2010 America East Conference Tournament Preview
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/04/2010 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Of the nine teams in the America East
Conference, eight will begin competition on Saturday, March 6th, for the right
to move on to the NCAA Tournament.
Albany was supposed to be the odd team out, as the Great Danes finished just
2-14 in conference action during the regular season. However, Binghamton has
decided not to participate in this tourney because of an ongoing investigation
into alleged inadequacies within the school's athletic department. That is
certainly a shame for fans of the program, as Binghamton beat UMBC to win the
AEC a year ago.
Of the eight teams that will participate in this event, four had at least 11
wins in 16 opportunities, and there is no clear cut favorite to capture the
crown. Stony Brook went 13-3 to win the regular season title, as it was one
game better than Vermont and two games better than both Maine and Boston
University. New Hampshire, Hartford, UMBC and Albany are all long shots, as
there is an obvious divide between the stronger and weaker teams in the
conference. This tournament will be played at Chase Arena in Hartford for the
quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and at the highest remaining seed's home
arena for the title game.
The first quarterfinal matchup pits the top-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves
against eighth-seeded Albany. While Stony Brook did win both of its meetings
with Albany during the regular season, the two victories came by a combined
total of eight points, so don't be shocked if the Great Danes keep this
contest close from start to finish. Albany has won this tournament twice, most
recently in 2007, while Stony Brook has never captured the title and owns a
4-8 record all-time in the event. The Seawolves lead the conference in scoring
margin (+5.7 ppg) and rebounding margin (+3.3 rpg), Muhammad El-Amin heads the
club with 16.7 ppg. As for Albany, it has no scorers in the league's top
dozen, but the fact that the team sits in the middle of the pack in most of
the conference's statistical categories suggests that the it is better than
its record indicates.
Another quarterfinal matchup pits fourth-seeded Boston University against
fifth-seeded Hartford. The Terriers beat Hartford in both regular-season
meetings, but the most recent matchup was a three-point affair. BU has won
this tournament five times, more than any other team in this field, but the
most recent championship for the program came back in 2002, so a decent amount
of time has passed since the club last tasted success. As for Hartford, it has
never won the AEC title and is 15-22 in the event. For the Hawks to get the
job done this year, they will have to overcome the fact that they own the
second-worst scoring margin (-6.6 ppg) of all conference members. Joe
Zeglinski tops Hartford and is fourth in the league in scoring with 16.7 ppg.
Boston University boasts the conference's leading scorer in junior John
Holland (19.9 ppg), and Corey Lowe is in ninth place with 14.1 ppg. Add Jake
O'Brien (13.0 ppg) to the mix and it is no surprise that the Terriers are
second in the conference in scoring (70.3 ppg).
In what appears to be a lopsided quarterfinal pairing, the second-seeded
Vermont Catamounts will take on the seventh-seeded UMBC Retrievers. At just
4-25 overall, including 3-13 in league play, UMBC has endured many
disappointing losses this season, and it was easily handled twice by Vermont
during the regular season. The Retrievers captured the crown in this event
back in 2008, the program's first as a member of the conference. Vermont has
accomplished the goal three times, most recently in 2005, but the team still
owns a sub-.500 record in the event (21-24). The Catamounts are the top
scoring team in the league (70.5 ppg), but UMBC is last in scoring defense and
scoring margin. Vermont possesses arguably the AEC's best player in Marqus
Blakely, who is second in the league in both scoring (17.4 ppg) and
rebounding (9.1 rpg). UMBC is paced by Chauncey Gilliam, who contributes a
less impressive 13.5 ppg.
Maine, the third seed, will battle sixth-seeded New Hampshire in the final
quarterfinal pairing. The Black Bears and the Wildcats are both in search of
their first AEC Tournament title, and while Maine's 17-29 record at this event
is poor, New Hampshire's 8-27 mark is considerably worse. The odds are against
the Wildcats picking up their ninth win in this quarterfinal round, as they
are the lowest-scoring team in the AEC (61.4 ppg), as they show a woeful 37.7
percent from the floor and even struggle from the foul line. They are last in
steals and next-to-last in assists. As for Maine, it is tops in assists and
steals, and the club is also first in scoring defense (61.9 ppg). Gerald
McLemore leads Maine in scoring with 14.9 ppg, as he is the most productive
sophomore in the conference. As for New Hampshire, Alvin Abreu (14.6 ppg) is
the player to watch.
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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.
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