Harvard battles Penn in pivotal Ivy League tussle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Harvard Crimson will try to maintain their spot atop the Ivy League standings, as they head to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers tonight at The Palestra.

Harvard is enjoying the best start in school history, losing just two of its first 22 games and the team sits a game up on Yale in the Ivy League standings coming into action today. An Ivy League school hasn't started out this well since Princeton began the 1997-98 season at 21-1. The Crimson have won eight games in a row, the most recent of which being a 57-52 decision over Columbia last Saturday.

Penn has been nearly as impressive of late, winning five of its last six games to move to 4-1 in the league, just a game and a half behind Harvard for first place. The Quakers defeated Brown in convincing fashion last Saturday, 65-48.

Penn holds a commanding 127-33 advantage in the all-time series with Harvard, but the Crimson has won the last five meetings.

Most of Harvard's success this season can be directly attributed to its stellar defense, which allows a mere 53.6 ppg, third-best in the nation behind only Wisconsin and Virginia. The Crimson have allowed 70 points just once, gave up 50 points or fewer in 10 games, and less than 40 points twice. It was the same old story last Saturday against Columbia, as the Lions were held to 40 percent field goal efficiency and only 52 points, as Harvard won its 25th straight home game -- the fourth longest active streak in the country. Laurent Rivard finished with a game-high 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor and 8-of-12 from the foul line, while Keith Wright added 15 points and six rebounds in the win. Rivard (11.3 ppg), Kyle Casey (10.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Wright (10.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) lead a capable offense for the Crimson. Though he's not much of a scorer, Brandyn Curry ranks fourth in the Ivy League in assists (5.0 apg) and second in steals (1.9 spg).

Penn has one of the few offenses in the Ivy League that could be a problem for the stout Harvard defense as it ranks second in both scoring (67.8 ppg) and field goal percentage (.446). While the Quakers' defensive effort often times under-performs (67.5 ppg), they put forth one of their best efforts of the season against Brown last Saturday, allowing the Bears to shoot just 37.7 percent from the field en route to a meager 48 points. Rob Belcore logged his second double-double of the season in the win, grabbing 10 rebounds while tying a career-high with 17 points. Zack Rosen has been one of the Ivy's top playmakers this season, ranking second in scoring (18.3 ppg) and first in assists (6.0 apg), all while shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from three-point range and 88.1 percent from the charity stripe. Tyler Bernardini has been a admirable wingman for Rosen, ranking fifth in scoring (14.9 ppg) and first in three-point FG percentage (.432). Miles Cartwright rounds out Penn's double-digit scorers with 10.2 ppg.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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