No. 2 seed Kansas State begins tournament play against North Texas

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expecting big things in the 72nd NCAA Tournament, the Kansas State Wildcats begin play in their 24th appearance in the event as they tangle with the North Texas Mean Green at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

Seeded second in the West Regional, the Wildcats tore through non-conference foes this season and ended with an overall mark of 26-7 under the direction of fiery head coach Frank Martin. However, KSU did have a serious probable trying to keep pace in the Big 12 Conference, and in-state foe Kansas, as the top team in the nation took care of the Wildcats in all three of their meetings, including the conference tournament championship game last weekend, 72-64.

K-State is 28-27 in this event over the years, landing in the Final Four four times and one title game, but the squad is just 1-2 in the Ford Center all- time.

Tied for the third-longest win streak in the nation entering play on Thursday at 11 straight, the Mean Green have already recorded a school record for wins in a single season with their 24-8 mark. The squad ripped through the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with wins over ULM, Denver and Troy in the title game nine days ago, although two of those contests were decided by just three points.

In their two previous appearances in the NCAA Tournament the Mean Green have been 15th seeds both times as well, losing to North Carolina in 1988 by a final of 83-65 in Utah and then Memphis three years ago (73-58) in New Orleans.

As far as an all-time series between these two teams is concerned, KSU has won five of the previous six encounters, posting an 84-70 win in 2001 for its fourth in a row over the Mean Green.

The winner of this meeting will be back in action in the second round on Saturday against the winner of the Florida/BYU contest.

North Texas failed to place a player on the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, although George Odufuwa did find his way to the Second Team and the trio of Tristan Thompson, Eric Tramiel and Josh White all made the cut for the Third Team this season. Odufuwa ranked among the best in the nation in rebounding with his 10.7 per game in 2009-10, averaging a double-double for UNT with his 11.5 ppg as well. At the top of the scoring list for the group is White with his 14.9 ppg, stemming from his 39.9 percent accuracy behind the three-point line. White also holds the title for top passer with his 112 assists, while Thompson (14.1 ppg) and Tramiel (13.0 ppg) were sure to step up their efforts on offense as well. However both players, along with Odufuwa, finished with more turnovers than assists and that meant the squad as a whole was charged with close to 15 miscues per outing.

Just the second Kansas State player to be named All-Big 12 First Team, after Michael Beasley two years ago, Jacob Pullen led the Wildcats in scoring this season with his 18.9 ppg, stemming from a team-best 93 three-pointers. Pullen also stepped up to aid his teammates with 116 assists, second only to Denis Clemente (139 assists), who was also named all-conference after producing 16.2 ppg. Between the two, they accounted for 170 of the unit's 222 three-point baskets. More than just an offensive force, Pullen was also named to the all- defensive team in the Big 12 as he registered a team-best 53 steals. Jamar Samuels and Curtis Kelly chipped in with 11.9 and 11.1 ppg, respectively, handling the action closer to the rim as they both shot about 56 percent from the floor and combined for 11.5 rpg as well. As a team, KSU easily handled opponents on the glass by an average of more than five rebounds per game this season.

Waskjeeves NCAA Basketball Betting News


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March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets

With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship.  Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92.  After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points.  Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1.  Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years.  With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed.  UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern.  Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier.  OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak.  Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four.  It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta.  But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.

Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props.  Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000.  Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.

MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:

EAST National Championship Region
Arkansas 300-1 50-1
Belmont 1000-1
Boston College 100-1 40-1
Eastern KY 1000-1
George Washington 75-1
Georgetown 10-1 3-2
Marquette 100-1 40-1
Michigan State 100-1 25-1
New Mexico St. 500-1 200-1
UNC 6-1 6-5
Oral Roberts  500-1
Texas 15-1 5-1
Texas Tech 200-1 5-1
USC 75-1 20-1
Vanderbilt 100-1 30-1
Washington State 40-1 15-1
WEST
Duke 50-1 10-1
Florida A&M 1000-1
Gonzaga 200-1  40-1
Holy Cross 300-1
Illinois 300-1 60-1
Indiana 75-1 40-1
Kansas 5-1 13-10
Kentucky 100-1 40-1
Niagara 1000-1
Pittsburgh 40-1 8-1
Southern Ill. 50-1 12-1
UCLA 10-1 3-2
VCU 500-1 100-1
Villanova 100-1 40-1
VA Tech 50-1 15-1
Weber St 1000-1
Wright St 1000-1 300-1
MIDWEST
Arizona 50-1 30-1
Butler 40-1 30-1
Davidson 300-1
Florida 4-1 4-5
Georgia Tech 75-1 25-1
Jackson State 1000-1
Maryland 30-1 6-1
Miami-OH 300-1
Notre Dame 100-1 20-1
ODU 500-1 100-1
Oregon 40-1 6-1
Purdue 300-1 60-1
Texas A&M CC 1000-1
UNLV 100-1 30-1
Winthrop 500-1 100-1
Wisconsin 15-1 7-2
SOUTH
Albany 200-1
BYU 200-1 40-1
Central CT St. 1000-1
Creighton 100-1 35-1
Long Beach St. 500-1 200-1
Louisville 40-1 10-1
Memphis 30-1 4-1
Nevada 75-1 35-1
North Texas 500-1
Ohio State 7-1 6-5
Penn 500-1
Stanford 200-1 50-1
Tennessee 100-1 20-1
Texas A&M 12-1 11-5
Virginia 75-1 18-1
Xavier 100-1 40-1

Field                                              100-1

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