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Butler battles Michigan State in Final Four matchupNCAA Basketball Betting Lines04/03/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - "Cinderella" is alive and well in this year's NCAA Tournament, as the Butler Bulldogs make their first-ever appearance in the Final Four when they tangle with perennial power Michigan State this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Butler, which is located in Indianapolis, will be the first team to play in a Final Four in its hometown since UCLA did so back in 1972. The Bulldogs, the No. 5 seed out of the West Region, are riding the nation's longest winning streak at 24 games, last losing at UAB on December 22, 2009. Butler, under the tutelage of third-year coach Brad Stevens, went 18-0 in the Horizon League this season, and won the conference tournament as well. Its 32 wins on the year is both a school and league record. Stevens, who has amassed a record of 88-14 since taking over at Butler, has won the most games in Division I history in his first three seasons. Butler, which topped the likes of UTEP (77-59), Murray State (54-52), Syracuse (63-59) and Kansas State (63-56) in the tournament thus far, has won 117 games over the past four seasons to set a school and Horizon League record for most wins in a four-year period. The Bulldogs are playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and their seventh in the past decade, and they own an all-time tourney record of 12-9. As for Michigan State, there isn't a more successful team in the country [of late] in terms of Final Four berths, as coach Tom Izzo's club has appeared in six of the last 12 national semifinals. Every four-year player recruited by Izzo has appeared in at least one Final Four before leaving East Lansing. The Spartans, the No. 5 seed out of the Midwest Region, are 28-8 this season, and their four NCAA Tournament victories over New Mexico State, Maryland, Northern Iowa and Tennessee have come by a combined 13 points -- the lowest total margin of victory of any team to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. MSU, which is 7-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Indianapolis, has two national championships to its credit (1977 and 2000), with the 2000 title won in this very city. Michigan State is 13-10 all-time against Butler, and the last meeting between the two schools took place on December 20, 1971 in Indianapolis where the Spartans defeated the Bulldogs, 77-71. This is the first time the two have met in the NCAA Tournament, and the first time two No. 5 seeds have squared off in the Final Four. Both teams rely on some pretty stingy defensive play to achieve their goals, with Butler allowing an average of 59.8 ppg, and Michigan State 64.1 ppg. BU senior forward Willie Veasley noted the similarities between the two teams. "Both teams are very defensive minded. Our focus is defense, and their focus is defense. When their star player [Kalin Lucas] got injured, they had different guys step up. They regrouped from top to bottom. And I've seen that with us. When Gordon (Hayward) or I had to miss a game this season, we've just had different people step up." Offensively, the Bulldogs boast four double-digit scorers in the starting lineup led by Hayward and his 15.2 ppg. The leading rebounder for the team as well (8.3 rpg), Hayward is a 47.1 percent shooter who has also done a solid job at the free-throw line (.819). Shelvin Mack (14.1 ppg, 3.1 apg), Matt Howard (12.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Veasley (10.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) round out the productive quartet, helping Butler put up nearly 70 ppg, hit 45 percent of its total shots, 34.6 percent of its three-point attempts and 74 percent of its free throws. Hayward spoke about the respect he and the rest of the Bulldogs have for the Spartans. "They are just a great team. For us, I don't know if it's as much about the matchups as much as it is about us knowing their personnel. That's been a huge key for us this whole tournament, knowing personnel. You need to know what the other players are doing so you don't have to guard as much. For us, that's really big. I have to credit our coaches for doing such a great job." Mack continued Hayward's sentiment. "They remind us alot of ourselves. They have similar size. It's just a good opportunity for two physical teams to go out there and play. I think the biggest thing is to come out and play with our hearts. They are going to play as hard as we are, so we need to be willing to do things like sacrifice our bodies for loose balls and rebounds." Few gave Michigan State a chance to reach the Final Four once Lucas went down with a leg injury in the second-round game against Maryland. The loss of their leading scorer (14.8 ppg, 4.0 apg) meant other guys would need to step up for the Spartans, who average 72.4 ppg on 47.2 field goal accuracy this season. Raymar Morgan (11.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Durrell Summers (11.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), the MVP of the Midwest Regional after averaging 20 ppg, are the only other active double-digit scorers for Izzo's club, although Draymond Green (9.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Chris Allen (8.5 ppg) aren't far off the pace. All will need to bring their "A" game if MSU is to survive this encounter with an extremely dangerous Butler squad. Izzo knows his guys has their work cut out for them, particularly in trying to break through the tough defensive job typically turned in by the Bulldog backcourt. "I've been really impressed with both guards.", Izzo said. "I've been really impressed with what seems likes an opening here, and all of a sudden, boom, they close it up so quick. They do not extend. They play a lot like -- I'd say it's more of a team that the guards, like when we had Cleaves and Bell, they play a lot of inside out. But they just don't give you many looks and openings." Izzo continued his praise of Butler. "I love Butler. I love (coach) Brad (Stevens). I think he's done an incredible job. I really like their players and what they stand for." Izzo noted that the lack of identifiable star power in the Final Four means a more team-oriented approach is necessary to win it all. "I do think when you look at the four teams that are in it, there's a lot of good players, but I wouldn't say anybody is relying on one player as much. For the most part, I think you got four teams that have earned their way here by probably playing good defense. If there's ever a year when maybe there's some of the four better defensive teams in it, I think this would be the year."
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Online Sportsbook Football BettingThe NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason. New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall). The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo. Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years. Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason. Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes. The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher. Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer. The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick. Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards. However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed). The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense. Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style. In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record. Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme. Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack. 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