Purdue downs PSU, captures share of Big Ten title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - University Park, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - JaJuan Johnson finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, as seventh-ranked Purdue claimed a share of the Big Ten title with a 64-60 victory over Penn State.

Keaton Grant added 17 points for the Boilermakers (26-4, 14-4 Big Ten), who pulled even with Ohio State atop the conference standings and claimed a share of their first Big Ten title since 1996. Purdue also secured the second seed for the upcoming conference tourney.

Purdue did so while playing its final three games without forward Robbie Hummel, who suffered a torn ACL on February 24. The Boilermakers fell to Michigan State in their first game without Hummel, but took the final two to close out their regular season.

"It's great, especially for our players who really sacrificed a lot and battled, to be in this position and to get the job done is a great feeling," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We've had a little bit of bad luck here with Rob's injury, so it's good to see so many smiles in that locker room, because they know this was a team effort."

Talor Battle and Chris Babb each scored 17 for the Nittany Lions (11-19, 3-15), who were coming off Thursday's two-point loss at Michigan State. Jeff Brooks ended with 12 points and seven boards in the loss.

Battle, Penn State's leading scorer, did not play the final six-plus minutes because of cramps, though the Lions nearly pulled even down the stretch.

"He just got sick. He was just sick in the stomach," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "He was very light-headed and very dizzy. He just felt horrible. He thought he was going to vomit and all of that kind of stuff, so he was back there with the doctor for the last five or six minutes."

Purdue held a 58-49 lead after Grant hit a three-pointer with 4:45 to play, but after David Jackson made 1-of-2 from the line, Babb drained a three. Andrew Jones followed with a layup to get the Lions within 58-55.

E'Twaun Moore's make from beyond the arc pushed Purdue's lead to six with a minute left, but Penn State still nearly came back. After a steal resulted in a Brooks layup with half a minute left, Grant missed the front end of a 1- and-1, then fouled Babb on a three-point try with 19.9 seconds left.

Babb sank all three attempts to bring PSU within 61-60. Two Moore free throws set the Boilermakers' lead at three, and Babb had a chance to tie on the next Lions possession. But his attempt missed, and Lions guard Tim Frazier dribbled the ball off his leg out of bounds after getting the rebound.

Johnson went to the line and made 1-of-2 to seal the victory.

Purdue held an 18-7 lead nearly midway through the first half, after Grant sank consecutive threes and Moore deposited a layup. The Boilermakers went into the break with a 30-22 lead.

Penn State got within 32-28 on a Battle three almost three minutes into the second half, but Purdue followed with the next eight points to restore a double-digit cushion.

Game Notes

Purdue never trailed...Johnson was 11-of-14 from the foul line, but the rest of his team went 2-for-7...Chris Kramer had four steals for Purdue...Penn State sank 9-of-22 three-point tries.

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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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