Big Ten brawl pits Illinois against No. 9 Purdue

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/30/2008 - West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten slate gets underway tonight for the ninth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Illinois has reason to be extremely confident, as the squad is riding a six- game win streak and owns a tremendous 12-1 record. The Illini are fresh off a 62-53 victory over Eastern Michigan on Sunday and beat then nationally-ranked Missouri in the previous outing. The lone loss came by just two points to a Clemson squad that enters Tuesday's action undefeated.

As for Purdue, it has also won its last six outings, and coach Matt Painter's team is 11-2 overall. On Sunday, the club cruised to victory over Valparaiso by a 59-45 final and has also beaten the likes of Boston College and Davidson this season. The only two losses suffered by PU came against powerhouse opponents Duke and Oklahoma.

Purdue holds a narrow 88-82 series lead over Illinois, and the Boilermakers won two of the three meetings a year ago.

Strong defense has clearly been the main ingredient in Illinois' 12-1 start. The Illini are holding foes to just 55.8 ppg on 39.6 percent shooting from the floor, including 26.4 percent from three-point range. Trent Meacham and Demetri McCamey are both averaging 12.2 ppg for Illinois, which is getting 12.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg from Mike Davis. As for Mike Tisdale, he rounds out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 11.6 ppg. In the nine-point win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Tisdale racked up 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting from his center position. Meacham had 16 points, and Chester Frazier pulled down 11 boards. The Illini earned a 13-7 edge in points from the foul line and forced 21 turnovers -- two obvious keys to the victory.

As good as Illinois has been defensively this season, it can be argued that Purdue has been even better. The Boilermakers are only allowing 56.0 ppg on 35.1 percent shooting by the opposition. Offensively, they are posting 74.2 ppg, and Robbie Hummel shares the team scoring lead with E'Twaun Moore, as both players are netting 14.4 ppg. Hummel is pulling down 7.8 rpg, and Moore is a versatile talent as well. The third and final double-digit scorer on the roster is JaJuan Johnson with his 12.3 ppg. In the 14-point decision over Valparaiso on Sunday, Moore scored a team-high 14 points. Johnson added 10, and while Hummel was limited to nine points, he did pull down 11 rebounds. The Boilermakers only committed nine turnovers and help the Crusaders to 33.3 percent field goal efficiency. For those reasons, Purdue was able to overcome a sub par 7-of-15 showing from the charity stripe and 36.4 percent shooting from the floor.

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Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com