Hoyas and Irish square off in South Bend

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/05/2009 - South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big East Conference powers fresh off disappointing losses will meet in South Bend this evening, as the seventh- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the 11th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.

Georgetown carried a seven-game win streak and a wealth of confidence into Saturday's showdown with Pittsburgh. Despite playing in front of the home crowd, the Hoyas were no match for the mighty Panthers, as they lost that game by a 70-54 final. Georgetown is now 10-2 overall and is set to play just its second true road game of the season.

As for Notre Dame, it was shocked by St. John's on Saturday, 71-65. That loss halted a four-game win streak for the Fighting Irish, who figure to fall in the national poll regardless of the outcome of tonight's tilt. They are now 10-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action.

The Hoyas have won their last five meetings with the Irish to take a 14-10 lead in the all-time series.

Georgetown is scoring 74.0 ppg this season, but it isn't the team's offensive ability that scares opponents. The Hoyas are capable of playing smothering defense, as they are only allowing 57.4 ppg on 35.6 percent shooting from the floor. DaJuan Summers continues to pace Georgetown in scoring 15.3 ppg on 54.7 percent shooting from the field, including 46.7 percent efficiency from three- point range. Austin Freeman provides 13.1 ppg, and freshman center Greg Monroe checks in with 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 23 blocks. The fourth and final double- digit scorer on the roster is Chris Wright with his 12.8 ppg. Summers did all he could against Pittsburgh on Saturday, as he finished with 22 points, as he knocked down 4-of-5 three-pointers in the tilt. Monroe added 15 points and eight boards for the Hoyas, who only shot 35.3 percent from the floor and were outrebounded by a staggering 48-23 margin, including 20-7 on the offensive boards.

There are a couple of obvious reasons that Notre Dame fell short against St. John's on Saturday. The Fighting Irish suffered a 41-30 rebounding disadvantage in the tilt, and they were also outscored 16-7 from the foul line. Luke Harangody led the way in the loss with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and the big forward dominated the interior as usual. Tory Jackson pitched in 14 points for the Irish, who got only 10 points from Kyle McAlarney. Harangody, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, has led his team in both scoring and rebounding in each of the last six games. He is averaging 23.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor. McAlarney, a 45.3 percent shooter from three-point range, checks in with 16.3 ppg, and Ryan Ayers provides 12.2 ppg. As for Jackson, who leads the club with 74 assists and 22 steals, he rounds out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 11.5 ppg. Notre Dame is generating 82.5 ppg while permitting 66.7 ppg to the opposition.

Wwwslotszone NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Verdasco wins at Brisbane; American Fish falls
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Fernando Verdasco was a first- round winner on Monday at the $484,750 Brisbane International, while American Mardy Fish was handed a three-set loss at the 2009 season-opening ATP World Tour ev

<< Verdasco a winner at Brisbane, American Fish out
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Fernando Verdasco was a first- round winner on Monday at the $484,750 Brisbane International, while American Mardy Fish was handed a three-set loss at the season-opening 2009 ATP World Tour ev

<< Fiesta Bowl pits Buckeyes against Longhorns
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten meets the Big 12 in one of the elite matchups of the 2008-09 bowl season, as the Ohio State Buckeyes battle the Texas Longhorns in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona. Ohio State c

<< Ivanovic, Mauresmo advance, Hantuchova upset at Brisbane
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic and the fifth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo were both first-round winners at the $220,000 Brisbane International, while fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova was sent home early in the 2009

<< Stars pick up tough shootout win over Canucks
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stars winger James Neal continued an impressive rookie campaign by netting the game-winning shootout goal in what was otherwise a goaltending clinic, as Dallas got by Vancouver, 3-2, at General

Sooners play final tune-up before kicking off Big 12 slate >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what appears to be a tremendous mismatch, the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners play host to the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks tonight. Maryland-Eastern Shore competes in the MEAC and has lost its only conference

Kings aim to snap road woes in New Jersey vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Sacramento Kings arrive in North Jersey Monday aiming to snap an ugly 10-game road losing as they take on the Nets at the IZOD Center. The Kings fell to 0-2 on a four-game road swing Saturday in Indianapolis when Dan

Pacers open road trip in Denver vs. Nuggets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets resume a season-long seven-game homestand Monday when they welcome the Indiana Pacers to the Rocky Mountains. The Nuggets won the opener of the residency on Saturday when Carme

Ivanovic, Mauresmo advance; Hantuchova toppled at Brisbane >>
Brisbane, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic and fifth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France were both first-round winners Monday at the $220,000 Brisbane International, while fourth seed Daniela Hantuch

Heat host Spurs in South Beach >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat aim to finish a quick two-game homestand in perfect fashion Monday when they welcome the San Antonio Spurs to South Beach. The Heat won the opener of the short residency on Saturday when Dwyane Wade scored 2

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.