Trojans attempt to slay Golden Bears in Berkeley

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an attempt to salvage something from their trip to the Bay Area, the 25th-ranked USC Trojans will take on the California Golden Bears in Pac-10 play from Haas Pavilion this evening.

The Trojans joined the top-25 this past week and in their first defense of that national ranking, got routed by Stanford on Thursday, 65-50. The loss dropped USC to 15-6 overall and 5-3 in league play, two games out of first place.

The Golden Bears have lost two games in a row, including a 62-46 setback to third-ranked UCLA on Thursday. The loss dropped the Bears to an even 4-4 in Pac-10 play and 12-8 overall.

California holds a 124-113 edge in the all-time series with USC and registered a three-game sweep of the Trojans a season ago.

USC got abused by Stanford on Thursday, as the team got 19 shots blocked by the Cardinal in a 15-point loss. Nick Young led the charge offensively for the Trojans, finishing with 13 points. He was joined in double figures by Taj Gibson and Gabe Pruitt, who added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Poor shooting was the culprit in the loss, as USC shot a miserable .284 from the floor (19-of-67), including a .235 clip from behind the arc (4-of-17). This is not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination, so when the team is struggling to find its range, bad things will happen. On the year, USC is netting just 70.8 ppg, but makes up for it by allowing a mere 60.8. Young has been the top option at the offensive end, throwing down 17.0 ppg, Lodrick Stewart is next with 13.4 ppg, while the freshman Gibson has proved to be one of the Pac-10's most exciting youngsters, averaging a near double-double with 12.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing.

California has its own freshman phenom in the form of 6-10 Ryan Anderson. The talented forward/center leads the Golden Bears in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg) and is converting nearly 50 percent of his shots on the year (.496). Ayinde Ubaka is a viable second option offensively at 14.0 ppg, but injuries have cost the team valuable scoring depth beyond that. To make matters worse, the team is without the services of Eric Vierneisel, who has stepped up of late with a key injury to DeVon Hardin (10.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg). Vierneisel injured his ankle in practice on Wednesday and won't return until next week. In the loss to UCLA, Cal shot just .367 from the floor and lost the battle on the boards, 36-25. Theo Robertson led the team on the scoreboard with 16 points. Anderson was on the only one to join him in double figures, finishing with 13 points, on 6-of-13 shooting.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

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