Montana and Weber State duke it out for Big Sky title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - Ogden, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A trip to the NCAA Tournament is on the line tonight, as the Weber State Wildcats and the Montana Grizzlies do battle in the championship game of the 35th annual Big Sky Conference Tournament at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.

As the top seed in this year's event and an owner of eight Big Sky Tournament titles, Weber State had to play only one game in order to make it into the finals and that was a 69-60 win over sixth-seeded Portland State on Tuesday night. The victory was revenge for the regular-season finale in which the Vikings captured an 84-79 win to snap WSU's five-game win streak.

As for fourth-seeded Montana, it began the annual event with an 81-60 thumping of Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals on Saturday and then a 68-63 win versus second-seeded Northern Colorado last night in the semifinals. The Grizzlies, who won back-to-back crowns in 2005 and 2006, the former coming against this same Weber State club, has a total of six tourney championships to their credit.

The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with each winning on their home floor. As a result, Weber State remains ahead in the all-time series with a 58-47 mark.

Anthony Johnson came up with 19 points, hitting all but one of his eight free- throw attempts, as he guided the Grizzlies to the upset win over Northern Colorado on Tuesday. Also scoring in double figures for Montana were Ryan Staudacher and Will Cherry with 10 points apiece, although the former did his damage on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and the latter just 4-of-12 accuracy. Johnson, the leading scorer in each of the last three games and nine of the last 10 outings, is responsible for 18.9 ppg on the strength of not only 50 percent shooting from the field, but also 46.7 percent beyond the arc and 184- of-211 at the charity stripe. As someone who forces the action as well as anyone in the conference, Johnson made twice as many free-throws as all but one of his teammates even had a chance to attempt this season. Staudacher, a 45.8 percent three-point shooter himself, helped the program to make good on 40.2 percent of their threes altogether.

With Portland State's Dominic Waters in foul trouble, Damian Lillard took over for the Wildcats last night as he tallied a game-high 23 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists in the nine-point win at home. Franklin Session added 13 points and eight boards in order to shake off five turnovers, while Trevor Morris tallied 10 points in just 21 minutes off the bench for a Weber State squad that outscored the visitors at the free-throw line, 22-6. Lillard, the leading scorer in each of the last three games for the Wildcats, has generated a team-best 20.7 ppg against Big Sky foes this season, shooting an impressive 44.0 percent from three-point range in those decisions. As someone who gets involved in all facets of the game, Lillard also led the team in assists with 110 and has been credited with better than four rebounds per game as well. Steve Panos (11.0 ppg) and Session (10.6 ppg) also lend a hand at the offensive end of the floor.

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Best Horse Betting Online

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.