Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
03/17/2010 -
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -New Mexico has one of the most famous arenas in college basketball and a devoted legion of hoops-crazy fans.
Something the Lobos have never had? Two straight victories in the NCAA tournament.
``Never gotten out of the second round?'' Mountain West player of the year Darington Hobson asked.
Correct.
Going into Thursday's opener, New Mexico is 6-12 in 11 previous NCAA appearances. The Lobos (29-4) are seeded No. 3 in the East Region against No. 14 Montana (22-9) in San Jose, Calif., and coach Steve Alford said the only game that matters is the next one.
``What we've done in the NCAA tournament, whether it be good, bad or indifferent, I don't think it has any impact on what these guys are going to do,'' he said. ``I don't know if any of these guys would even know what teams in the past have done in the NCAA tournament.''
Good thing, because it's not exactly bragging material.
In the 1974 tournament, the Lobos went 2-1 after winning their opener, losing in the second round at a regional site and then winning the regional consolation game.
Consolations are no longer played, not that it matters now.
``We don't look at the past too much,'' said All-Mountain West point guard Dairese Gary. ``We had great teams before us but we're a new generation, a new time. We just want to focus on the present, try to do what we can do and try to set new records and make new goals.''
It's not just that the Lobos have never sustained an NCAA run. It's the way some previous teams have lost that spawned horror stories.
What's the most infamous example?
Sorry, but it's difficult to choose just one.
How about the storied 1978 team that included Michael Cooper and held a No. 12 national ranking? After winning the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-1 record, the Lobos - in the days of the first-round bye - played in the NCAAs at nearby Tempe, Ariz.
One win would have returned them to The Pit for the regional semifinals. But Cal State Fullerton spoiled the fiesta with a shocking 90-85 upset.
And check out what happened in 1994. The Lobos won the WAC tournament, earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAAs and went to Tucson, Ariz., to face No. 12 George Washington.
They were finished before leaving the hotel. On the eve of that game, several players dined on the most notorious snack in New Mexico basketball history - the dreaded chili cheese fries that had them up most of the night and ill the next day. George Washington won 82-68.
The Lobos have also missed opportunities against big-time programs in the NCAA tournament.
In 1996, New Mexico ended a 22-year drought of NCAA wins by beating Kansas State, then faced Georgetown. The Lobos led 35-32 at halftime, but Allen Iverson scored 19 of his 25 points after the break and New Mexico's Kenny Thomas got into foul trouble as the Hoyas won 73-62.
The next year, the Lobos had a No. 3 seed - highest in school history until this year's team matched it. After beating Old Dominion in the opener, the Lobos faced Louisville and came within a basket of reaching the Round of 16.
Trailing 64-63, New Mexico forced a turnover with 16 seconds remaining, but Charles Smith - still the school's career scoring leader - passed up a jumper from the wing and tossed the ball to David Gibson, who missed an off-balance shot at the horn.
After that came second-round losses to Syracuse and Connecticut, which went on to win the 1999 title.
In 2005, the Danny Granger-led Lobos won the Mountain West tournament. But against Villanova in the NCAAs, they shot 18 percent and scored 11 first-half points. New Mexico rallied and got within 52-47 with 29 seconds left before losing 55-47.
This year's Lobos are eager to write a new chapter.
They've punctured many of the old syndromes that plagued New Mexico through the years by notching a school-record 29 wins, including 10 road victories and 12 wins overall away from The Pit while assembling 12- and 15-game winning streaks.
``Why not one more run for this team?'' said the only senior, Roman Martinez. ``We're athletic. We're young and inexperienced, but we have great leadership in Coach Alford. We have the conference MVP and a first-team all-league player. We're just trying to stretch this thing out.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Ark-Pine Bluff beats Winthrop in NCAA opener
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -When it mattered most, Arkansas-Pine Bluff turned into kings of the road.Losers of their first 11 games - all on the road - the Golden Lions turned their first trip to the NCAA tournament into one worth the extra packing. Allen Sm
<< Bell signs offer sheet with Eagles
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles signed restricted
free agent running back Mike Bell to an offer sheet on Thursday.
The New Orleans Saints now have seven days to match the deal, which the
Philadelphia Inqui
<< Murray, Roddick advance; Federer bows out at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer was upset by
27th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in third-round action, while fourth-seeded Andy
Murray and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick moved into the fourth round Tuesday at
the $4.
<< Tavares scores twice as Islanders handle Canucks
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie John Tavares posted two goals and
three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver
Canucks at GM Place.
Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, wh
Devils try to extend domination of Penguins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A huge battle in the Atlantic Division race is on tap
tonight in Newark, pitting the host New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh
Penguins at Prudential Center.
The Penguins, of course, are the defending Stanley Cup champ
Avs attempt to extend win streak over Flames >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try for their fourth straight
win overall as well as their seventh victory in a row over the Calgary Flames
tonight when the two teams clash at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche's current winning stre
Blackhawks limp into Honda Center to battle Ducks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has had a hard enough time picking up victories in
Anaheim without having injuries to worry about. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks
could be without as many as four key skaters tonight when they visit the
Honda Center to t
Redskins sign QB Grossman >>
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed
quarterback Rex Grossman.
Grossman has seven years of NFL experience, and spent last season with
Houston in a backup role. He played in one game, complet
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting