West Virginia vs. Georgetown for Big East title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 -

NEW YORK (AP) -Now that West Virginia is in the Big East tournament final, coach Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers have a large problem on their hands.

His name is Greg Monroe.

The 6-foot-11 center with the uncommon all-around game has dominated at Madison Square Garden, leading No. 22 Georgetown to three impressive wins and a matchup with No. 7 West Virginia for the championship Saturday night.

``He passes the ball, he finds open people, he can lay it down, he can score in the post,'' Huggins said. ``Quite frankly, people with size bother us, because we're not that big.''

Monroe had 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as the eighth-seeded Hoyas (23-9) overpowered an undersized Marquette team Friday night, pulling away for an 80-57 semifinal victory.

Flashing his versatility, the sophomore from New Orleans with the smooth, left-handed shot is averaging 18 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during the tournament.

``I would say that when he first got here, we were amazed at what he could do. Especially the way he passes,'' said Georgetown guard Chris Wright, who scored 27 points against top-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals. ``He sees the court very well. I mean, it's nothing new. We all know Greg is a phenomenal player. It's nothing that we - it's not like he just started doing this in the Big East tournament. So we know he's a great player.''

West Virginia (26-6) has its own star in Da'Sean Butler, who is having a big tournament as well. The senior forward scored 24 points Friday night in a 53-51 victory over pesky Notre Dame that ended a season-best six-game winning streak for the Irish.

That exquisite performance came about 24 hours after Butler banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer from the top of the key to give the Mountaineers a 54-51 win over Cincinnati in the quarterfinals.

West Virginia has won five straight and seven of eight. In a tournament full of surprises, the Mountaineers became the first No. 3 seed to reach the Big East title game since St. John's in 2000.

Now, Butler thinks a conference championship could earn his squad a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

``I think it's possible. I don't think there's any reason why we can't,'' he said. ``All the other teams fell out. We take care of business and win this game tomorrow, I don't see why we can't be a No. 1 seed at all.''

In the championship game for the third time in four years, Georgetown is looking to extend its record to eight Big East tournament titles.

The Mountaineers are in the final for the second time, following a 68-59 loss to Syracuse in 2005.

``We can't blow this opportunity,'' Butler said. ``I'm looking forward to this game tomorrow really bad. It's just an honor to be in this game.''

Playing at home, West Virginia beat Georgetown 81-68 on March 1 in the teams' only meeting this season. Monroe had 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

``They're really good. Extremely well coached,'' Huggins said. ``Monroe is terrific. We jumped on them pretty good in Morgantown early and then they came out the second half and played extremely well against us. And Monroe was a large part of that. It's the Big East, you know? I'm not trying to be redundant. You look around the league and who do you play that doesn't have good players?''

The Hoyas were missing leading scorer Austin Freeman when they lost at West Virginia. He was diagnosed with diabetes that night.

Freeman is back in the lineup and said he feels good.

``These three days have been great,'' he said. ``Nothing is wrong with me right now. I'm happy right now. We're winning, so it makes it a little bit better, too. I'm good.''

And so is Monroe.

``I think he's an early-entry pro,'' Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. ``I thought he turned over his right shoulder every single time tonight. He used his left hand every single time tonight. We didn't play to the scouting report. And we looked really, really bad. And he looked really, really good.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

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Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

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Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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