Blair leads Pitt to blowout of IUP

Cbasketball Betting Lines

11/23/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - DeJuan Blair dropped a game-high 27 points on 13-of-14 shooting and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds in just 21 minutes of floor time as the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers cruised to an 86-60 win over Indiana University of Pennsylvania as part of the Legends Classic.

Tyrell Biggs and Ashton Gibbs chipped in with 10 points apiece for Pitt (4-0), which opened the season with two blowout victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Miami-Ohio before playing host to Akron, in an 86-67 victory on Friday.

Sam Young scored nine to go along with four assists in limited action. Levance Fields also saw limited action in posting five assists against one turnover with five points and four boards.

Blair, meanwhile, posted his second straight double-double as Pitt dominated the paint with 48 points to IUP's 18, and outrebounded the Crimson Hawks 47-30.

"I thought the biggest thing today was that we were unselfish," Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon said. "We got out to a big lead, but at no point were people looking for their own shot or trying to force things on the offensive end. You had DeJuan (Blair) diving for a loose ball when we're already up by 30 points. That's the kind of attitude and teamwork that's going to take a team very far."

Ashton Smith led the way with 16 points, four assists and four rebounds off the bench for the Crimson Hawks (2-1), who lost their first game in what represented a major leap in competition. IUP has beaten Thiel College and Penn State-Fayette this season.

Julian Sanders had 10 points off the bench and Sean Christiansen donated nine points. Gerald Brooks scored six and had a team-high eight boards as IUP saw its bench outscore the starters by a 32-28 margin.

"This gives us exposure," IUP head coach Joe Lombardi said of playing a team of Pittsburgh's stature. "We find out our weaknesses. Sometimes, players are in denial of bad habits and when you play a team like Pitt, you find them out right away. A game like this gives us a chance, as coaches, to be better teachers and develop better players in the long run. We can learn from Pitt's defense. Championship caliber teams play fundamental defense. Pitt commits to fundamentals and that's what separates teams."

Pitt started the game with a 20-0 run and never looked back, finishing the first half with a 45-17 advantage. A Travon Woodall layup made it a 76-40 game just outside of five minutes remaining and the Crimson Hawks' bench was able to lead a charge that saw the school collect more points over the final five minutes than they were able to muster in the first half.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh has won all nine of its previous meetings with IUP...The Crimson Hawks shot a paltry 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field and were just 9- of-26 from three-point range...Pitt also struggled from beyond the arc hitting only 6-of-22 attempts but shot 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the floor overall.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com