Rice officially introduced as Rutgers new hoops coach

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

05/06/2010 - Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rutgers officially introduced Mike Rice as its new men's head basketball coach at a news conference on Thursday.

"I'm so excited and appreciative of the opportunity and challenge that lie ahead of us here at Rutgers University," said Rice. "The University has so much to offer. I have seen firsthand the incredible passion that the Garden State and the metropolitan area has for basketball. Our team will have an identity that matches that passion and intensity each and every day. We will build a program that everyone in the Rutgers family can be proud of."

Rice, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, agreed to a five-year contract that will run through the 2014-15 season with a guaranteed average yearly salary of $650,000 per season.

Rice led Robert Morris to a Northeast Conference title and a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009. The Colonials nearly upset Villanova in the first round. He tallied a record of 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris.

Fred Hill, the former Rutgers head coach, resigned in April stemming from an incident where he yelled obscenities at Pittsburgh coaches during a home baseball game. The school later reached a financial settlement with the former coach.

Hill finished 47-77 in his six seasons with the Scarlet Knights and a dismal 13-57 mark in Big East Conference play.

Roolingstone NCAA Basketball Betting News

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.