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West Virginia visits Villanova in clash of ranked Big East foes

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03/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With both teams having already secured byes into the quarterfinal round of the upcoming Big East Conference Tournament, the 10th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers and ninth-ranked Villanova Wildcats will put the wraps on the 2009-10 regular season this afternoon in Philadelphia.

West Virginia, winners of 23 games on the year and 12 of its 17 conference bouts, comes in seeking its third straight win and fifth in its last six games overall. The most recent outing for the Mountaineers took place at home against Georgetown on Monday night and resulted in a 81-68 triumph. WVU is 6-4 in true road games this season, and 11-4 outside of Morgantown when you factor in a perfect 5-0 mark in neutral-site affairs. The team has dropped two of its last three away from home though, the most recent of those being a 73-62 setback at UConn on February 22nd.

Villanova had run out to an impressive 20-1 record before a 103-90 loss at Georgetown on February 6th started a string of games in which the Wildcats would go an even 4-4. A conference showdown with Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last Saturday ended in embarrassment for 'Nova, 95-77, but the team bounced back to upend Cincinnati on the road on Tuesday night in a 77-73 final. The 'Cats are 23-6 this season, which includes a stellar 12-1 home ledger, and their 13-4 conference mark currently has them in second place.

Villanova claimed an 82-75 win at West Virginia on February 8th to take a 21-18 lead in the all-time series. However, the Mountaineers, who are making their first-ever appearance at the Wachovia Center this afternoon, have won five of the last eight meetings overall.

Da'Sean Butler is West Virginia's best player, as the 6-7 senior is averaging 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He is shooting a rather modest 42.2 percent from the field, but has dropped a team-best 52 three- pointers and 119 free throws. Kevin Jones (13.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg), Devin Ebanks (12.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and Darryl Bryant (10.8 ppg, 3.2 apg) join Butler in the starting lineup and all have produced for coach Bob Huggins' squad this year. As a result, the Mountaineers are putting up 74.9 ppg behind typical shooting efforts of 43.9 percent from the field, which includes a 34.8 percent showing from long range. WVU is one of the better defensive teams in the Big East, yielding just 64.8 ppg, and it ranks first in rebounding margin (+6.8). Butler was brilliant in his final home game on Monday night, finishing with a line of 22 points, six rebounds and six assists to power West Virginia past Georgetown, 81-68. It was the Mountaineers' 12th conference win of the season, establishing a new school record, and the game was never really in doubt as WVU held a double-digit lead for much of the night. In addition to Butler's effort, three others wound up in double figures, with Ebanks tallying 15 points and five boards, Jones adding 14 points and six rebounds and Bryant chipping in with 11 points and four assists. The team shot just 42.9 percent from the field, but a 27-14 advantage in points from the foul line coupled with 20 Hoya turnovers played an integral role in the outcome.

Villanova owns the top-ranked scoring offense in the Big East, averaging 83.3 ppg, and the team boasts three double-digit scorers in the form of guards Scottie Reynolds (18.9 ppg, 3.4 apg) and Corey Fisher (13.7 ppg, 4.0 apg), and forward Antonio Pena (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg). Reynolds, the fifth-highest scorer in the conference at the moment, is clearly the star of the team, as the 6-2 senior is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, has hit a club-best 64 three- pointers, logged a team-high 47 steals, and converting better than 83 percent of his free-throw attempts. As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and 75.4 percent at the foul line. Where some cracks in the armor have appeared for coach Jay Wright's squad is at the defensive end, as foes are generating 72.8 ppg despite just 40.5 percent field goal efficiency. In addition to its +10.6 scoring margin, Villanova also owns favorable margins in rebounding (+5.3) and turnovers (+1.7). Cincinnati battled back from a 16-point deficit to make a game of it earlier this week, but Reynolds scored all 17 of his points in the second half to help the Wildcats prevail in a four-point decision. Five other VU players hit for double figures in the win, with Corey Stokes coming off the bench to tally 14 points as the second-leading scorer. The 'Cats hit 10-of-21 three- point tries (.476) and outscored the Bearcats at the foul line, 25-14.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.