Sooners attempt to continue mastery of Aggies

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sitting in a logjam atop the Big 12 standings, the sixth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies return home to the friendly confines of Reed Arena, as they play host to the Oklahoma Sooners in conference action this afternoon.

The Aggies had an extended nine-game win streak halted on Wednesday, as they dropped a two-point decision at Texas Tech (70-68). The loss was the first in-conference for A&M, which is tied with three other teams for first place in the Big 12 at 4-1.

Sitting right in the middle of the league standings is Oklahoma, which fell to 3-3 in Big 12 play with Monday's 66-61 loss at rival Oklahoma State. The Sooners have now dropped four of their last seven games and will need to get hot down the stretch to get consideration for the postseason.

Oklahoma has owned this series, winning 25 of the previous 26 meetings, including a 10-1 mark in College Station.

The Sooners certainly had their opportunities in Stillwater earlier in the week, but could not get over the hump against the Cowboys. Senior forward Nate Carter continued his torrid pace since the beginning of Big 12 play, erupting for a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Michael Neal was the only other Sooner to join Carter in double figures, posting 13 points in the five-point setback. Carter is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.1 ppg, but has more than doubled that average in league affairs (18.3 ppg). Longar Longar currently leads the team in both scoring (11.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg). Neal is a close second at 10.7 ppg, while both Tony Crocker (9.9 ppg) and Carter are closing in on double digits. The team as a whole is netting 69.6 ppg and has done a much better job defensively, limiting the opposition to a mere 57.4 ppg, while holding them under 40 percent shooting (.380).

The Aggies know a thing or two about defensive intensity as well. The team is yielding a meager 54.2 ppg, holding foes to just .352 shooting, including .272 from behind the arc. Offensively, the team has gotten the job done as well, shooting .512 from the floor, resulting in a healthy 76.2 ppg. Acie Law leads four players with double-digit averages, netting 16.5 ppg, while doubling as the team's primary distributor (91). Joseph Jones (13.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Antanas Kavaliauskas (11.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) complement with their inside games, while Josh Carter (11.7 ppg) is the team's top long range threat (.490 from three-point range, 47-of-96). It was a nip-and-tuck game all the way in Lubbock this week, but in the end, Texas A&M's nine-game win streak came to a close. Law did what he could to earn the victory, erupting for 26 points, on 9-of-15 shots from the floor. Dominique Kirk posted 12 points and Jones chipped in with 11, but Carter was held scoreless in the game in 30 minutes of action. Despite shooting .532 from the floor, A&M was outscored 22-13 at the free-throw line and committed 15 costly turnovers in the narrow defeat.

Boxig NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Top-25 battle pits Tar Heels against Wildcats
Tucson, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rare non-conference treat late in the season takes place in the desert this afternoon, as the fourth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels come calling on the 17th-ranked Arizona Wildcats in Tucson.

<< Buckeyes and Spartans meet in key Big Ten bout
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to keep within striking distance of the red-hot Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten, the fifth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes play host to the Michigan State Spartans in league play from Value City Ar

<< Cowboys hope to lasso Cyclones
Stillwater, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys finish up a brief two-game homestand this weekend, as they play host to the Iowa State Cyclones in Big 12 action from the Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwa

<< Top-ranked Gators hit the SEC road
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Florida Gators continue their feverish run through the SEC, as they travel to Alabama this weekend to battle the Auburn Tigers from the Beard-Eaves Coliseum. This is the third strai

<< Jayhawks host Buffaloes in Big 12 clash
Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Big 12 standings meet this afternoon in Lawrence, as the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks host the Colorado Buffaloes in conference action from the Allen Fieldho

Top-25 Pac-10 tilt features Oregon at Washington State >>
Pullman, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 battle in the Pac-10 takes place in the Pacific Northwest this evening, as the seventh-ranked Oregon Ducks take on the 20th-ranked Washington State Cougars from Friel Court in Pullman

Trojans attempt to slay Golden Bears in Berkeley >>
Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In an attempt to salvage something from their trip to the Bay Area, the 25th-ranked USC Trojans will take on the California Golden Bears in Pac-10 play from Haas Pavilion this evening. The Tro

Tide puts perfect home record on line >>
Tuscaloosa, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa is the site of today's SEC battle between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Alabama Crimson Tide. Not much has gone right for Arkansas lately, as the team has lost four of it

Butler hopes to continue winning ways in Motor City >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Butler Bulldogs continue to be the class of the Horizon League, and they hope to score yet another win in today's meeting with the Detroit Titans. On Thursday, Butler once again showed i

Big Ten foes meet in Bloomington >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time rivals will meet in Bloomington this afternoon, as 23rd-ranked Indiana and Michigan collide in a Big Ten Conference contest. Michigan carried a two-game win streak into Wednesday

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.

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