James jump starts Cavs to rout of Raptors

Basketball Betting Lines

03/04/2007 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 36 points on 10-of-20 shooting, as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened a brief two-game homestand with a 120-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Larry Hughes scored 27 points for Cleveland, which has won two of its last three games. Anderson Varejao notched 14 points and 11 boards, and Shannon Brown also netted 14. Donyell Marshall added 12 points and nine boards for Cleveland, which will also host Houston on Monday and owns a 22-8 record at Quicken Loans Arena this season.

Chris Bosh scored 25 points for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, who have dropped three of their last four games. Juan Dixon scored 24 points in the loss for Toronto, which is 12-19 on the road this season.

Trailing by two four minutes into the game, Cleveland went on a 14-4 run, capped by a pair of Hughes buckets, and led 30-23 heading into the second quarter.

The Cavs added three to their lead in the second, down the stretch in which James exploded for 17 straight Cleveland points, and Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer ended the period. James' single-handed dominance and the trey by Brown put the Cavs ahead by double digits, 62-52, at halftime.

Cleveland kept with its theme of closing strong, finishing the third quarter on a 12-2 spurt, snapped by a pair of Bosh free throws with five ticks left for a 93-74 lead heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Cleveland guard Daniel Gibson will miss two weeks with a sprained left big toe, and Toronto's Anthony Parker sat out with a strained left hip flexor and Andrea Bargnani (personal) remained sidelined...Saturday's showdown between Toronto and Cleveland was the fourth and final meeting of the regular season. The Cavs ended 3-1 in the 2006-07 series, and have won seven of eight and nine of the last 11 matchups...Toronto has lost five straight after winning its last two at Cleveland.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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