Big 12 elite: Kansas beats Sooners as Blake Griffin sits

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/24/2009 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor recorded a career-high 26 points and Sherron Collins scored 22 of his 26 in the second half, as 15th-ranked Kansas took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with an 87-78 victory over the Blake Griffin-less No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners.

With National Player of the Year front-runner Griffin on the bench in street clothes due to a concussion suffered in Saturday's setback at Texas, the Sooners hung tough with an 11-for-24 effort from three-point land.

But the Jayhawks made 28-of-41 from the foul line and forced 16 Oklahoma turnovers to control their own destiny in conference play.

Cole Aldrich benefited from Griffin's absence with 15 points and a whopping career-best 20 rebounds for Kansas (23-5, 12-1 Big 12), which has won 12 of its last 13 games and seem poised for its fifth straight Big 12 regular season crown .

Willie Warren paced the Sooners with 23 points, while Juan Pattillo and Cade Davis contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively for Oklahoma (25-3, 11-2 Big 12), which dropped its first home game in 16 tries this season.

Trailing by 20 in the second half, Oklahoma woke up with seven straight points to get within 58-45 with about 8 1/2 minutes to play. Three-pointers by Omar Leary and a pair by Davis made it a 62-56 affair a little later.

Holding just a four-point lead with five minutes on the clock, Collins squared up behind the arc line and drilled a crucial basket.

The teams went unconscious from downtown for the next few minutes, hitting five total with Collins' trey giving Kansas a 77-71 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Warren was whistled for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, and Taylor sank a free throw and a layup after Pattillo's missed bucket for an 80-71 lead with 1:15 to play.

The Jayhawks made just 4-of-8 free throws from that point on but Oklahoma couldn't muster enough offense for a comeback.

The Sooners built a 22-8 lead midway through the opening half on the strength of four three-pointers, a pair coming from Warren.

The hosts went cold for a five-minute stretch, however, as Taylor's 11 points during a 16-0 run gave the defending national champions a 24-22 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the half.

Three Taylor free throws and a Tyrel Reed trifecta pushed Kansas' lead to 36-29 at the half.

A 15-2 spurt by the visitors made it a 58-38 game midway through the second half.

Game Notes

Kansas holds a 134-64 edge in the all-time series and has claimed victory in five straight meetings...Griffin has averaged a Big 12-best 22.0 points and a nation-best 13.8 rebounds in 27 games this season. His 22 double-doubles lead the country...The Sooners made 19-of-30 from the free throw line...Kansas won the rebounding battle, 38-33.

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2007 Academy Award Betting : Oscars odds

The 79th Annual Academy Awards odds , which will air February 25th, is sparking an interest throughout the nation with the announcement of its nominees. As the public chooses their favorites, sportsbooks are creating odds for one of the biggest entertainment betting nights of the year.

Whether its at a “Oscar Party” or in an on line sportsbook, entertainment gambling on award shows represent a huge increase in betting. As the public speculation mounts, MySportsbook.com, the largest and most respected sportsbook on the web, posted odds on who is going home with a “Golden Best Friend.”

“ We see a majority of our entertainment wagers come from the Academy Awards,” said MySportsbook.com spokesperson, Tim Dalton. “This is a competition that applies to everyone. These are the people that entertain us on a daily basis and you want to see them win.”

MySportsbook.com posted the following odds for Academy Awards:

Odds to win the Achievement in Directing:

Alejandro González Iñárritu "Babel": 8/1

Martin Scorsese "The Departed": 2/17

Clint Eastwood "Letters From Iwo Jima: 4/1

Stephen Frears "The Queen": 12/1

Paul Greengrass "United 93": 15/1

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond": 11/1

Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson": 20/1

Peter O’Toole in "Venus": 16/5

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness": 16/1

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland": 1/11

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:

Penélope Cruz in "Volver": 18/1

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal": 15/1

Helen Mirren in "The Queen": 1/50

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada": 10/1

Kate Winslet in "Little Children": 20/1

Best Animated Feature Film:

"Cars": 1/3

"Happy Feet": 2/1

"Monster House": 20/1

Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year:

"Water" – Canada: 22/1

"The Lives of Others" – Germany: 7/2

"After the Wedding" - Denmark: 24/1

"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" – Algeria: 23/1

"Pan's Labyrinth" - Mexico: 1/10

Odds to win the Best Live-Action Short Film:

"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)": 6/5

"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)": 7/2

"Helmer & Son": 5/2

"The Saviour": 6/1

"West Bank Story": 7/2

Odds to win the Best Original Screenplay:

"Babel": 7/4

"Letters From Iwo Jima": 3/1

"Little Miss Sunshine": 21/20

"Pan's Labyrinth": 11/4

"The Queen": 5/4

Best Motion Picture of the Year:

"Babel": 11/4

"The Departed": 1/2

"Letters from Iwo Jima": 15/2

"Little Miss Sunshine": 17/10

"The Queen": 20/1

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 11/10

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children": 10/1

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond": 9/1

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls": 2/5

Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed": 5/1

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:

Adriana Barraza in "Babel": 14/1

Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal": 11/1

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine": 2/1

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls": 1/8

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel": 11/1

Film To Win Most Oscars:

Dreamgirls: 2/3

Pans Labyrinth: 6/5

The Departed: 6/1

The Queen: 11/1

Babel: 15/1

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: 11/1

Little Miss Sunshine: 15/1


Additional sports and entertainment odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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