Benzema's brace helps Real cruise past Racing

Soccer Betting Lines

02/18/2012 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karim Benzema netted a goal in each half as Real Madrid coasted to a 4-0 win over Racing at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.

The result stretches Madrid's lead to 13 points over second-place Barcelona, which hosts Valencia on Sunday, while Racing remains in the bottom three, two points from safety.

Cristiano Ronaldo got the hosts off to a quick start as he had the ball in the net after just six minutes when he nodded home a headed pass from Kaka a few yards from goal.

Racing was then reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute when Domingo Cisma picked up a second yellow card after he handled the ball just outside the penalty area.

Benzema scored on the stroke of halftime to double the lead after he was played into the area on the left and threw a shot at the net from a tight angle that found its way past goalkeeper Tono.

Angel Di Maria's goal in the 73rd minute made it 3-0 as he scored with a well- struck shot from outside the area, while Benzema tallied his 13th goal of the campaign in the 89th on a deflected shot that gave Tono no chance.

Getafe 1, Espanyol 1

Getafe, Spain - Getafe and Espanyol shared the points at the Alfonso Perez Coliseum on Saturday as each side netted a second-half goal in the 1-1 draw.

Getafe had the better of the play in the first half but fell behind in the 66th minute when Alvaro Vasquez beat the offside trap and fired his shot past goalkeeper Miguel Moya.

But the home side was back on level terms four minutes later when Miku was brought down inside the penalty area by Thievy Bifouma, allowing the Venezuelan to pick himself up and beat goalkeeper Francisco Casilla from the spot.

Espanyol remains in fourth with the result but can be passed by a handful of teams in Sunday's matches, while Getafe stays in the middle of the table.

Sevilla 2, Osasuna 0

Seville, Spain - Sevilla snapped an eight-game winless run on Saturday by handing Osasuna a 2-0 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Gary Medel fired Sevilla in front with a shot from outside the penalty area following a pass from Alvaro Negredo in the 16th minute.

But despite having the better of the play the home side wasn't able to kill off the match until stoppage time with Jesus Navas finding Piotr Trochowski in the center of the penalty area and the striker placing the ball into the upper corner of the net.

Sevilla climbs into the top half of the league after the win, with Osasuna having won once in seven games to stay in eighth.

Jazzspots Soccer Betting News

<< Debuchy returns Lille to the win column
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lille brought an end to its poor run of results on Saturday as Mathieu Debuchy's goal in the 76th minute gave the club a 1-0 win at Lorient. A 5-4 defeat to Bordeaux last time out left Lille with just

<< Feyenoord denied by late Braber goal
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Feyenoord was denied three points on Saturday in the 87th minute when RKC Waalwijk's Robert Braber scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at De Kuip Stadion. Feyenoord was in position to claim a f

<< Juve turns back Catania to go top
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus returned to the Serie A summit on Saturday after securing a 3-1 win over Catania at home. Juve had played to a pair of 0-0 draws in its last two matches and fell behind inside of four minutes as

<< Almagro to face Volandri for Brazil title
Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro and Italian veteran Filippo Volandri were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at the $475,300 Brasil Open. The Spanish Almagro beat

<< Federer survives Davydenko, will face del Potro in Rotterdam final
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer needed three sets and two hours, 15 minutes, but the Swiss world No. 3 took down Russian Nikolay Davydenko to advance to the final at the ABN AMRO World tournament. Top-seeded Fed

No. 1 Kentucky takes down Ole Miss >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kentucky's offensive depth was too much for upset-minded Ole Miss. Terrence Jones posted a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, as the No. 1 Wildcats came away with a 77-62 win over the Rebels on Sat

Mickelson, Bradley share lead at Riviera >>
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Mickelson struggled a bit on the back nine Saturday, but did enough to share the third-round lead with reigning PGA Champion Keegan Bradley at the Northern Trust Open. Mickelson's primary problem

Air Force upends No. 13 San Diego State >>
Colorado Springs, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Lyons poured in a game-high 27 points to go with four steals as Air Force knocked off 13th-ranked San Diego State, 58-56, on Saturday. Max Yon finished with 10 points, while Mike Fitzgeral

Streaking Spurs top Clippers in OT >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Neal sank five three-pointers, including the game-tying shot with 5.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the go-ahead trey late in overtime, to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their 10th st

Nets top Bulls, stop skid >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Jersey was going to snap its eight-game losing streak sometime. Why not against the team with the best record in the NBA? Deron Williams scored 29 points and dished out eight assists as the New Jersey

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.