No.5 UNC takes on Maryland in College Park
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02/04/2012 - College Park, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels play their fourth road game in the last six outings, as they head to College Park for an ACC showdown with the Maryland Terrapins.
Roy Williams' Tar Heels are sitting atop the ACC standings, tied with Duke and Florida State at 6-1. The team has won four straight since suffering a humbling loss at Florida State a couple of weeks ago. Most recently, UNC dispatched Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 68-53.
Mark Turgeon's first season in College Park has certainly come with its ups and downs. The Terrapins are five games over .500 on the year, but one game under that mark (3-4) in-conference. Maryland has dropped four of its last five games, including a heart-breaking 90-86 double-overtime affair at Miami earlier this week.
Maryland has won four of the last six meetings in this series, but North Carolina still holds a sizable 115-57 lead overall. UNC has lost five of the last seven meetings in College Park.
The Tar Heels have recently lost starting guard Dexter Strickland to a season- ending knee injury, but with superior talent and depth, they will be able to assuage the loss. North Carolina enters this contest as the top offensive team in the nation, averaging 84.1 ppg on a healthy .471 shooting. UNC has also carried over its strong play to the defensive end, holding foes under 40 percent from the floor (.384) and leading the nation with a +11.8 rebounding margin. The team is fueled by the best frontcourt in the country, with Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller all playing at an All-American level. Barnes has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, averaging 17.3 ppg. Zeller is next in line at 15.0 ppg and is almost averaging a double- double with 9.7 rpg. Henson is averaging a double-double, with 14.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall is tasked with getting the ball to the right people and is as good as it gets nationally in that regard, averaging 9.5 assists per game (second nationally).
Zeller was unstoppable in the win over Wake Forest this week, posting 18 points and 18 rebounds. Henson also had a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. Marshall got into the act as well as a scorer with 14 points, while dishing out six assists, while Barnes completed the top scorers with 13 points. UNC won handily, despite shooting a poor .310 from the floor overall, including .211 from behind the arc. The Tar Heels made up for it by outrebounding the Demon Deacons 55-40, including grabbing 22 offensive boards.
Despite having the conference's top scorer, the Terrapins lack the kind of offensive depth needed to win games against the upper echelon in the ACC. Maryland comes into this game averaging a modest 69.4 ppg on .432 shooting. The problem is, that the team is yielding 69.9 ppg. Terrell Stoglin has done all he can to keep the Terps competitive. The 6-1 sophomore is averaging an ACC-best 21.8 ppg and is responsible for more than half (58) of the team's three-pointers to date (105). Backcourt mate Sean Mosley is a distant second in the scoring column at 10.1 ppg. Junior forward James Padgett (9.0 ppg, team-high 5.9 rpg) is the top option up front.
Maryland came all the way back from a 16-point point second-half deficit to force two overtimes at Miami, but was unable to get the win, falling by four points to the Hurricanes. The setback spoiled a career-night for Stoglin, who was 9-of-26 from the floor, with six three-pointers and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, to finish with a career-high 33 points. Alex Len added 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the loss.
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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