Yellow Jackets hold off NC State to make ACC final

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - Greensboro, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Favors registered 17 points and eight rebounds, as Georgia Tech overcame sloppy play down the stretch to get by NC State, 57-54, and advance to the ACC Tournament final.

Gani Lawal posted 12 points and 10 rebounds and D'Andre Bell scored nine for the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-11), who advanced to play Duke for the championship.

Tech, considered to be on the bubble, took down North Carolina in the opening round and may have done enough with Friday's quarterfinal win over Maryland to get to the NCAA Tournament should they fall short against the Blue Devils on Sunday, when the Jackets aim for a fourth ACC Tournament title.

Tracy Smith recorded 15 points, while Javier Gonzalez and Scott Wood each scored nine for the 11th-seeded Wolfpack (19-15), who beat sixth-seeded Clemson and third-seeded Florida State to reach the semis.

NC State shot a lackluster 30 percent in the first half, including a 1-for-12 showing from three-point range, to end with just 19 points and a 10-point deficit after 20 minutes.

The Wolfpack regrouped early in the second half and embarked on a go-ahead 12-0 run, capped by a pair of three-pointers from Gonzalez for a 36-33 game nearly six minutes in.

The lead stuck until Iman Shumpert put in back-to-back buckets for Tech, tying the game at 40 with just under nine minutes left.

The two sides played to within a possession down the stretch run until the Yellow Jackets produced a crucial 8-0 run to gain control with 1:27 to play. Favors scored five of those points and his layup to cap things off made it 52-46.

NC State had a chance to take the lead, though, thanks to a lack of closing skills on Georgia Tech's part.

C.J. Williams' tip-in preceded Glen Rice Jr. making just 1-of-2 at the line, and after the Jackets inexplicably sent State to the line twice in the final minute, Gonzalez drained a three after Shumpert missed both his free throws for a sudden 55-54 game with 12.4 seconds showing.

Bell made two clutch free throws on the other end, but the Wolfpack still had a chance for a tying three on the final possession. Gonzalez got a decent look from beyond the right elbow, but his shot caught the back of the rim just before time expired.

Wrollingstone NCAA Basketball Betting News

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An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.