Montana and Weber State duke it out for Big Sky title
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
03/10/2010 -
Ogden, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A trip to the NCAA Tournament is on the line
tonight, as the Weber State Wildcats and the Montana Grizzlies do battle in
the championship game of the 35th annual Big Sky Conference Tournament at the
Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.
As the top seed in this year's event and an owner of eight Big Sky Tournament
titles, Weber State had to play only one game in order to make it into the
finals and that was a 69-60 win over sixth-seeded Portland State on Tuesday
night. The victory was revenge for the regular-season finale in which the
Vikings captured an 84-79 win to snap WSU's five-game win streak.
As for fourth-seeded Montana, it began the annual event with an 81-60 thumping
of Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals on Saturday and then a 68-63 win
versus second-seeded Northern Colorado last night in the semifinals. The
Grizzlies, who won back-to-back crowns in 2005 and 2006, the former coming
against this same Weber State club, has a total of six tourney championships
to their credit.
The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with each winning on their
home floor. As a result, Weber State remains ahead in the all-time series with
a 58-47 mark.
Anthony Johnson came up with 19 points, hitting all but one of his eight free-
throw attempts, as he guided the Grizzlies to the upset win over Northern
Colorado on Tuesday. Also scoring in double figures for Montana were Ryan
Staudacher and Will Cherry with 10 points apiece, although the former did his
damage on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and the latter just 4-of-12 accuracy.
Johnson, the leading scorer in each of the last three games and nine of the
last 10 outings, is responsible for 18.9 ppg on the strength of not only 50
percent shooting from the field, but also 46.7 percent beyond the arc and 184-
of-211 at the charity stripe. As someone who forces the action as well as
anyone in the conference, Johnson made twice as many free-throws as all but
one of his teammates even had a chance to attempt this season. Staudacher, a
45.8 percent three-point shooter himself, helped the program to make good on
40.2 percent of their threes altogether.
With Portland State's Dominic Waters in foul trouble, Damian Lillard took over
for the Wildcats last night as he tallied a game-high 23 points, grabbed five
rebounds and handed out four assists in the nine-point win at home. Franklin
Session added 13 points and eight boards in order to shake off five turnovers,
while Trevor Morris tallied 10 points in just 21 minutes off the bench for a
Weber State squad that outscored the visitors at the free-throw line, 22-6.
Lillard, the leading scorer in each of the last three games for the Wildcats,
has generated a team-best 20.7 ppg against Big Sky foes this season, shooting
an impressive 44.0 percent from three-point range in those decisions. As
someone who gets involved in all facets of the game, Lillard also led the team
in assists with 110 and has been credited with better than four rebounds per
game as well. Steve Panos (11.0 ppg) and Session (10.6 ppg) also lend a hand
at the offensive end of the floor.
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Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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