02/08/2010 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard went 12-of-14 from the free throw line in a 20-point effort, and 18th-ranked Butler used a big second half to down Loyola-Chicago, 62-47, and clinch a share of the Horizon League title.
Willie Veasley added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-4, 14-0 Horizon), who clinched at least a share of their fourth straight league title with their 13th consecutive victory. Butler will go for the outright championship against Youngstown State on Thursday.
Geoff McCammon and Walt Gibler had nine points apiece to lead the Ramblers (13-11, 4-10), who have lost six of seven. Courtney Stanley and Terrance Hill each added eight points in defeat.
Back-to-back baskets by Ronald Nored and Howard at the end of the first half had Butler down by two, 26-24, at halftime, but the Bulldogs roared in front in the second half.
A pair of Howard free throws early on tied the game at 29 and began a 7-0 run that ended with Veasley's three-pointer for a 34-29 advantage with 16 minutes left.
The lead ballooned to 43-33 after Gordon Hayward made two consecutive layups with 11 1/2 minutes to go, and Loyola-Chicago never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
The margin remained at 10, 51-41, with just under six minutes remaining, but Butler went on a 10-2 run to put the game away. Howard had six of the points, including two free throws to end the spurt with an 18-point lead and only 2 1/2 minutes to play.
The Ramblers jumped out quickly to a 13-4 lead after an Andy Polka jumper just past the seven-minute mark, but an 8-0 burst by Butler, capped by Shawn Vanzant's two free throws, had the hosts within 19-18.
The visitors pushed their advantage to 23-18 before a late charge by the Bulldogs had the margin at two points at halftime.
Game Notes
Butler went 16-of-18 from the free throw line for the game, while Loyola- Chicago went 9-of-14...The Bulldogs beat the Ramblers, 48-47, on January 21.
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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
Visit MySportsbook.com for free sportsbook odds RSS feeds go to MySportsbook.com for all your betting football needs.
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