Cyclones shock Kansas State in Big 12 finale

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/06/2010 - Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Christopherson scored 18 points and made two key foul shots with 3.2 seconds left in overtime, as the Iowa State Cyclones upended fifth-ranked Kansas State, 85-82, in the regular-season finale for both clubs.

Craig Brackins fouled out late in the second half but still managed to pour in 19 points and pull down 12 rebounds for the Cyclones (15-16, 4-12 Big 12), who had lost their previous eight games against Kansas State.

Marquis Gilstrap added 13 points and 13 boards. LaRon Dendy and Justin Hamilton each chipped in 10 points for Iowa State, which will be the No. 11 seed in next week's Big 12 tourney.

Jacob Pullen's 27-point performance wasn't enough for the Wildcats (24-6, 11-5), who dropped their final two games heading into the conference tourney as the No. 2 seed coming off Wednesday's lopsided loss to Kansas.

Curtis Kelly donated 19 points for Kansas State, which lost to Iowa State in Manhattan for the first time since February 21, 2001.

This was the last home game for seniors Denis Clemente, Luis Colon, and Chris Merriewether. Clemente finished with 17 points.

Ahead 78-77 late in overtime, Diante Garrett made a layup to put the Cyclones in front by three with 54.8 seconds remaining. The Wildcats cut the margin back to one on Dominique Sutton's slam on the next possession.

Garrett made 1-of-2 shots from the foul line to make it 81-79 with 35.9 ticks to go. After Pullen missed a layup, Gilstrap also went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend Iowa State's lead to three with 26 seconds left.

Clemente was off the mark on a three but Sutton grabbed the offensive rebound. However, Sutton lost control of the ball as he went up for the putback and turned it over.

Gilstrap made 1-of-2 from the line to make it an 83-79 game with 9.7 ticks left on the clock. However, things got interesting when Pullen was fouled on a three-point shot at the opposite end and made all three with 3.2 ticks left.

Christopherson then made a pair of big foul shots to put Iowa State ahead 85-82. Pullen's shot from near midcourt was well off the mark as time expired.

Garrett made 1-of-2 from the foul line to give Iowa State a 74-71 edge with two minutes left in regulation. But Clemente came up big for Kansas State at the other end, draining a three-pointer to tie the contest.

After each team missed on their ensuing possessions, Gilstrap had his layup blocked by Kelly with about 30 seconds to go. After the Wildcats took a timeout, Pullen let the clock go down before missing a long trey.

The Cyclones pulled down the rebound and were left with 0.8 seconds. But Kansas State stole the inbounds pass following a timeout to send the tilt into overtime.

Iowa State held a 42-33 margin following 20 minutes of action.

Pullen scored the first four points of the second half to pull the Wildcats within five, 42-37. Moments later, Pullen made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 46-43 a little more than three minutes in.

The Cyclones responded with a 10-4 burst to build a nine-point lead, 56-47, with 12:14 remaining.

The Wildcats were down by seven, 65-58, a few minutes later before ripping off six straight points to get within one on Jamar Samuels' free throw with less than 6 1/2 minutes to play.

Game Notes

The Cyclones had lost 21 straight games to ranked teams...Kansas State leads the all-time series versus Iowa State 132-77...The last Cyclone win versus KSU was on January 7, 2006.

Sportsbook-online-sportsbook NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Winthrop wins Big South
Conway, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mantoris Robinson finished with 14 points, as Winthrop defeated Coastal Carolina, 64-53, in the Big South Tournament final to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Matt Morgan finished w

<< Summit League Tournament Recaps
Sioux Falls, SD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Larry Wright scored 16 points, and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies advanced to the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament with an 85-70 win over UMKC. Keith Benson and Derick Nelson each sco

<< Vokun stops 31 in win over Carolina
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun's 31 saves set the tone for Florida's 4-1 victory to snap the Carolina Hurricanes' seven-game win streak at Bank Atlantic Center. Kamil Kreps scored twice, including an empty-net goal,

<< Theodore, Caps blank Rangers
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Theodore stopped all 30 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, as Washington posted a defensive-oriented 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers at Verizon Center. Eric Fehr and Eric Belang

<< ETSU wins Atlantic Sun for second straight year
Macon, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Tubbs led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers secured their second consecutive Atlantic Sun tournament championship with a 72-66 victory over Mercer.

Bobcats knock off road-weary Warriors >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.J. Augustin scored 19 points off the bench, as the Charlotte Bobcats took down the Golden State Warriors, 101-90, at Time Warner Cable Arena. Gerald Wallace added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcat

Kessel nets SO winner as Leafs nip Sens >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Kessel got the game-winner in the shootout to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. After Jonas Gustavsson stoned Alex Kovalev on the first shot, Kes

No. 12 Butler reaches Horizon final >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Howard had 18 points to lead five players in double figures, as 12th-ranked Butler downed Milwaukee, 68-59, in a chippy Horizon League semifinal tilt at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Ronald Nored collected 1

Murray State captures OVC title with win over Morehead State >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Isaiah Canaan scored 16 points to lead a balanced Murray State attack, and the Racers clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament with a 62-51 win over Morehead State in the championship game of the Ohi

Stamkos nets 40th as Bolts jolt Thrashers >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Stamkos scored a pair of goals including his 40th of the season, and extended his franchise-record point streak to 16 games, as Tampa Bay downed Atlanta, 6-2, at St. Pete Times Forum. Martin St. Louis

FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.