Rutgers faces tough task in Big East bout with No. 10 Marquette

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will try to stop the bleeding as they head to the Bradley Center for Big East Conference action with the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles.

Marquette and Rutgers have met six times before. The Golden Eagles hold a 5-1 lead in the all-time series after picking up victories in each of the last five matchups.

Rutgers fell for the fifth straight game on Sunday as it was bested 74-64 by the Syracuse Orange. The Scarlet Knights shot 41.9 percent from the field, but slightly won the rebounding battle 34-29 with Syracuse in the loss. Second year head coach Mike Rice's Rutgers team is 12-15 and 4-10 in Big East action. The Scarlet Knights have not been overwhelming offensively, averaging just 65.6 ppg, and they have allowed opponents to outscore them with an average of only 64.7 ppg.

The Scarlet Knights are a very young team as no seniors receive significant playing time. Freshman guard Eli Carter leads the charge with a scoring average of 13.4 ppg. Carter has scored in double figures 20 times this season and ranks third among freshmen in scoring in league play. Myles Mack has been a very serviceable sixth man. In his last 16 games, Mack has netted 10.0 ppg off the bench. With Gilvydas Biruta providing size and scoring from the forward position and Dane Miller's energetic play on the wing, Rutgers has the tools to hang around with nearly anyone, but still lacks the experience.

Marquette enters tonight's bout with a 22-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in Big East play, which has it tied for second in the conference with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Golden Eagles picked up their third straight win on Saturday as they defeated Connecticut 79-64. Head coach Buzz Williams did not use a player taller than 6-7 against the Huskies, yet the Golden Eagles still finished with a 33-30 advantage on the boards. Marquette is a very talented team offensively, as it is second in the Big East in scoring offense with an average of 76.7 ppg. The Golden Eagles are allowing opponents to produce 65.5 ppg.

The Golden Eagles are led by their dynamic duo of Darius Johnson-Odum and Jae Crowder. Johnson-Odum is second in the Big East in scoring with an average of 18.6 ppg after he netted 24 points against Connecticut. It was the third contest in a row the senior guard scored 20 points or more. Crowder is contributing 16.7 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. Vander Blue and Todd Mayo are chipping in 8.5 ppg each, while Junior Cadougan is dishing out 5.7 assists per contest.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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