Big Ten announces realignment

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Park Ridge, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big Ten unveiled its plan for divisional realignment Wednesday and the controversial split of longtime rivals Michigan and Ohio State is in place.

There will be two divisions of six teams each starting with the 2011 season, with the winners meeting in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, scheduled for December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. As in the past, the Big Ten champion will either participate in the Rose Bowl or BCS National Championship Game should that be the case.

The divisional splits for football is as follows:

Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern and Minnesota will make up one division while the other will house Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany made the announcement live on the Big Ten Network and cited competitive equality, geography and preserving rivalries in making the decision process.

With regard to the altering of annual rivalry games, which have caused a firestorm in some football circles, Delany laid out that there will be three games against schools from the opposite division in a given year and one protected "crossover" game to be played on an annual basis in addition to games within teams' own divisions.

The protected games include annual matchups between Ohio State-Michigan, Penn State-Nebraska, Illinois-Northwestern, Purdue-Iowa, Wisconsin-Minnesota and Indiana-Michigan State.

"We focused on competitive equality, traditional rivalries and geography. We considered multiple models and countless permutations in an effort to achieve the most competitively balanced divisions while at the same time respecting our traditions, preserving existing rivalries, and creating opportunities for the establishment and growth of new rivalries. We have listened to the feedback from our institutions, alumni and fans, and while we understand that no final alignments could possibly satisfy all of our constituents, we believe that we have achieved a very exciting result," Delany said.

Delany added that the conference hopes to unveil names for the divisions some time in the next 10 months. The Big Ten also announced updated conference schedules for the 2011 and 2012 football seasons as a result of the realignment.

While the changes are expected to be fully implemented for football, it remains unclear whether the divisions will be used for basketball or rather a single 12-team division.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.

Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.