Fighting Irish hope to calm Red Storm

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/03/2009 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes will collide in New York City this afternoon, as the St. John's Red Storm welcomes the seventh- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to town.

Notre Dame carries a four-game win streak into this contest, and the squad is fresh off a 92-82 victory over DePaul on Wednesday in the league opener. The Fighting Irish, who are 10-2 overall, have won their only two true road games to date. Their lone losses have come on neutral courts to top-ranked North Carolina and Ohio State.

As for St. John's, it has suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 9-4 overall. Clearly, the team has been able to knock off the weak and mediocre opponents on the schedule, but clubs from major conferences have gotten the better of the Red Storm. On Wednesday, they opened conference play with an ugly loss to Providence, 75-54.

Notre Dame owns an 18-14 series lead over St. John's, which includes wins in three of the last four meetings.

Reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody has been dominant as expected for Notre Dame this season. He has led the squad in scoring and rebounding in each of the past five outings and is averaging 23.0 ppg on 51.5 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 12.4 rpg. Harangody doesn't have to carry the scoring load alone, however, as there are other talented performers who have proven to be consistent contributors. Kyle McAlarney is one of the nation's best pure shooters, and he is scoring 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 46.4 percent accuracy from three-point range. Ryan Ayers provides 13.0 ppg, and Tory Jackson checks in with 11.3 ppg and 71 assists. The Fighting Irish are generating 83.9 ppg while holding foes to 66.3 ppg. In the 10-point victory over DePaul last time out, Notre Dame shot 52.2 percent from the field and finished with 20 assists against nine turnovers. The Irish got 26 points and 16 rebounds from Harangody, and all five starters scored in double figures.

St. John's is scoring 71.1 ppg this season while allowing 63.3 ppg to the opposition, but the three straight losses by 14 or more points suggests that the squad isn't nearly as good as the record indicates. The leading scorer for the Red Storm is Anthony Mason Jr., as he is netting 14.0 ppg. Pars Horne checks in with 12.9 ppg, and D.J. Kennedy provides 12.5 ppg. Rounding out a foursome of double-digit scorers is Sean Evans with 10.6 ppg. In the lopsided loss to Providence on Wednesday, St. John's shot 35.4 percent from the field, including 2-of-17 from three-point range. Also, the squad misfired on eight of the 14 free throws it attempts and finished with 16 turnovers and six assists. Horne and Evans tallied 16 points apiece in the setback, and Evans ripped down 10 rebounds. As for Quincy Roberts, he contributed 12 points, although his 6- of-19 showing from the floor was far from impressive.

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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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