Tuesday's matchup between Mississippi State (23-11) and Jackson State.

UAB is seeded second in that region and will play Coastal Carolina, while South Florida faces NC State in the 3-6 matchup.

Illinois (19-14), which lost in double-overtime to Ohio State in the semifinal of the Big Ten Tournament, will not open at home due to a scheduling conflict. Instead, the Illini will play on the road against eighth-seeded Stony Brook Wednesday.

Arizona State (22-10) starts play Tuesday at home against Jacksonville, while Virginia Tech (23-8) hosts Quinnipiac on Wednesday.

In the Illinois bracket, Cincinnati is seeded second and will take on Weber State in the first round. Dayton is seeded third with a first-round date against Illinois State, while Kent State and Tulsa tangle in the 4-5 meeting.

The winner of Arizona State/Jacksonville will face either Seton Hall or Texas Tech. Ole Miss is seeded second and will face Troy, while Memphis takes on St. John's in the other game in the bracket.

Connecticut gained a No. 4 seed in Virginia Tech's region and will host Northeastern on Tuesday. Rhode Island is No. 2 with an upcoming game vs. Northwestern, and Wichita State is third and will face Nevada.

Penn State won the NIT last year, beating Baylor in the championship game.

Ficestarcasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Wild stop surging Blues
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu netted a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild notched a 4-2 win over the streaking St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center. Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen both had a goal and an

<< Wade carries Heat over Sixers
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade poured in 38 points on 14-of-25 shooting, pacing Miami to a 104-91 wire-to-wire victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Udonis Haslem added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Carlos Arroyo chipped in

<< Bobcats win sixth straight, snap Orlando's eight-game win streak
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Jackson recorded 28 points, six rebounds and as many assists, as Charlotte matched a franchise-best winning streak with its sixth straight win, 96-89, over Orlando. Raymond Felton checked i

<< Report: Beckham to miss World Cup due to Achilles tear
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English superstar soccer player David Beckham will reportedly miss the World Cup in June after suffering an apparent tear to his left Achilles while playing for AC Milan. The injury occurred Sunday night in a

<< Raiders acquire LB Wimbley from Cleveland
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders announced Sunday that they have acquired linebacker Kamerion Wimbley from the busy Cleveland Browns for an undisclosed draft choice. While the draft choice remains undisclosed officially,

Westbrook, Durant lead Thunder over Jazz >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Russell Westbrook poured in 30 points and dished out 11 assists, as the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Utah Jazz, 119-111. Kevin Durant added 35 points for the Thunder, who have won five in a row

No. 2 Stanford wins Pac-10 title by downing UCLA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tournament MVP Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 2 Stanford downed 23rd-ranked UCLA, 70-46, in the championship game of the Pac-10 conference. Jayne Appel added 15 points and

Ducks beat Sharks; Selanne inches closer to milestone >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Teemu Selanne posted a goal and one assist and crept closer to becoming the NHL's all-time leading Finnish goal scorer, as Anaheim topped San Jose, 4-2, at Honda Center. Selanne posted his 599th career go

Evans, Kings cruise past lowly Timberwolves >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans came just shy of a triple double, finishing with 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings routed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 114-100, at ARCO Arena. Donte

Blazers continue playoff push with win over Raptors >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nicolas Batum made 5-of-6 from three-point land, en route to 22 points, leading Portland to a 109-98 win over Toronto. LaMarcus Aldridge also provided 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and Brandon Roy sc

FOOTBALL BETTING

Sportsbook Betting

After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.