Spiders and Gaels meet in South Region's first round

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First-round action in the South Region will take place this afternoon at the Dunkin' Donuts Center when the seventh-seeded Richmond Spiders take on the 10th-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels.

The Gaels are participating in their sixth NCAA Tournament this afternoon. Saint Mary's won its first-ever tournament game back in 1959 against Idaho, but after that it has been all downhill, as the team has dropped its last five contests in the Big Dance. This season the Gaels rolled through their competition, posting a 26-5 ledger, while also claiming the West Coast Conference Tournament title against Gonzaga.

The Spiders fell just short of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title with a 56-52 loss to Temple in the championship game. Despite, the loss Richmond finished the season with an impressive 26-8 ledger, and the 26 victories tied a school record. That earned Richmond a spot in its eighth NCAA Tournament invitation and the team's first appearance in the Big Dance since 2004. Richmond is the only school to have posted victories in this tournament as the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th-seed.

This will be just the second meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The first matchup took place back in 1985 and the game was claimed by Richmond, as the Spiders defeated Saint Mary's, 75-63.

The winner in this matchup will move into the second round and will face either Robert Morris or Villanova.

The Gaels enter this tournament with four players averaging double figures, beginning with the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Omar Samhan. Samhan finished with 94 blocks this year, but the center was even better offensively, averaging an impressive double-double of 20.9 ppg and 11.0 rpg. Ben Allen has been a solid contributor in the post as well, and comes into this game with 10.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg. In the backcourt the Gaels will rely on the duo of Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova. McConnell is leading the team with 165 assists, but he is also a dangerous scorer, netting 13.7 ppg behind a staggering 51.5 percent clip from behind the arc. As for Dellavedova, he is contributing 12.5 ppg, but has also been able to find the open player, doling out 141 assists on the season. Overall the Gaels come into this matchup producing 79.5 ppg. Saint Mary's is connecting on 48.7 percent of its attempts from the floor, but even more impressive is the team's 41.2 percent showing from behind the arc.

The success for Richmond can be attributed to the team's tenacious efforts at the defensive end of the court, as the Spiders are limiting the opposition to just 62.2 ppg on a 39.2 percent shooting effort. Opponents have also struggled from behind the arc against the Spiders, connecting on just 29.7 percent of their attempts from long range. A big part of Richmond's game is its ability to force turnovers, as opponents are committing on average, 15.1 turnovers per contest. At the other end of the floor the team has been led by the guard duo of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. Anderson, who was tabbed the A-10 Player of the Year, comes into this tournament averaging 17.8 ppg, to go along with a team-best 89 assists. As for Gonzalvez, he is contributing 14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 79 assists, to go along with a team-best 64 steals.Taking care of business in the paint has been Justin Harper, who is posting 10.6 ppg, to go along with a team-high 5.5 rpg. As a whole however, the Spiders come into today's matchup averaging a modest 69.3 ppg.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

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Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

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The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

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