Cougars and Mocs meet for SoCon crown

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2009 - Chattanooga, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a surprising turn of events the title matchup in the Southern Conference Tournament will pit the College of Charleston Cougars against the Chattanooga Mocs this evening at the McKenzie Arena.

For the first time since the 2005 tournament a team other than Davidson will claim the championship in the Southern Conference. On Sunday, the Cougars did the unthinkable, knocking off Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats, 59-52, to move into the SoCon championship game for the first time since 2007 when Charleston was defeated by Davidson for the title. The Cougars, who have won eight straight games, opened this event with a 69-56 victory over UNC Greensboro, and followed that win with a 67-48 decision over Western Carolina in the quarterfinal round.

As for the Mocs, they are one victory away from grabbing their 10th Southern Conference title. Chattanooga earned a first-round bye this season, then took care of business in the quarterfinals, getting by Elon, 79-78. Chattanooga grabbed its 48th all-time victory in this event with an 81-70 decision over Samford in the semifinal round.

The Cougars own a 12-9 edge over Chattanooga in the all-time series and that includes an 86-77 decision over the Mocs earlier this season at McKenzie Arena.

The Cougars are known for their offensive play, but it was the team's efforts at the defensive end of the floor that propelled College of Charleston into the SoCon final. Charleston held Davidson to a meager 31.6 percent shooting effort, and limited All-American Stephen Curry to just 5-of-18 shoots from the floor. In Charleston's two victories over Davidson this year, the Cougars held Curry to just 12-of-41 shooting from the floor. At the other end of the court on Sunday, the Cougars did just enough to grab the win. Charleston shot a mere 32.8 percent from the floor and relied heavily on Tony White Jr, who scored 17 points. Donavan Monroe and Andrew Goudelock added 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Dustin Scott grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds. Goudelock has been the main source of production on the season for Charleston as the guard is posting 16.5 ppg. As for White, he is contributing 11.1 ppg, to go along with a team-best 91 assists. As a whole, the Cougars come into this matchup averaging a very strong 77.2 ppg, which is second best in the conference.

The Mocs have also done a tremendous job at the offensive end of the court this season and come into this game averaging 76.7 ppg, behind a healthy 44.4 percent shooting effort. Stephen McDowell is currently leading the team with 18.7 ppg, while Nicchaeus Doaks and Kevin Goffney have dominated the paint. Doaks, who is leading the team with 8.8 rpg and 34 blocks, is contributing 14.1 ppg, while Goffney is posting 13.4 ppg, to go along with 6.9 rpg. The Mocs' strong offensive play continued in their recent win over Samford, as the team shot 48.1 percent from the floor and made 12-of-25 attempts from long range. Chattanooga also dominated the glass by a 40-19 margin and that included a 15-3 edge on the offensive end of the floor. McDowell exploded for 32 points in the win, while Goffney added 13 points, to go along with six boards. Ty Patterson tallied 10 points off the bench, while Khalil Hartwell posted nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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