Hawkeyes and Badgers meet in Big Ten battle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - Iowa City, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers will look to ground the Iowa Hawkeyes as they visit Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Big Ten Conference action.

This will be the second encounter of this season and 155th in history between Wisconsin and Iowa. The series is knotted up, 77-77, after Iowa upset the Badgers, 72-65, in the first bout of 2011-2012. Wisconsin is salivating at the second chance at the Hawkeyes, as it let the first one slip away by shooting an awful 3-of-28 from three-point range in the game.

Bo Ryan's Badgers come in with a 20-7 overall record after their 65-55 triumph over Penn State on Sunday. Wisconsin's three-point shooting seems to be on point, as it hit 11-of-22 from beyond the arc to power past the Nittany Lions. The victory made Wisconsin 9-5 in Big Ten play, which has it two games out of first place with four to play. The Badgers' success this season has been primarily due to its stifling defense, which leads the nation with an allowed average of only 51.1 ppg.

Wisconsin will go as far as its star point guard Jordan Taylor can carry it this season. Taylor leads the team with averages of 14.3 points and 4.2 assists per contest. The senior guard has been struggling lately, as he has gone 7-of-25 from the floor over the span of his last two games. While Taylor handles the ball, Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren do work in the trenches. Evans is averaging 10.6 points and 6.9 boards per game, while Berggren provides 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing. Ben Brust an additional scoring threat that Wisconsin has rode to victories this season.

The Hawkeyes will try to make it two straight after they upset Indiana on Sunday to improve to 14-13 overall this season. The 78-66 win was charged by Iowa's success from downtown, as it hit 9-of-18 from deep. Head coach Fran McCaffery will need to get his team to battle on the boards, as it owns a +4.5 rebounding advantage in its six Big Ten victories, and it has been outrebounded by 4.7 boards in its eight conference losses.

Iowa will look to Matt Gatens to lead the charge as it tries to defeat two ranked opponents in a row. Gatens has been sensational as of late, averaging 25.5 ppg while shooting 71 percent from three-point range in his last two games. Roy Devyn Marble has been helpful for Gatens, as he is averaging 11.1 points and 3.5 assists per game this season. Aaron White will battle the Badgers' bigs inside. White is providing 10.4 points and 5.6 boards per game in his rookie campaign.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

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