Federer disposes of del Potro, reaches Aussie semis

Tennis Betting Lines

01/24/2012 - Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Roger Federer cruised past 11th-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets Tuesday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Federer handled the Argentine 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in a mere one hour, 59 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. The four-time Australian Open champion moved on to face the winner of the Rafael Nadal-Tomas Berdych match.

Del Potro, playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2009 U.S. Open. was no match against Federer, who ripped 38 winners and had just 22 unforced errors.

Federer has still yet to lose a set in this tournament and is bidding to win his 17th major title. The Swiss great has not captured a Grand Slam since winning the Australian Open in 2010.

Wwwugameasia Tennis Betting News

<< Gay, Grizzlies rally to beat Warriors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay scored 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies erased an 18-point point deficit in the fourth quarter to extend their winning streak to seven with a 91-90 comeback victory over the Warriors. Memp

<< Oilers top Sharks in shootout
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taylor Hall scored in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. In the fourth round, Hall faked to the backhand and was able to lift the puck past Th

<< Kings chase Anderson, beat Senators
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford had a goal and an assist while Jonathan Quick turned aside 27 shots to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. Jack Johnson, Trevor Lewis and Willie Mitchell

<< Crawford helps Portland get past Sacramento
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford had 26 points off the bench, Gerald Wallace scored 20 and the Portland Trail Blazers continued to win against the Sacramento Kings, beating them 101-89 on Monday night. The Trail Blaze

<< Clijsters ousts Wozniacki; Azarenka reaches semis
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At least Caroline Wozniacki won't have to answer questions about her World No. 1 ranking anymore. Wozniacki, who has spent 67 of the last 68 weeks atop the world rankings despite never winning a

Blockbuster Nadal-Federer Aussie semi set for Friday >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former world No. 1 greats Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will do battle in the semifinals Friday at the 2012 Australian Open. The second-seeded Nadal snuck past seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych in fo

Blue Jays ink Morrow to three-year deal >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays have signed pitcher Brandon Morrow to a three-year contract worth $20 million with a club option for 2015. Morrow was 11-11 with a 4.27 earned run average and 203 strikeouts

Murray State's moment in the spotlight >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky has always been a state shaped by its basketball. The wide fields serving as the outer boundaries to hardwood sandlots carved on God's ground, where games have been played dawn to dusk. It's n

Bryans reach Aussie semis >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The world No. 1 twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, were hard-fought doubles quarterfinal winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. The Bryans snuck past a sixth-seeded Polish team of Mariusz Fyr

Aztecs collide with Cowboys in MWC affair >>
Laramie, WY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the top teams in the Mountain West Conference collide in Laramie this evening, as the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs take on the Wyoming Cowboys at Arena-Auditorium. Steve Fisher's Aztecs are sitting

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.