Shockers can claim MVC title with win over Redbirds

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Wichita State Shockers set their sights on the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, as they head to Redbird Arena to take on Illinois State in conference bout.

This will be the second encounter this season and 69th in history between Wichita State and the Redbirds. Illinois State holds a 36-32 lead in the rivalry, but the Shockers have won five straight in the series. Wichita State won the first meeting between these programs this season, 65-62 at Charles Koch Arena on Jan. 10th, as it shot 41.5 percent from the floor and held Illinois State to 39.6 percent shooting.

WSU is a win away from outright ownership of the MVC title. Head coach Gregg Marshall had done a terrific job leading the program to its first ranking since 2006-2007. The Shockers won for the 14th time in 15 tries on Saturday as they topped Davidson, 91-74 in non-conference action behind 63.6 percent shooting from the floor. Wichita State has only lost once in a true road game this season. The Shockers could not be playing any better coming into today, as they have outscored their last four opponents by an average of 19.5 ppg.

The Shockers are led by the trio of Garrett Stutz, Joe Ragland, and Toure Murry. Stutz is carrying team-high averages of 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Ragland contributes 13.7 points and 3.3 assists per game, while Murry adds 12.1 points and 3.3 assists per contest. Ragland had an incredible outing against Davidson in Saturday's BracketBusters, as he finished with 30 points and seven rebounds. Murry added 16 points and Stutz made an impact on the defensive end with three blocked shots to help the Shockers past the Wildcats.

Illinois State snapped a two-game losing streak its last time out with a 79-75 victory over Oakland on Saturday. Tim Jankovich's team is now 17-11 overall and 8-8 in league action with the win. The Redbirds have not had very much success versus ranked foes, as they are currently riding a 23-game losing streak against top 25 teams. The last ISU win over a ranked opponent came in Dec. 29th, 1987 versus Iowa. The Redbirds came up just short on the road in their first matchup with WSU, and they have outscored their opponents by an average of 4.8 ppg.

Jackie Carmichael is the go-to-guy for the Redbirds, as he is averaging team- bests of 13.8 points and 9.3 boards per game. Tyler Brown is adding 13.1 ppg while Jon Ekey and Nic Moore both get into the mix on the offensive end as well. Carmichael was phenomenal in ISU's win over Oakland on Saturday, as he led the way with 25 points and 19 rebounds. Ekey chipped in 19 points and John Wilkins had 12 in the winning effort.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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