Lehigh tops Lafayette for Patriot League title
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/12/2010 - Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. McCollum poured in a game-best 20 points to go with seven rebounds, as the top-seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 74-59 victory over the third-seeded Lafayette Leopards in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament at Stabler Arena.
Zahir Carrington added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks (22-10), who won their first Patriot League crown since 2004. The victory propels Lehigh into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history (1985, 1988, 2004).
Dave Buchberger and Michael Ojo donated 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Mountain Hawks, who set a school mark for victories in a single season with 22.
Ryan Willen tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Leopards (19-13), who were making their first appearance in the Patriot League title game since 2000. Jeff Kari added 10 points off the bench in defeat.
Trailing 51-42, the Leopards ripped off eight straight points to get within one. Jim Mower capped the flurry with a three-pointer, making it a 51-50 contest with less than 11 minutes to play in the game.
But Lehigh closed the tilt on a 23-9 run to seal the victory. Carrington tallied 10 points during the burst.
Lehigh led 35-29 at the half.
Carrington's slam had the Mountain Hawks ahead 42-33 early in the second half. The Leopards were able to keep things tight by going on a 9-2 flurry, which Kari ended with a layup to make it 44-42 with 13 1/2 minutes remaining.
Lehigh then went on to score seven consecutive points to create some breathing room again. Buchberger's trey made it a 51-42 contest with 12:15 left.
Game Notes
Lafayette still has a commanding lead in the all-time series with Lehigh, 138-75....McCollum scored 16 points in the first half...Lafayette and Lehigh now hold two Patriot League crowns apiece...The Mountain Hawks shot 49.1 percent from the field, while the Leopards made 36.4 percent of their shots.
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As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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