Illini and Badgers square off in Big Ten brawl

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2010 - Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini carry a four-game win streak into tonight's Big Ten Conference battle with the 11th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, who are tough to beat in Madison.

Illinois has quietly gotten itself into position to contend for the Big Ten title with its recent winning streak, as the club is 8-3 in league play. The Illini, who are 16-8 overall, knocked off Michigan State on Saturday by a 78-73 final, avenging a five-point loss to the Spartans last month. All but one of the club's eight losses this season have come by 10 or fewer points, proof that Illinois has been competitive even in defeat.

Like Illinois, Wisconsin is 8-3 in conference action thanks to wins in four of its last five contests. The Badgers defeated Michigan on Saturday by a 62-44 final to move to 18-5 overall, and they carry a 13-0 home record into this evening's affair.

Illinois owns a 107-74 series advantage over Wisconsin, but the Badgers have won six of the last seven meetings.

The Illini have achieved strong offensive balance thanks to the contributions of four double-digit scorers. Demetri McCamey leads the way with 15.4 ppg, and he has dished out 153 assists against 76 turnovers. Mike Tisdale provides 11.7 ppg on 57.6 percent shooting, and D.J. Richardson provides 11.2 ppg. As for Mike Davis, he rounds out the foursome with 10.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Illinois is posting 74.2 ppg through 24 games, while opponents are netting 67.0 ppg against the team. McCamey shot 6-of-9 from three-point range and finished with 22 points against Michigan State last time out, and Richardson added 14 points. The Illini shot 52.5 percent from the field and committed only 10 turnovers, eight fewer than the Spartans. Those positives enabled the Illini to overcome a 34-24 rebounding deficit.

Trevon Hughes is netting 15.5 ppg this season for Wisconsin, which is scoring 67.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 56.2 ppg on 41.0 percent field goal efficiency. Jason Bohannon checks in with 11.1 ppg, and Jordan Taylor adds 10.0 ppg. Against Michigan over the weekend, Wisconsin connected on 53.7 percent of its field goal attempts, including a 11-of-21 effort from three- point range. The Badgers also earned a 29-19 rebounding advantage and played tremendous team defense in the second half. Bohannon tallied 18 points in that contest, and he handed out five assists. Hughes pitched in 14 points, and Jordan Taylor finished with 13.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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