Kuric lifts Louisville over West Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Kuric hit the tying three-pointer as part of a late Louisville run, then made a critical steal in the closing seconds to help the 24th-ranked Cardinals notch their sixth straight win with a 77-74 triumph over West Virginia.

Kuric finished with 17 points and Russ Smith added 16 for Louisville (20-5, 8-4 Big East), which hasn't lost since a January 16 setback at Marquette and will try to continue its streak on Monday with a visit from Syracuse.

Kevin Jones scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for West Virginia (16-10, 6-7), which has lost two straight and five of its last six. The Mountaineers have also dropped three in a row at home.

Louisville trailed 71-64 with just under six minutes left, but scored the next 11 points. Kuric's three-pointer with 2 1/2 minutes remaining tied it for the Cardinals and Truck Bryant turned it over soon after, leading to a Smith layup for a 73-71 Louisville lead.

Chris Smith added two free throws for a four-point edge before Jones converted a three-point play with 50 seconds remaining to pull West Virginia within one.

The Cardinals worked the shot clock down on their next possession and Kuric's three-point try came up short with 14 seconds left. Gary Browne then tried to thread a pass inside, but Kuric stepped in front of the pass and was fouled.

He sank both from the stripe for a three-point advantage with 5.5 seconds to play and Bryant's tying attempt from the left wing failed to even draw iron.

Bryant finished with 13 points in defeat, while Deniz Kilicli chipped in 17 before fouling out late in the contest.

The Cardinals received 13-point efforts from Chris Smith and Wayne Blackshear, while Peyton Siva contributed 10 with five assists. Louisville made 10-of-22 from three-point range, led by Kuric's 4-for-8 performance. Chris Smith and Blackshear each hit three from beyond the arc.

Kuric hit a pair of early three-pointers to help Louisville to an 11-6 lead, but West Virginia came right back and grabbed a 16-14 edge on a triple by Bryant. Chris Smith answered with a shot from long range for the Cardinals, but West Virginia later stormed ahead with a 12-0 run.

Jones had a dunk and a three-pointer during the surge for the Mountaineers before a free throw from Kilicli gave West Virginia a 30-20 edge with eight minutes remaining in the half. The lead reached 13 on a three by Aaron Brown, but Louisville trimmed the margin to five before a layup by Dominique Rutledge sent West Virginia to the break with a 44-37 advantage.

The Mountaineers' lead hovered between eight and 10 points for most of the second half and it was a seven-point bulge with just under six minutes left after a layup by Rutledge.

Game Notes

Jones notched his 18th double-double of the season...Louisville improved to 9-4 all-time against West Virginia, including 3-3 in Morgantown...West Virginia's last five games have all been decided by six points or less.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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