Kansas still No. 1, Syracuse slides up to No. 2

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas remained the top team in the latest Associated Press men's college basketball poll, while Syracuse moved up one spot to No. 2.

The Jayhawks (22-1) regained the top spot last week after spending the first eight weeks of the season atop the rankings before their lone loss of the season on January 10 at Tennessee. Kansas received 55 first-place votes, one more than last week, and a total of 1,613 points from a nationwide media panel.

Syracuse (23-1) moved up one spot, garnering eight first-place votes, while Kentucky also climbed one spot to third. The Wildcats, who spent one week at No. 1, picked up a pair of top tallies.

Villanova and West Virginia, combatants on Monday in Morgantown, round out the top five. The Wildcats were second last week, but suffered their first Big East loss on Saturday at Georgetown, while West Virginia moved up one spot from sixth.

Purdue jumped up two spots to sixth and this week is followed by Georgetown, Duke, Kansas State and Michigan State. The Spartans lost to Wisconsin and Illinois last week and dropped five places from fifth.

The second 10 consists of Wisconsin, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas, New Mexico, Gonzaga, BYU, Butler, Northern Iowa and Georgia Tech. Wisconsin moved up five spots from 16th after beating Michigan State and Michigan, while Texas dropped five places after a loss Saturday at Oklahoma. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 for two weeks, but have lost four of their last six games entering Monday's Big 12 tussle against Kansas.

Temple, Vanderbilt, UNLV, Baylor and Pittsburgh are the last five teams ranked this week.

UNLV is the lone newcomer, thanks to a five-game winning streak that included Saturday's 88-74 victory over BYU. The Runnin' Rebels were ranked for two weeks earlier this season.

Ole Miss was the only team to drop from the rankings. The Rebels were 25th, but lost to Kentucky last Tuesday before beating Alabama.

In addition to Monday's matchups of ranked foes, Tuesday's slate features an SEC showdown between Tennessee and Vanderbilt in Nashville and a Big Ten battle pitting Purdue and Michigan State in East Lansing. On Wednesday, UNLV will host New Mexico and a rare Friday top-25 contest has West Virginia at Pittsburgh in the second 2010 basketball edition of the Backyard Brawl. The two rivals squared off last Wednesday in Morgantown with West Virginia taking a 70-51 decision. Only one ranked matchup Saturday is a big one in the SEC, as Kentucky welcomes Tennessee.

Sportbettingcenter NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

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.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.