McClure's last-second layup sends Duke plast Clemson

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/26/2007 - Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David McClure dropped in a layup just before time expired, as No. 10 Duke edged past 19th-ranked Clemson, 68-66, in a thrilling Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils (17-3, 4-2 ACC) led by 11 heading into the second half, but had to escape a late miscue to down Clemson (18-3, 4-3) for the 20th straight time.

A pair of free throws by Gerald Henderson put the Blue Devils ahead 66-61 with 12.7 seconds left in the game. Having already missed a pair of three-pointers leading up to Henderson's free throws, the Tigers elected to go for two as Duke allowed Vernon Hamilton to drive the lane for an easy basket.

Miscommunication by the Duke players caused Josh McRoberts to throw the resulting inbound away, and the turnover went right to Hamilton, who drilled a three to even things at 66-66 with 4.4 ticks on the clock.

The Blue Devils had enough time on the clock as Jon Scheyer took the inbounds pass to center court before spotting a wide open McClure in the lane, who was able to get off his layup before time expired.

McRoberts ended with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who won their fourth straight since suffering a road setback to Georgia Tech on January 10.

Greg Paulus and DeMarcus Nelson both ended with 13 points. Nelson also had eight rebounds. Scheyer had 12 points in the win, while McClure had eight, none more important than his final two.

Hamilton led Clemson with 21 points and five boards, while James Mays donated 13 points. C.K. Rivers chipped in with 12 points as the Tigers have lost three of four since winning their first 17 games to start the season.

Duke led by a healthy nine points midway through the second half, as a three- pointer by Paulus made it 53-44 with 10:08 remaining.

Clemson refused to quit and whittled their deficit down to 55-52 after a Hamilton layup with 6:53 left. Duke later upped its lead back to eight, 60-52, but eight straight by the Tigers evened the game with 3:31 on the clock.

The Blue Devils shot a healthy 48.4 percent from the floor in the first half and outrebounded Clemson 20-10 en route to taking a 36-25 lead at the half.

Down by one at 23-22, Henderson put Duke in front on a three-pointer with 4:56 left on the clock. Later, McRoberts rebounded his own miss and drained a jumper to extend the Blue Devils' lead to 29-23 with just over three minutes remaining.

Cliff Hammonds then knocked down a pair from the line with 2:38 to go, but those were the last points the Tigers would see in the half as Duke netted the final seven points.

Game Notes

Clemson ended the game at 45.5 percent from the floor and an impressive 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the free throw line. Duke shot 41.4 percent overall from the field and ended 15-of-18 from the charity stripe...Duke held the rebounding edge at 40-24...In addition to now 20 straight losses overall to the Blue Devils, Clemson has now lost 10 in a row at Duke. The Tigers' last win against Duke came on January 7, 1997 and their last victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium was in 1995.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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