Booker boosts Clemson over Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/03/2009 - Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Booker scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as 18th-ranked Clemson dominated Virginia, 75-57, during senior night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Terrence Oglesby finished 10-of-10 from the foul line on his way to 18 points for the Tigers (23-6, 9-6 ACC), who snapped a two-game skid and avenged an 85-81 defeat in overtime to the Cavaliers on February 15.

With the victory, Clemson secured back-to-back winning seasons in ACC play for the first time since 1965-66 and 1966-67. The Tigers also improved their all- time senior night record to 69-29.

This was the final home game for Clemson seniors K.C. Rivers, Raymond Sykes and Jesse Yanutola. The seniors improved their record to 91-40, which is a school record for wins by a senior class. Rivers has played in all 91 victories and is the winningest player in Clemson history overall and in ACC play.

Sykes ended with 14 points and five boards. Rivers tallied just two points, while Yanutola failed to score.

Virginia (9-17, 3-12) was paced by Calvin Baker, who finished with 18 points. Mike Scott added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost four consecutive outings. Jeff Jones poured in 11 points in defeat.

After Virginia hung tough in the first half, the Tigers took control of the contest in the final frame. Following a Baker jumper and a Sykes free throw to start the second half, Clemson put together a 17-2 run to break open the game. Booker's slam capped off the flurry to put the Tigers ahead 50-35 with over 12 minutes remaining.

The Cavaliers never got closer than 14 points the remainder of the way. Clemson outscored Virginia 43-26 in the final 20 minutes.

Trailing 13-9 over seven minutes into the game, Clemson rattled off 13 unanswered points to go ahead by nine, 22-13. Oglesby, who had seven points during the run, made a pair of foul shots to culminate the surge with just over nine minutes until halftime.

The Cavaliers responded with 10 consecutive points to regain the lead. Jones' jumper topped off the spurt with about 5 1/2 minutes left. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth affair. The Tigers took a 32-31 edge into the locker room. Baker led all scorers at the break with 12 points.

Game Notes

Clemson shot 50 percent from the field, while Virginia hit just 40.8 percent of its shots...The Tigers grabbed 36 rebounds, compared to 27 for the Cavaliers...Virginia holds a 65-50 advantage in the all-time series.

Wwwhighrollercasino NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Gagne leads Flyers over Bruins in Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne scored twice and set up another tally, as the Philadelphia Flyers used a three-goal third period to upend the Boston Bruins, 4-2, at TD Banknorth Garden. Mike Knuble registered a goal and two

<< Bobcats easily handle Bulls, win fourth straight
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 18 points and doled out nine assists to lead the Bobcats to their season-high fourth consecutive win with a 96-80 rout of the Bulls. Raja Bell also tallied 18 points for Charlotte, wh

<< Hossa leaves game on stretcher
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings right winger Marian Hossa left Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Blues on a stretcher, early in the first period. One of the game's premier players, Hossa was checked by Blues defense

<< A-Rod to see hip specialist
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will fly to Vail, Colo., on Wednesday to see hip specialist Dr. Marc Phillipon at Steadman-Hawkins Clinic. After experiencing right hip tightness at Spring T

<< Celtics' Scalabrine out a month
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine is expected to be out until April because of the effects of concussions he suffered in January. Scalabrine sustained a concussion in a practice on January 2

No. 8 Michigan State claims Big Ten title with win over Indiana >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalin Lucas scored 15 points and Raymar Morgan added 14 points and seven rebounds, as eighth-ranked Michigan State claimed its first Big Ten championship since 2001 with a 64-59 victory over Indiana

Canes crush Caps >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Eaves scored two goals, including one of Carolina's two shorthanded tallies, as the Hurricanes dominated the Washington Capitals, 5-2, at Verizon Center. Matt Cullen had the other shorthande

Malhotra scores twice as Blue Jackets crown Kings >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Malhotra scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena. Malhotra also scored earl

Lewis lifts Magic over Suns >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis scored 29 points -- 11 in the fourth quarter -- helping the Orlando Magic pull away from the Phoenix Suns in a 111-99 victory. Lewis also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Hedo Turko

Frolik leads Panthers past Thrashers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Frolik scored twice to lead the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Cory Stillman collected a goal and an assist and Stephen Weiss helped set up three score

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com