ST. John At First Half Percent

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor had 28 points and six assists as No. 7 Kansas downed previously unbeaten No. 3 Baylor, 92-74, in Big 12 action. Thomas Robinson had 27 points and 14 rebounds, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford each added 11 points while Jeff Withey had 10 points and 10 boards for the Jayhawks (15-3, 5-0 Big 12), who have won eight straight.

 

Perry Jones III totaled 18 points and Quincy Miller added 17 for the Bears (17-1, 4-1), who set a school record for best start to the season.

 

Queens, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Branch has transferred from Texas A&M to St. John's. Branch, who appeared in 11 games for the Aggies in the fall of 2011, can begin practicing with the Red Storm but cannot play until December of 2012.

 

, (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines try to remain perfect at home, as they host in-state and Big Ten Conference rival Michigan State, which enters play as the ninth-ranked team in the country. Michigan, which along with Michigan State make up two of the five teams from the Big Ten Conference that are currently ranked, has won 11 straight decision at home this season, and 12 consecutive at Crisler Arena overall dating back to last season. However, the team's most recent outing over the weekend took place at Iowa and the Wolverines failed to find any magic at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as they stumbled in an awkward 75-59 final. The setback was the second in the last four games and dropped Michigan to 4-2 in league play as a result.

 

As for the Spartans, already 3-2 against ranked foes in 2011-12, they are coming off a loss of their own on Saturday as they bowed to Northwestern on the road in an 81-74 final. The defeat was just the third of the year for a program that had won 15 in a row since falling to top-ranked North Carolina in the season opener and then sixth-ranked Duke four days later.

 

Michigan took itself out of contention against Iowa by shooting just 34.8 percent from the field in the first half, including 3-of-16 behind the three- point line. Obviously things improved after the break for the visitors, but not enough so that the Wolverines could prevent defeat. Trey Burke was responsible for a team-best 19 points, and Zack Novak 14 to go along with his game-high eight rebounds, yet the Hawkeyes still beat Michigan on the glass by a 39-30 margin. Tim Hardaway Jr. accounted for nine points, but he shot just 2-of-13 from the field and failed on all eight of his three-pointers. As a starter in all 18 games, it only makes sense that Hardaway would be the top scorer for the Wolverines with his 15.7 ppg, although one might have to question his persistence in trying to become a perimeter threat with just 28.6 percent accuracy beyond the arc. Burke (14.3 ppg) has also put himself out there as a passing threat now that he has almost twice as many assists (89) as anyone else on the roster.

 

Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats will try to extend their winning streak to 10 games in a row tonight as they host the Arkansas Razorbacks in a Southeastern Conference battle at Rupp Arena. This will be the 33rd meeting between Arkansas and Kentucky. The Wildcats hold a 24-8 advantage in the rivalry. The Razorbacks ended a 10-game losing streak to Kentucky last season with an overtime victory, but have gone just 2-11 in Lexington all-time with their last victory in Rupp Arena coming during the 1993-1994 season.

 

B.J. Young and Mardracus Wade will lead the upset attempt tonight. Young might be the best rookie in the conference and has been excellent as of late, averaging 18.5 ppg on 60-percent shooting from the field. Wade's ability to spread the floor with his accuracy is extremely valuable to the Razorbacks. The sophomore guard is leading the SEC with a three-point shooting percentage of 49.3, after knocking down 3-of-4 from long range on his way to 14 points his last time out. Hunter Mickelson made a huge impact on the defensive end his last time out. The freshman forward recorded his second seven-block outing of the year against LSU. Despite playing just 16.6 minutes per game, Mickelson has blocked a shot in every game this year.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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