Irish set sights on Golden Eagles
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/04/2012 - South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles continue their push towards the top of the Big East standings, as the begin a two-game road trip this afternoon, taking on a dangerous Notre Dame team at the Joyce Center.
Buzz Williams' Golden Eagles are soaring right now, winning seven straight games after losing back-to-back decisions to Georgetown and Syracuse in early January. The team is now sitting behind only the Orange (9-1) in the Big East standings at 8-2. Marquette's winning ways continued on Tuesday with a 66-59 win over Seton Hall.
Mike Brey's Irish have fought through some adversity this season with the loss of their top player (Tim Abromaitis), but have weathered the storm to remain in the hunt in conference play. The Irish are tied for fourth in the Big East at 6-3 and have won three straight games entering this contest, knocking off Syracuse, Seton Hall and most recently Connecticut (50-48).
The Irish hold a commanding 79-36 lead in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles, but Marquette has won six of the 10 meetings since joining the Big East in 2005.
Jae Crowder was the driving force in leading Marquette to its seventh straight win, as he tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds in the seven-point win over Seton Hall this week. Crowder, who was 6-of-11 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, got double-digit help from guards Vander Blue and Darius Johnson-Odom, who finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
One of the reasons for Marquette's win streak is its improved shooting of late. The number have improved the team's overall output, as the Golden Eagles are now averaging 76.1 ppg on a healthy .456 shooting. Johnson-Odum and Crowder are a potent one-two punch. Johnson-Odom ranks third in the Big East in scoring at 18.3 ppg. Crowder is seventh in the league at 16.6 ppg and leads Marquette in rebounding (7.6 rpg). The two present problems for the opposition out beyond the arc, combining for 95 of the team's 139 three-pointers to date. No one else is averaging double figures at this time, but Davante Gardner (9.8 ppg) and Todd Mayo (9.0 ppg) aren't far off the mark.
With Abromaitis going down early on, the Irish have had to scramble at the offensive end. There isn't a true go-to-guy now, but Brey has done a nice job getting the right players on the floor. Eric Atkins leads the team in scoring at 12.9 ppg and is actually shooting better from three-point range (.408) than overall (.400). Jerian Grant runs the offense and is both a solid scorer (12.7 ppg) and deft distributor (4.8 apg). Jack Cooley provides balance with his strong play down low. The 6-9 junior is averaging 10.7 ppg on nearly 60 percent shooting (.594) and leads the team and ranks seventh in the league in rebounding at 8.4 caroms per contest.
The Irish trailed by three points at the half against the defending national champs, but did what was needed after the break to scratch out a win in a low- scoring game. Notre Dame didn't shoot the ball particularly well at a mere .362 clip, but did knock down seven three-pointers compared to three for the Huskies. Atkins led the way with 13 points in the win. Grant finished with 11 points and six assists, with just one turnover in 38 minutes of work. Scott Martin chipped in with 10.
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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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