ACC matchup pits top-25 foes in Chapel Hill

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a deflating last second loss to rival Duke, the fifth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels seek a quick turnaround, as the welcome the 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers to Chapel Hill this afternoon for a key ACC clash at the Smith Center.

It will be interesting to see if there are any lingering effects from Wednesday's 85-84 loss to arch rival Duke. The loss halted a five-game win streak for North Carolina and ended a 31-game homecourt winning streak as well. It dropped Roy William's squad to 7-2 in conference play, now tied with Duke and Florida State atop the standings.

Tony Bennett's Cavaliers are one of the surprise teams in the ACC this year. The team is just a game out of first place at 6-3, thanks to wins in four of its last five games, including a lopsided 68-44 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday.

UNC holds a sizeable 125-49 advantage in the all-time series with Virginia, including wins in six of the last seven meetings overall. The Tar Heels are 63-6 in the series in Chapel Hill, including a 21-3 mark at the Smith Center.

The Cavaliers will need to slow down the explosive Tar Heels, something they have done effectively in most games this season. Virginia ranks second nationally in scoring defense (51.1 ppg), holding opponents to a mere .391 shooting. Mike Scott is one of the conference's top frontcourt performers, shooting an impressive .603 from the field overall, while pacing the Cavaliers in both scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). Guards Joe Harris (12.7 ppg) and Sammy Zeglinski (8.5 ppg) provide perimeter balance. The pair have combined for 81 of the team's 117 three-pointers to date.

The Cavs were once again at their defensive best in the 24-point win over the Demon Deacons, holding Wake to a mere .341 shooting, while forcing 17 turnovers. The team got a balanced scoring effort with five double-digit scorers. Scott led the way with 19 points. Harris added 11, while Jontel Evans, Akil Mitchell and Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 10 points each.

Duke's star freshman Austin Rivers stuck a dagger in the hearts of the Chapel Hill faithful, as his three-pointer gave the Blue Devils the win at the Smith Center on Wednesday. The loss certainly spoiled terrific performances by Harrison Barnes and Tyler Zeller, who combined for 48 points. Barnes finished with 25 point, while Zeller posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. John Henson also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Kendall Marshall almost made it a trifecta, registering 14 points and eight assists.

That formula has worked to UNC's advantage for the most part this season, as the Tar Heels are fueled by a dominant frontcourt. Barnes has the ability to score both inside and out, averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg. Zeller (15.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and Henson (14.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg) are a lethal duo in the paint. Marshall isn't much of a scorer (6.8 ppg) but is charged with running the nation's top scoring team (84.1 ppg), which he does to near perfection with almost 10 assists per game.

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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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