Booker boosts Clemson over Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/03/2009 - Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trevor Booker scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as 18th-ranked Clemson dominated Virginia, 75-57, during senior night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Terrence Oglesby finished 10-of-10 from the foul line on his way to 18 points for the Tigers (23-6, 9-6 ACC), who snapped a two-game skid and avenged an 85-81 defeat in overtime to the Cavaliers on February 15.

With the victory, Clemson secured back-to-back winning seasons in ACC play for the first time since 1965-66 and 1966-67. The Tigers also improved their all- time senior night record to 69-29.

This was the final home game for Clemson seniors K.C. Rivers, Raymond Sykes and Jesse Yanutola. The seniors improved their record to 91-40, which is a school record for wins by a senior class. Rivers has played in all 91 victories and is the winningest player in Clemson history overall and in ACC play.

Sykes ended with 14 points and five boards. Rivers tallied just two points, while Yanutola failed to score.

Virginia (9-17, 3-12) was paced by Calvin Baker, who finished with 18 points. Mike Scott added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost four consecutive outings. Jeff Jones poured in 11 points in defeat.

After Virginia hung tough in the first half, the Tigers took control of the contest in the final frame. Following a Baker jumper and a Sykes free throw to start the second half, Clemson put together a 17-2 run to break open the game. Booker's slam capped off the flurry to put the Tigers ahead 50-35 with over 12 minutes remaining.

The Cavaliers never got closer than 14 points the remainder of the way. Clemson outscored Virginia 43-26 in the final 20 minutes.

Trailing 13-9 over seven minutes into the game, Clemson rattled off 13 unanswered points to go ahead by nine, 22-13. Oglesby, who had seven points during the run, made a pair of foul shots to culminate the surge with just over nine minutes until halftime.

The Cavaliers responded with 10 consecutive points to regain the lead. Jones' jumper topped off the spurt with about 5 1/2 minutes left. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth affair. The Tigers took a 32-31 edge into the locker room. Baker led all scorers at the break with 12 points.

Game Notes

Clemson shot 50 percent from the field, while Virginia hit just 40.8 percent of its shots...The Tigers grabbed 36 rebounds, compared to 27 for the Cavaliers...Virginia holds a 65-50 advantage in the all-time series.

Teantalk NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Gagne leads Flyers over Bruins in Boston
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Simon Gagne scored twice and set up another tally, as the Philadelphia Flyers used a three-goal third period to upend the Boston Bruins, 4-2, at TD Banknorth Garden. Mike Knuble registered a goal and two

<< Bobcats easily handle Bulls, win fourth straight
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 18 points and doled out nine assists to lead the Bobcats to their season-high fourth consecutive win with a 96-80 rout of the Bulls. Raja Bell also tallied 18 points for Charlotte, wh

<< Hossa leaves game on stretcher
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Red Wings right winger Marian Hossa left Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Blues on a stretcher, early in the first period. One of the game's premier players, Hossa was checked by Blues defense

<< A-Rod to see hip specialist
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will fly to Vail, Colo., on Wednesday to see hip specialist Dr. Marc Phillipon at Steadman-Hawkins Clinic. After experiencing right hip tightness at Spring T

<< Celtics' Scalabrine out a month
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Brian Scalabrine is expected to be out until April because of the effects of concussions he suffered in January. Scalabrine sustained a concussion in a practice on January 2

No. 8 Michigan State claims Big Ten title with win over Indiana >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kalin Lucas scored 15 points and Raymar Morgan added 14 points and seven rebounds, as eighth-ranked Michigan State claimed its first Big Ten championship since 2001 with a 64-59 victory over Indiana

Canes crush Caps >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Eaves scored two goals, including one of Carolina's two shorthanded tallies, as the Hurricanes dominated the Washington Capitals, 5-2, at Verizon Center. Matt Cullen had the other shorthande

Malhotra scores twice as Blue Jackets crown Kings >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Malhotra scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena. Malhotra also scored earl

Lewis lifts Magic over Suns >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis scored 29 points -- 11 in the fourth quarter -- helping the Orlando Magic pull away from the Phoenix Suns in a 111-99 victory. Lewis also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Hedo Turko

Frolik leads Panthers past Thrashers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Frolik scored twice to lead the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Cory Stillman collected a goal and an assist and Stephen Weiss helped set up three score

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.