New Mexico wins 15th straight, advances in MWC tourney

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Darington Hobson erupted for 28 points and 15 rebounds, carrying No. 8 New Mexico to a hard-fought 75-69 victory over Air Force in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Dairese Gary returned from an early injury and made 14-of-15 free throws to account for most of his 20-point effort for the Lobos (29-3), who set a single-season school record for wins thanks to their 15th straight victory.

New Mexico, the top seed in the tournament, moves on to play the winner of the Colorado State/San Diego State battle.

Tom Fow and Michael Lyons scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the ninth-seeded Falcons (10-21), whose win over Wyoming on Wednesday was their second in MWC tourney history.

The Falcons, who lost a 59-56 decision at New Mexico less than three weeks ago, again gave the Lobos all they can handle at the Thomas & Mack Center.

A Roman Martinez three-pointer had the favorites up 58-49 with less than 7 1/2 minutes to play, but Lyons' jumper two minutes later cut it to a 61-58 game.

New Mexico pulled away with five straight from the free throw line, and Hobson's acrobatic tip-in provided a 68-58 margin.

Mike McLain's offensive foul followed by two Gary free throws capped the game- sealing 11-0 run with 1:13 remaining, helping New Mexico grind out the surprisingly tough win.

Air Force was on top 13-12 when Todd Fletcher capped a 9-0 run with a three- pointer six minutes into the game. The Falcons went the next seven minutes without scoring, though the Lobos only scored eight during that stretch.

New Mexico's largest lead in the first half was 10, but Evan Washington beat the halftime buzzer with a long deuce to pull the underdogs within 38-31 at halftime.

Fow made two free throws and a three-pointer before Washington's three-point play cut Air Force's deficit to 48-47 with 12:48 to play.

Game Notes

This is New Mexico's second-longest winning streak in school history behind a 17-game streak set in 1967-68...The Lobos have won seven straight over Air Force...Grant Parker, the Falcons' leading scorer with 13.1 ppg, scored just six, while Fletcher and Washington netted 12 and 11, respectively, in defeat...Air Force outshot New Mexico 54.0 percent to 46.8 percent from the floor but were outscored on the foul line, 25-8.

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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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