West Virginia vs. Georgetown for Big East title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 -

NEW YORK (AP) -Now that West Virginia is in the Big East tournament final, coach Bob Huggins and his Mountaineers have a large problem on their hands.

His name is Greg Monroe.

The 6-foot-11 center with the uncommon all-around game has dominated at Madison Square Garden, leading No. 22 Georgetown to three impressive wins and a matchup with No. 7 West Virginia for the championship Saturday night.

``He passes the ball, he finds open people, he can lay it down, he can score in the post,'' Huggins said. ``Quite frankly, people with size bother us, because we're not that big.''

Monroe had 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as the eighth-seeded Hoyas (23-9) overpowered an undersized Marquette team Friday night, pulling away for an 80-57 semifinal victory.

Flashing his versatility, the sophomore from New Orleans with the smooth, left-handed shot is averaging 18 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game during the tournament.

``I would say that when he first got here, we were amazed at what he could do. Especially the way he passes,'' said Georgetown guard Chris Wright, who scored 27 points against top-seeded Syracuse in the quarterfinals. ``He sees the court very well. I mean, it's nothing new. We all know Greg is a phenomenal player. It's nothing that we - it's not like he just started doing this in the Big East tournament. So we know he's a great player.''

West Virginia (26-6) has its own star in Da'Sean Butler, who is having a big tournament as well. The senior forward scored 24 points Friday night in a 53-51 victory over pesky Notre Dame that ended a season-best six-game winning streak for the Irish.

That exquisite performance came about 24 hours after Butler banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer from the top of the key to give the Mountaineers a 54-51 win over Cincinnati in the quarterfinals.

West Virginia has won five straight and seven of eight. In a tournament full of surprises, the Mountaineers became the first No. 3 seed to reach the Big East title game since St. John's in 2000.

Now, Butler thinks a conference championship could earn his squad a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

``I think it's possible. I don't think there's any reason why we can't,'' he said. ``All the other teams fell out. We take care of business and win this game tomorrow, I don't see why we can't be a No. 1 seed at all.''

In the championship game for the third time in four years, Georgetown is looking to extend its record to eight Big East tournament titles.

The Mountaineers are in the final for the second time, following a 68-59 loss to Syracuse in 2005.

``We can't blow this opportunity,'' Butler said. ``I'm looking forward to this game tomorrow really bad. It's just an honor to be in this game.''

Playing at home, West Virginia beat Georgetown 81-68 on March 1 in the teams' only meeting this season. Monroe had 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

``They're really good. Extremely well coached,'' Huggins said. ``Monroe is terrific. We jumped on them pretty good in Morgantown early and then they came out the second half and played extremely well against us. And Monroe was a large part of that. It's the Big East, you know? I'm not trying to be redundant. You look around the league and who do you play that doesn't have good players?''

The Hoyas were missing leading scorer Austin Freeman when they lost at West Virginia. He was diagnosed with diabetes that night.

Freeman is back in the lineup and said he feels good.

``These three days have been great,'' he said. ``Nothing is wrong with me right now. I'm happy right now. We're winning, so it makes it a little bit better, too. I'm good.''

And so is Monroe.

``I think he's an early-entry pro,'' Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. ``I thought he turned over his right shoulder every single time tonight. He used his left hand every single time tonight. We didn't play to the scouting report. And we looked really, really bad. And he looked really, really good.''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.

Trifectas NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Bulls' Rose sits with wrist injury
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls All-Star point guard Derrick Rose missed Friday's game at Miami and is listed as day-to-day after an MRI confirmed he has a sprained left wrist. During Thursday's loss to the Magic, Rose w

<< UNLV knock offs BYU to reach Mountain West title game
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66, to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Willis

<< Wozniacki, Sharapova advance at Indian Wells; Henin slips
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova were among Friday's second-round winners at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open tennis event. The second-seeded Wozniacki, of

<< Vandy downs Georgia in SEC QFs
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Jenkins poured in a career-high 25 points to lead the 20th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores to a 78-66 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference Tournam

<< Roy leads Blazers to rout of Kings
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy poured in 28 points and finished 10-of-13 from the field, leading Portland to a 110-94 rout of the Sacramento Kings. LaMarcus Aldridge tacked on 18 points as the Trail Blazers remained in t

Oregon QB Masoli suspended for 2010 after burglary >>
Just 10 weeks ago the future couldn't have looked brighter for Oregon football.Sure, the Ducks had just lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, but the team was back in Pasadena for the first time since 1995. And Oregon was going into the 2010 season a

McDonald plays role of sage for young Blue Jays >>
DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -Becoming a coach isn't on John McDonald's radar just yet, but while he's playing he enjoys being a mentor to his fellow Toronto Blue Jays infielders.``I would hope the younger players would use a player like me as a source of kno

UNLV knocks off BYU to reach Mountain West title game >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tre'Von Willis finished with 18 points and made critical free throws down the stretch, as UNLV upended No. 14 BYU, 70-66, to reach the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Willis

Leach faces James in Texas Tech lawsuit deposition >>
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -Mike Leach is sitting across from his accuser as Craig James gives sworn testimony in the former coach's lawsuit against Texas Tech.James, whose complaint of mistreatment of his son led to Leach's firing, declined to comment Sat

Panthers shoot for rare victory over Sharks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida needs all the victories it can muster from now until the end of the season to even have a chance at making the playoffs. The Panthers could have a tough time getting a win today, when they visit the mighty San Jose Sh

Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.