Ragland, Wichita State coast past No. 17 Creighton
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Ragland had 24 points and six assists, as Wichita State downed No. 17 Creighton, 89-68, on Saturday.
Ben Smith added 22 points while Toure' Murry and Demetric Williams had 11 apiece for the Shockers (22-4, 13-2 MVC), who have won four straight and 12 of their last 13.
The Bluejays (21-5, 11-4) could have tied Wichita State atop the MVC standings with a win, but instead lost their third straight game. They were paced by Gregory Echenique's 16 points. Leading scorer Doug McDermott had 13 on 5-of-14 shooting while Antoine Young and Ethan Wragge scored 11 apiece.
The Shockers took control of the game late in the first half, using an 8-0 run to grab a 33-23 advantage. Murry had four points during the surge before Creighton responded with five straight to make it 33-28. But Wichita State continued to pull away.
A Smith three-point play stretched the lead back to 10, 42-32, with two minutes left in the half and it was 49-36 at the break courtesy of Smith's trey seconds before the buzzer.
Despite the sizeable margin, recent history cautioned that the Bluejays were capable of making it a game.
Since 2003, Creighton has overcome a double-digit deficit to down Wichita State six times, including an 11-point comeback win on New Year's Eve of this season.
But the Shockers didn't falter. They dominated the second half, stretching the lead to 19, 70-51, on another bucket from Smith. The Bluejays answered with a McDermott layup and two free throws from Echenique but Wichita State had it back to 19 minutes later and the margin reached 20 on a pair of Williams' foul shots with 4:10 to play.
Game Notes
The Shockers shot 58.2 percent from the field and hit 8-of-16 three- pointers...Wichita State improved to 8-1 on the road this season...Creighton leads the all-time series, 53-44...McDermott entered Saturday ranked first in the MVC and third in the nation in scoring at 23.3 points per game.
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Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adreian Payne scored a team-high 15 points as
No. 11 Michigan State handed third-ranked Ohio State its first home loss in
almost two years with a 58-48 decision at Value City Arena.
Keith Appling added 14
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Waco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brittney Griner dropped in a game-high 21 points
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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.
Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.
MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .
''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''
Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.
He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.
''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''
Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.
Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.
With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.
Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
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