Hoosier State rivals square off in West Lafayette

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of in-state rivals jockeying for position in the competitive Big Ten Conference meet at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette this evening, as the 20th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers tangle with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Indiana was one of the top teams in the country through the first two months of the season, but the Hoosiers have come back to Earth since the start of conference play, logging a 5-6 mark against their Big Ten brethren. Still, at 17-6 overall, coach Tom Crean's club has enjoyed a solid season, and one that would be deemed even better if it can win tonight. IU is coming off a 68-56 loss at Michigan, which dropped its record in true road games this year to 3-5.

Purdue is a solid 15-7 on the season, and the team has won five of its first nine Big Ten bouts. The Boilermakers are 10-2 at home in 2011-12, and they will try to earn a little redemption following a 66-64 setback to visiting Michigan in their last game in front of the PU faithful. Coach Matt Painter's squad picked up a 58-56 win at Northwestern earlier this week for just its third win in the new year.

Purdue leads the all-time series with Indiana, 112-84, and the Boilermakers have won the last five meetings. It is their longest winning streak over the Hoosiers since capturing seven in a row from 1968-72.

Jordan Hulls drained four three-pointers in scoring 18 points, and Cody Zeller logged a double-double consisting of 11 points and 12 rebounds, but those efforts went for naught as Indiana dropped an eight-point decision to Michigan on Wednesday night. The Hoosiers shot 44.7 percent from the field, compared to 47.8 percent by the Wolverines, and the visitors were guilty of 14 turnovers while also suffering a 15-9 deficit in points from the foul line. UM outscored IU in the paint (24-18) and off turnovers (17-6), and the Maize and Blue had three players finish in double figures as the home team dropped nine three- pointers in the game. Zeller (15.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 32 blocked shots) continues to pace the club in scoring, rebounding and blocks, while Christian Watford (12.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Hulls (12.2 ppg, 3.3 apg) and Victor Oladipo (10.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) join him as members of Indiana's double-digit scorers' club. The team as a whole is putting up 78.5 ppg in hitting 49.9 percent of its total shots, which includes a 43.5 percent showing from three-point range, while at the same time permitting 65.9 ppg on typical shooting efforts of .426 overall and .332 from beyond the arc.

Purdue got 14 points from Terone Johnson, 12 from D.J. Byrd and 11 from Robbie Hummel, and needed every one of them as the Boilermakers slipped past Northwestern on the road earlier this week. Both teams shot 44.4 percent from the field, but the Wildcats committed 16 turnovers to just five for the Boilermakers, who won the game despite being outrebounded (37-23) and outscored at the foul line (8-4). Hummel (15.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 26 blocks) leads his team in the same categories Indiana's Zeller does his, and Lewis Jackson (10.2 ppg, 3.9 apg) is PU's only other double-digit scorer on the season. Ryne Smith (9.4 ppg) is close to joining the ranks, and he is the team's top three- point sniper (56-of-134, .418). As a collective unit, the Boilermakers are netting 70.9 ppg behind 43.7 percent field goal efficiency, which includes a 35.2 percent showing from downtown, while the opposition produces 62.8 ppg in hitting 42.5 percent of their total shots and 36.3 percent of their long-range bombs. Purdue takes very good care of the basketball, committing just 9.4 turnovers per game, compared to 14.3 tpg by its opponents.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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