2010 Big 12 Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Another year and another championship for Kansas, which captured its sixth straight Big 12 regular-season crown with a 15-1 finish. The No.1 ranked Jayhawks are the top-seed for the sixth time in the 14-year history of the Big 12 Tournament and they received a bye in the first round. Also earning first-round byes are Kansas State, Baylor and Texas A&M, as they all finished tied for second at 11-5. After the tie-breakers were worked out, the Wildcats landed the second seed followed by the Bears and Aggies.

The Missouri Tigers will begin their title defense in the first round, as they placed fifth in the conference at 10-6. Texas and Oklahoma State tied for sixth at 9-7, with the Longhorns grabbing the sixth seed and the Cowboys the seventh. The bottom five teams all had losing records in the conference and were seeded accordingly. The winner of this annual event moves on to the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid.

The 14th-annual Big 12 Tournament gets underway at the Sprint Center on Wednesday, with the ninth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders clashing with the eighth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes. This is a rematch of Saturday's regular- season finale in which Colorado won a 101-90 shootout in Boulder. The Buffs won their last three games of the regular campaign, while the Red Raiders have dropped seven in a row heading into the postseason. Neither of these teams have won this tourney, and Texas Tech has captured both prior meetings with Colorado in the event.

The fifth-seeded Missouri Tigers defend their title against 12th-seeded Nebraska in the second game of the first round. The Tigers, as the third seed, won their first-ever Big 12 Tournament championship last season and went on to the Elite Eight of the Big Dance. Missouri, which has posted back-to-back 10- win campaigns in the Big 12 for the first time since 1999-00, is 15-12 all- time in this event. This is the sixth time Missouri and Nebraska are meeting in the Big 12 Tournament, with the Huskers winning the last two encounters. The Huskers though, finished with a league-worst 2-14 mark and they are just 1-9 over their last 10 outings.

Bitter rivals come together in the third game, as the 10th-seeded Oklahoma Sooners tussle with the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys. One year removed from an outstanding campaign, the Sooners disappointed big time due to injuries and inconsistency, finishing just 4-12 within the conference. Oklahoma enters the postseason riding an eight-game losing streak and will need to win this event in order to avoid its first losing campaign since 1981. The Cowboys meanwhile, were the only Big 12 team to defeat Kansas, as they knocked off the top-ranked Jayhawks, 85-77, on February 27th. Oklahoma State features the Big 12 Player of the Year in James Anderson, who will try to carry the program to its first title in this tourney since 2005.

First-round play wraps up with the sixth-seeded Texas Longhorns taking on the 11th-seeded Iowa State Cyclones. The Longhorns soared to No.1 in the nation at one point this season, but fell on hard times down the stretch and finished the regular campaign outside the Top 25. Still, Texas had enough to reach the 20-win plateau for the 11th straight season at 23-8 overall. The Longhorns are 17-13 all-time in this event and despite five championship game appearances, they have never won the title. Iowa State meanwhile, is coming off another poor showing with just a 4-12 mark within the conference. The Cyclones, however, ended a 21-game losing streak to ranked opponents with a triumph of Kansas State on Saturday. In 2000, Iowa State won this tourney, but it hasn't had much luck since.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks will make their tourney debut in the quarterfinals on Thursday, as they await the winner of Texas Tech/Colorado pairing. The Jayhawks are the face of the Big 12, having won or shared 10 of the 14 regular-season titles while capturing this tourney on six occasions. Kansas has won at least 11 games each season since in the inceptions of the Big 12 in 1996-97 and they have notched 15 league victories on four occasions. The Jayhawks, who are 29-2 overall, own a 25-7 record in this event, but had their run of three-straight titles stopped last season.

Once the doormat of the Big 12, the fourth-seeded Texas A&M Aggies are now consistent contenders for a top finish. The Aggies earned a first-round bye for the third time in five years following a run in which they were never seeded higher than seventh. Texas A&M though, has only three wins in this event and that ranks last of any member. The Aggies, who have registered six straight 20-win campaigns, will tussle with the winner of the Nebraska/Missouri matchup.

The quarterfinal round continues with second-seeded Kansas State hooking up with the survivor of the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State pairing. The No.2 seed is the program's highest in the Big 12 Championship, as Kansas State earned a first- round bye for the fourth straight season. The Wildcats 24 overall wins and 11 conference victories are their most since the 1987-88 campaign. The team, though, is just 7-13 all-time in this event and has yet to even reach the finals.

The third-seeded Baylor Bears had a terrific run in this tourney last season and will collide with the victor of the Iowa State/Texas clash in the quarterfinals. As the ninth seed last season, the Bears played the role of giant-killer, advancing all the way to the finals before losing to Missouri. Baylor took that experience and applied it to this season, capturing 11 conference wins for the first time in Big 12 history. With that came the program's highest seed and first bye in this event.

Jzzsports NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Orioles renew contracts of Jones, Wieters
Sarasota, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have renewed the contracts of young stars Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Brad Bergesen and Nolan Reimold, while also agreeing to 2010 contracts with 22 other players. Jones is en

<< 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Preview
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 57th-annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament is on tap this week from the Greensboro Coliseum and will run from opening round action on Thursday, March 11th through the championship game on Sunday, Ma

<< Nathan has significant ligament tear
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan reportedly has a significant ligament tear in his right elbow. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune said tests revealed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament.

<< Kings cruise past listless Blue Jackets
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonathan Quick needed to stop just 11 shots for his third shutout of the season and Los Angeles scored four first-period goals on its way to a 6-0 clobbering of Columbus. Alexander Frolov had a goal and t

<< Wofford beats Appalachian State, earns first NCAA berth
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cameron Rundles had 20 points to help Wofford capture the Southern Conference Tournament title with a 56-51 win over Appalachian State. The Terriers (26-8) captured their first title and gained the au

Blazers' Przybilla undergoes surgery >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla underwent surgery late Monday to repair a ruptured right patella tendon. It was the second such procedure for Przybilla, who first suffered the injury on Decemb

2010 Conference USA Tournament Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time in five years, someone other than Memphis is the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament, as the Texas-El Paso Miners won the regular-season title with a 15-1 finish. Winners of 14 straig

Rockets take fading playoff push to Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Houston Rockets making the playoffs are fading like a flattop. Tonight they'll have to get past the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center and hope for some help around the league. Houston is 4 1/2 gam

Streaking Magic hope to make Clippers disappear >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The acquisition of Vince Carter has paid off so far for Eastern Conference power Orlando, which will shoot for its sixth straight win tonight versus the Los Angeles Clippers in the second test of a three-game homestand at Amw

Sixers, Pacers clash in Indy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers finally got off the schneid with a big win at Toronto this weekend, and hope that carries over into Tuesday's road bout against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Philadelphia was able to snap

El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

MySportsbook.com, Online Sportsbook and Casino, is celebrating our 9th football season online since our launch in 1997. MySportsbook.com has experienced exponential growth, having taken over $8 billion in Sports and Casino Wagers since we opened our doors.

This year we will accept over $3 billion in wagers. Tens of thousands of winning wagers are created daily for the 300,000 people that have joined our website. In August of 2005, MySportsbook.com was acquired by Sportingbet, a UK company which is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Combined, MySportsbook.com and Sportingbet easily form the world's largest internet sportsbook company and one of the internet's most profitable companies. The acquisition has provided for added transparency and accountability to MySportsbook.com customers and thus provides more safety and security for our customers. Our business is audited by BDO Stoy Hayward, one of the largest auditing firms in London, and our accounts are published quarterly on the London Exchange. We encourage you to take a look around and truly hope you enjoy your experience.

Through advertising deals with the top handicapping sites in the world, MySportsbook.com reaches a global audience and is one of the most commonly visited gaming spots on the Internet.

MySportsbook.com offers the largest selection of casino games and sporting wagers on the Internet. We believe that an educated player is a more responsible gambler, thus we provide you with all of the latest news and handicapping information. MySportsbook.com is your ultimate destination for gaming information and wagering. You can start by signing up in the Casino or Sportsbook. Once you sign up you can use your same login in either the casino or Sportsbook. So do it now and start winning serious money Today!

If at any time you have a question, we have numerous people waiting to help you, so don't be afraid to call our customer service department. We do not take any telephone wagers but we can certainly answer any questions you may have about our service.

MySportsbook.com is officially licensed in Antigua as a preferred licensee recognized by the Directorate of offshore gaming of Antigua and Barbuda.

What more could you ask for from an Online Sportsbook?