Jayhawks and Longhorns duke it out in Austin
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/08/2010 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big 12 heavyweights collide in Austin this evening, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the ninth-ranked Texas Longhorns from the Frank Erwin Center.
Bill Self's Jayhawks sit atop the Big 12 standings with a flawless 8-0 record. The team has won 22 of its 23 games on the year and enters this tilt with an eight-game win streak in tow, including Saturday's 75-64 win over Nebraska in Lawrence. The victory extended the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to 55 games.
The Longhorns looked like the team to beat in the Big 12 just a few weeks ago, but they have hit a wall of late, losing four of their last six games, including an 80-71 setback at Oklahoma on Saturday. With the loss, Texas fell to 5-3 in league play.
These are the two winningest programs in conference play since the inception of the Big 12, with Kansas posting a league-best 180 league wins and Texas ranking second with 150. This is the 23rd all-time meeting between these two teams, with Kansas holding a 16-6 series advantage, including wins in each of the last two meetings.
The Jayhawks forced Nebraska into 19 turnovers and shot an efficient .481 from the floor, marking the team's 55th consecutive win at the Allen Fieldhouse. Marcus Morris led the way with his fourth double-double this season, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Sherron Collins added 17 points and six assists for Kansas, which remained unbeaten in league play. The Jayhawks have been able to rack up the victories thanks to stellar play at both ends of the floor. The team boasts of an impressive +21.0 scoring margin (leads the nation), averaging 83.7 ppg, while allowing just 62.7. KU has certainly been efficient shooting the ball, converting 49.3 percent from the floor, with four players currently averaging double figures. It starts with Collins, an All- American candidate with the ability to create for himself (15.6 ppg) and others (team-high 98 assists). Morris, a sophomore, and Xavier Henry, a freshman, are next at 13.0 ppg, while junior Cole Aldrich (11.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg) rounds things out with his dominant play inside.
The Longhorns are definitely capable of hanging with Kansas at the offensive end, as Texas comes into this week averaging a steady 84.1 ppg on 48-percent efficiency from the field. The key to this game may be the battle inside between KU's Aldrich and UT's standout Damion James. The Big 12's all-time leading rebounder, James is a force down low, averaging a double-double with team-highs of 17.8 points (sixth in the league) and 11.0 rebounds per game (leads the league). The 6-7 senior gets perimeter support from Avery Bradley (12.5 ppg), J'Covan Brown (9.4 ppg) and Jordan Hamilton (9.3 ppg), while big man Dexter Pittman (11.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, team-high 48 blocks) helps out in the paint. Texas was its own worst enemy in Norman this past weekend, as the team shot just .417 from the floor and a miserable 10-of-27 from the free-throw line (.370) in a nine-point loss to the Sooners. Bradley did his best to keep the Longhorns in it, finishing with 21 points. James just missed a double- double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Gary Johnson did complete the feat, coming off the bench with 11 points and 10 boards. Pittman tallied eight points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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