Kentucky fends off Gators to wrap up perfect season at home

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe each scored 14 points, as third-ranked Kentucky held off Florida, 74-66, to complete a perfect season at Rupp Arena.

Patrick Patterson added 13 points and John Wall ended with 11 points and eight assists for the Wildcats (29-2, 14-2 SEC), who went 18-0 at home this season.

Kentucky, which had already won the regular season SEC title outright and will likely be a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, heads into the conference tourney on a two-game win streak.

Alex Tyus had 12 points to pace the Gators (20-11, 9-7), who have lost three in a row heading into the SEC Tournament, and might have to make a deep run to earn an at-large berth to the national tourney. Florida also got 11 points from both Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy.

Kentucky held a 49-37 lead a little more than three minutes into the second half, but the Gators got back in the contest with a 9-1 run. Chandler Parsons ended the stretch with a layup, trimming Florida's deficit to 50-46.

The Gators were within a possession multiple times down the stretch, and with 5:23 to go, Murphy's dunk had them within 62-60. But Florida went through a back-breaking dry spell, going more than three minutes without scoring.

In that span, Kentucky stretched its lead to 68-60, until a Vernon Macklin layup got the Gators going again with 1:43 left. Florida had a chance to slash into Kentucky's lead further after Boynton got a steal on the Wildcats' next possession, but on the ensuing fastbreak he was called for an offensive foul. Bledsoe then made two foul shots, and Kentucky sealed the win at the line.

The Wildcats held a small lead throughout the beginning of the first half, then used a 14-0 run to take control. Bledsoe's layup capped the rally with 5:20 left for a 34-16 lead, though Florida scored the final six points of the period to get within 41-31 at the break.

Game Notes

The Wildcats open their SEC Tournament on Friday against the winner of the South Carolina-Alabama contest the day before...Florida plays Auburn on Thursday...Darnell Dodson added 10 points for Kentucky, which shot 46.9 percent, including 8-of-18 from three-point range...Florida made just 12-of-21 free throws and 4-of-15 three-point tries.

Sporsillustrated NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Dodgers C Martin out 4-6 weeks
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin will miss four to six weeks of action due to a pulled groin muscle. The injury will sideline Martin for the remainder of Spring Training and Opening Day.

<< Young scores 32 as Sixers down Raptors
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 32 points and Jrue Holiday had 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 114-101 win over the Tor

<< Royals' Gordon to miss 3-4 weeks
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals announced Sunday that third baseman Alex Gordon is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks with a broken right thumb, leaving his status for Opening Day unclear. Gordon was

<< Pavlyuchenkova sets up Monterrey final showdown with Hantuchova
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova got past Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in Sunday's semifinal at the $220,000 Monterrey Open. Pavlyuchenkova will face second-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantu

<< Djokovic propels Serbia past U.S. in Davis Cup
Belgrade, Serbia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Novak Djokovic outlasted big John Isner in five sets on Sunday to lift Serbia past the United States and into the 2010 Davis Cup quarterfinals. The Serbs have an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five

Xavier edges Charlotte to reach A-10 tourney final >>
Upper Marlboro, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyeasha Moss finished with 15 points, as fifth-ranked Xavier held off Charlotte, 51-49, in a semifinal matchup in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Ta'Shia Phillips added 11 points, 14 rebounds and f

Second period blitz helps Wings down Chicago >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pavel Datsyuk's breakaway tally capped a five- goal eruption in the second period and proved to be the game-winner, as Detroit overcame an Andrew Ladd hat trick and held on to beat the Chicago Blackha

Israel stays alive against Chile in Davis Cup >>
Coquimbo, Chile (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Israeli doubles specialists Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram posted a big victory on Sunday, as the Israelis pulled within 1-2 of the host Chileans in their best-of-five first-round Davis Cup matchup

Irish reach Big East semis with win over St. John's >>
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Skylar Diggins scored 21 points to help sixth-ranked Notre Dame defeat No. 16 St. John's, 75-67, in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Devereaux Peters had 13 points and Lindsay Schrader

Duke downs N.C. State for ACC title >>
Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jasmine Thomas scored a team-high 18 points and added six rebounds and six assists as ninth-ranked Duke defeated N.C. State for the ACC women's title. Karima Christmas chipped in 13 points, while J

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.