Pitt routs Rutgers to close out regular season

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Brown poured in a game-high 19 points while pulling down six rebounds, as the 17th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers destroyed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 83-54, in the regular-season finale for both clubs.

Ashton Gibbs added 13 points for the Panthers (24-7, 13-5 Big East), who will be the No. 2 seed in the Big East tourney next week. Pittsburgh snuck past Providence, 73-71, on Thursday to clinch a two-day bye in the tournament.

Coming into Saturday, the Panthers needed a victory combined with a win by West Virginia over Villanova to secure the second seed. The Mountaineers completed the first part of the equation for Pitt by claiming a 68-66 overtime victory over the Wildcats.

Brad Wanamaker donated 12 points and five assists, while senior Jermaine Dixon tallied 10 points in his final home game for the Panthers, who finished an impressive 17-1 at home this season.

Mike Rosario finished with 14 points for the Scarlet Knights (15-16, 5-13), who were coming off a loss to Seton Hall on Thursday. Austin Johnson and Mike Coburn added 12 and 10 points, respectively, in defeat.

A Jonathan Mitchell layup and James Beatty three-pointer put Rutgers ahead 5-3 early on, but the Panthers scored the next 15 points to take control. Dixon tallied six points during the run, which Dante Taylor capped with a layup for an 18-5 margin with over 11 minutes to go.

Ahead 28-11 moments later, Pittsburgh ripped off seven consecutive points to build a 24-point lead. Brown's trey capped the burst, making it a 35-11 game with three minutes left. The score was 40-16 at the half.

Jonathan Mitchell's three-pointer had the Scarlet Knights within 50-28 five minutes into the second half. The Panthers made it a full-on rout from there, going on an 11-2 spurt. Dante Taylor's free throw made 61-30 with 11 minutes to play.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh was awarded the second seed by virtue of tiebreaker wins over West Virginia and Villanova. Each school went 13-5 in conference play to tie for second place...Despite the loss, the Scarlet Knights still hold a 23-22 series advantage...The Panthers' 13 wins in the Big East is tied for the second highest win total for the school in league play since Pitt joined the Big East in 1982-83. Pitt set the record with 15 wins in 2008-09. Pittsburgh also won 13 Big East regular season games in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04...The Panthers shot 48.3 percent from the field, while Rutgers made 40.9 percent of its shots.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

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