Georgetown and Marquette meet in Big East semis

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that shook up the Big East Tournament yesterday come together in the semifinals tonight, as the eighth- seeded and 22nd-ranked Georgetown Hoyas battle the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden. The winner will advance to the finals against either Notre Dame or West Virginia on Saturday.

The Hoyas changed the complexion of the Big East Tournament, as they upended top-seeded and third-ranked Syracuse, 91-84, in the quarterfinals yesterday. With the outcome, Georgetown got some revenge for a pair of regular-season losses to the Orange, as it knocked off a No.1 seed in this event for the fifth time and first since 2000. The Hoyas, who topped ninth-seeded South Florida in the first round, are now onto the semifinals of the Big East Tournament the 20th time. Georgetown has reached the finals in two of the last three events, winning its record seventh crown in 2007.

As for the Eagles, they too made some noise in the quarterfinals yesterday, tallying an 80-76 victory over 10th-ranked and fourth-seeded Villanova. Marquette finally came out on top in a close one with Villanova after losing a pair of two-point decisions in the regular season. The Eagles, who survived St. John's in the first round, are now just one win away from their first Big East Tournament title game appearance, a remarkable feat for a team not expected to do much this season.

Marquette upset Georgetown, 62-59, back in early January, giving the Eagles a 5-4 edge in the all-time series.

The Hoyas used a decisive 22-4 run in the second half to come away with a 91-84 defeat of Syracuse yesterday. The Hoyas shot an efficient 57.9 percent from the floor for the game and scored 27 points off 17 Syracuse giveaways. Chris Wright poured in 27 points and dished out six assists to lead the charge, while Austin Freeman and Jason Clark tallied 18 and 17 points, respectively. Greg Monroe also got into the mix with an all-round effort of 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven helpers. For the season, Freeman tops the squad in scoring at 17.0 ppg, as he rebounded nicely from just an eight-point effort in the first round. Monroe, a first-team All-Big East choice, can do it all and he churns out 16.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 3.6 apg for the Hoyas. Wright tacks on 14.6 ppg and 4.1 apg, and Clark chips in with 10.7 ppg.

Darius Johnson-Odom poured in a career-high 24 points and dished out five assists to lift Marquette over Villanova yesterday. He finished the game 5- of-7 from long range for the Eagles, who went 11-of-18 from beyond the arc and 19-of-24 at the foul line. Lazar Hayward added his second straight 20-point performance to the mix, while David Cubillan had 17 points after scorching 11 in the first round. A second-team All-Big East selection, Hayward has practically done it all for the Eagles this season, leading them with 18.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 57 steals. Jimmy Butler, who tallied 14 points and eight rebounds yesterday, ranks second with 14.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg and Johnson-Odom follows at 13.1 ppg.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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