Buckeyes meet Boilermakers in Big Ten battle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will try to keep sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference as they welcome the Purdue Boilermakers to Value City Arena for a league battle.

This will be the 166th meeting in the all-time series. Purdue holds an 83-82 lead in the rivalry after each team defended its home floor in last season's home and home series.

Head coach Matt Painter's Purdue team is 15-8 overall, and 5-5 in league play after a 78-61 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. The Boilermakers' lost for the third time in four tries as they shot an unimpressive 29.6 percent from the floor. Purdue has averaged only 68.5 points per game in Big Ten action so far, and it has allowed its league rivals to net 68.5 ppg. The Boilermakers have gone 0-4 against ranked opponents this season.

Robbie Hummel is pacing Purdue this season as he is the sixth leading scorer in the Big Ten with an averages of 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Hummel recorded a double-double his last time out, as he scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked five shots in the loss to Indiana. Lewis Jackson is the second leading scorer for the Boilermakers with an average of 9.9 ppg, and leads the team with 3.9 assists per game. Ryne Smith, Kelsey Barlow, and Terone Johnson are all solid contributors for Painter's squad.

Thad Matta's Buckeyes come in with an impressive 20-3 record after a crucial 58-52 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers their last time out. The victory improved the team's Big Ten record to 8-2. Ohio State has won five straight games, with all but one of the victories coming by double-digit margins. The Buckeyes have been sharp at both ends of the floor this season and exhibited their talents against Wisconsin by shooting 43.1 percent from the field and holding the Badgers to 40.0 percent shooting. Ohio State leads the Big Ten with a +21.0 scoring margin in league action.

Jared Sullinger leads the charge for Ohio State with averages of 17.4 ppg and 9.1 rpg. The star sophomore recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds versus Wisconsin. Sullinger has now recorded 10 double-doubles this season. William Buford and Deshaun Thomas are both quality players for the Buckeyes as they each have averages just under 15 ppg. Buford has scored in double figures in six straight contests. Thomas has averaged 14 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the floor over his last two outings. Aaron Craft leads the Buckeyes in both assists (4.9) and steals (2.3).

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MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines

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Horse Betting

(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.