SBC Daily News – Daily Sports Betting News

[Freddy Wills]

News: Kentucky, Syracuse, UNC, Michigan State Lock Up Top Seeds

The NCAA national title tournament bracket was released on Monday, and there was at least one major change among the teams projected to be the No. 1 seeds. The Kansas Jayhawks were forced to settle for a No. 2 seed after being dumped by the Baylor Bears early in the Big 12 tournament, and the spot that they were expected to hold down was filled in by the Big Ten champion Michigan State Spartans, which took down the Ohio State Buckeyes in the conference tournament final on Sunday night. Michigan State will open up as the No. 1 seed in the West bracket, with the Syracuse Orange No. 1 in the East, the North Carolina Tar Heels at No. 1 in the Midwest, and the overall No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats holding down the top seed in the South region. The March Madness begins on Tuesday with the play-in rounds for the South and West regions, before the actual 64-team bracket begins on Thursday.

NBA News: Lakers Continue To Roll After Closed Door Meeting

The Los Angeles Lakers held a closed door meeting on Thursday to discuss the team’s struggles this season, particularly on the offensive side of the floor, where the team has had trouble transitioning in to new head coach Mike Brown’s offense. Whatever was said at those meetings has helped spark the club as they have responded with some terrific play, including 105 and 97-point outputs in wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics. Sunday’s game came down to Kobe Bryant trusting Andrew Bynum in the post against Kevin Garnett, and after he hit the game-clinching hook shot the two held a lengthy embrace after the final whistle in what could be one of the turning points in the team’s season. In other NBA news, Linsanity is not officially dead yet but it is getting close after the New York Knicks lost their fifth in a row at the hands of the Philadelphia Sixers on Sunday, while Dwight Howard put up 30 points and 13 rebounds in the Orlando Magic’s win over the Indiana Pacers, with Thursday’s trade deadline not far away.

Betting News: Malkin Moves In To Scoring Lead As Pens Win Ninth Straight

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their ninth-straight game on Wednesday, beating the Boston Bruins 5-2 with Evgeni Malkin registering three assists to move in to the NHL points scoring lead with 84. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals won their third-straight game on Sunday, blanking the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0, while the Florida Panthers shutout the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 to maintain their Southeast division lead.

Golf News: Tiger Leaves WGC With Leg Injury

Just when it seemed that Tiger Woods was set to win a PGA tournament, the former World No. 1 was forced to withdraw from the World Golf Championships with some discomfort in his Achilles. The injury will be evaluated this week, but it is clear that Tiger was frustrated after one of the best performances of his career in the final round of the Honda Classic. Justin Rose won the WGC with a final 16-under, with Bubba Watson finishing one stroke back, and new world No. 1 Rory McIlroy finishing two strokes back.