ACC represents top of women's poll as Oklahoma falls

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/25/2006 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maryland, North Carolina, and now Duke, hold the top three spots in the latest Associated Press women's college basketball poll as Oklahoma tumbled out of the third spot and all the way down to eight.

With the three top spots all represented by Atlantic Coast Conference members, it marks just the third time a conference has ever held down the top three rankings.

The Southeastern Conference is the only other conference to ever have teams in the top three spots at the same time, accomplishing the feat twice.

Maryland (13-0) and its 1,246 points from a nationwide media panel remained No. 1 for the seventh straight week, while North Carolina (13-0) stayed in second with 1,198 points.

Duke (12-0), meanwhile, jumped up one spot to three with 1,145 points. The Blue Devils replaced Oklahoma (9-1), which fell five spots in the poll thanks to a 74-67 loss to Ohio State.

Maryland received 47 first-place votes, North Carolina got one and Duke had two.

Tennessee (11-1), Connecticut (9-0), LSU (12-1) and Ohio State (10-1) all moved up one spot this week to round out the top seven. Trailing Oklahoma in the poll is Baylor and Arizona State, respectively.

No new teams penetrated the latest poll, with Georgia, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Stanford and Louisville controlling spots 11 through 15.

Texas A&M, George Washington, California, DePaul and Marquette rounded out the top 20 spots, while Michigan State, New Mexico, Arkansas, Pittsburgh and Bowling Green finished up the poll.

Nikkanspots NCAA Basketball Betting News

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.