2009 Southland Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are 12 teams in the Southland Conference, but only the top eight have been invited to participate in the 29th annual league tournament. The winner of this three-day event will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, so expect the competition to be fierce.

Stephen F. Austin won its final five regular season games to capture the top seed. The Lumberjacks have never won this tournament, so the fans of the team are obviously excited about the chance of seeing history made. Nicholls State, the second seed, is riding a four-game winning streak, and third-seeded Sam Houston State finished first in the conference's West Division. Fourth-seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi won this event for the first and only time two years ago, and the club closed out the regular season with back-to-back wins.

As for Texas-Arlington, which won the tourney title last season, it has earned the fifth seed and will need to score a few upsets to repeat as champion. Sixth-seeded Texas-San Antonio, seventh-seeded Texas State and eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana round out the bracket. Lamar, which has more Southland Tournament titles (3) than any other active league member, finished 6-10 in league play and didn't make the tourney field.

The first of four quarterfinal matchups pits the second-seeded Nicholls State Colonels against the seventh-seeded Texas State Bobcats. While Texas State may be considered the underdog in this matchup when looking at the seeding, the Bobcats beat the Colonels in overtime in the only matchup between the teams during the regular season. Nicholls State plays stingy defense, as it is limiting opponents to 59.8 ppg while also shooting a league-leading 47.7 percent from the floor. The Colonels, who are last in the conference in blocked shots and last in defense rebounds, are led by Ryan Bathie, who is scoring 15.6 ppg to pace sixth in the conference. As for Texas State, it leads the Southland in scoring with 81.7 ppg while placing next to last in scoring defense (77.2 ppg). The Bobcats are shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range, the best mark in the conference. Brandon Bush is fifth in the league n scoring with 15.8 ppg while placing eighth in rebounding (7.1 rpg). He gets plenty of help from Brent Benson (15.4 ppg).

Third-seeded Sam Houston State will attempt to avoid an upset against sixth- seeded Texas-San Antonio on Thursday. Sam Houston State beat Texas-San Antonio in both meetings during the regular season, once in double-overtime and once in a blowout. The Bearkats racked up 89 points in both of those wins, and they are scoring 76.0 ppg this season while allowing 68.8 ppg. They lead the league in both assists and assist/turnover ratio. Corey Allmond paces Sam Houston State with 15.4 ppg, while Ashton Mitchell leads both the team and league in assists (6.8 apg). The Roadrunners of Texas-San Antonio are getting 12.9 ppg from Travis Gabbidon and 12.6 ppg from Omar Johnson. Devin Gibson provides 11.7 ppg for the Roadrunners, who lead the league in turnover margin and steals. Unfortunately, they are last in the league in field goal percentage defense.

In what appears to be a mismatch, the top-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks will tangle with the eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana Lions in the quarterfinal round. Stephen F. Austin won both matchups with Southeastern Louisiana during the regular season. The Lumberjacks are scoring a modest 66.3 ppg this season, placing them ninth out of 12 Southland teams in regard to output. Fortunately, they are tops defensively, limiting foes to 55.8 ppg on 37.2 percent shooting from the floor. Matt Kingsley leads Stephen F. Austin with 15.9 ppg, good for a third place tie in the league stats, and he is fifth in rebounding (7.5 rpg) while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor. Southeastern Louisiana's leading scorer, Patrick Sullivan, ranks 20th in the conference with his 12.1 ppg. He is seventh in rebounding with 7.1 rpg, but he will need plenty of help from a mediocre supporting cast to have a chance to score an upset in the quarterfinals. The Lions are in the top half of the league standings in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and they do carry a four-game winning streak into this event.

Rounding out the quarterfinal matchups is a clash between the fourth-seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders against the fifth-seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks. These two teams met in the regular season finale, a game won by Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 79-66. The Islanders also won the first meeting between the squads in early February, so the Mavericks will be attempting to avoid a three-game sweep. Kevin Palmer of Texas A&M Corpus Christi leads the league in scoring with 17.8 ppg, placing just slightly ahead of Texas- Arlington's Anthony Vereen (17.7 ppg). The third-leading scorer in the conference is Marquez Haynes (15.9 ppg), who also happens to play for the Mavericks. Arlington leads the league in free throw percentage, while Corpus Christi is tops in rebounding margin.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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