Gaels and Cougars meet in WCC tussle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ranked 21st in the nation this week, the Saint Mary's-CA Gaels continue to battle through the rest of the West Coast Conference as the team clashes with the BYU Cougars at the Marriott Center in Provo tonight.

On Thursday night, the Gaels ran their overall win streak to 10 in a row with a 71-64 road victory against Loyola Marymount. The victory kept the team undefeated in conference play at 9-0 which means the Gaels are all alone atop the WCC standings, with Gonzaga looming close behind at 7-1.

As for the Cougars, currently 6-2 in conference and in third place in their first year in the WCC after making the jump from the Mountain West Conference, they took a break from league action on Wednesday night and made the trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to tangle with Virginia Tech. The meeting was a tight one, but in the end BYU pulled out the 70-68 triumph, the team's second in a row and the seventh in the last eight games.

The Gaels, losers against only Baylor and Denver this year, won the first meeting of the season rather easily last month with a 98-82 triumph at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. Rob Jones had a huge game for the hosts that night with 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Matthew Dellavedova logged a double-double of his own for the hometown team with 18 points and 12 assists. Despite the loss, the Cougars still own an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series.

Refusing to go away quietly, the Lions of LMU gave Saint Mary's all it could handle on Thursday night before the buzzer sounded in the seven-point decision. Stephen Holt scored a game-high 19 points for the visitors, followed by Dellavedova with 13 and seven of the team's 10 assists. Jones logged another double-double with 11 points and a game-high 15 boards, while Brad Waldow tacked on 10 points for the victors. The Gaels have had a different leading scorer in each of the last three outings, showing their balance and versatility, but when it comes to overall stats on the season it is Dellavedova who is first on the unit with his 15.7 ppg as he shoots just over 40 percent from three-point range. Jones is averaging a double-double for the group with 14.3 ppg and a team-best 10.9 rpg, his efforts on the glass helping to give the Gaels a rebounding edge of 8.5 per game which is one of the top numbers in the country.

For the third straight game Noah Hartsock scored at least 20 points, putting up 22 against Virginia Tech earlier this week as the Cougars slipped by the Hokies in a two-point decision at Cassell Coliseum. Also scoring in double figures again for the Cougars was Brandon Davis as he hit for 17 points, thanks mostly to his 11-of-12 performance at the free-throw line. BYU made it through with just 33.3 percent from the floor and 5-of-24 behind the three- point line, thanks to 21-of-24 shooting at the charity stripe. Getting back to conference play, Davies is close to averaging a double-double in those matchups with his 19.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per outing, both of which pace the Cougars. Hartsock checks in with 17.4 ppg, although his 2-of-11 shooting behind the three-point line in such games is certainly a concern, but at least the defense has been able to pick up some of the slack on the perimeter by holding WCC foes to just 28.4 percent success from long range.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

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