Longhorns and Bears meet in Big 12 Tournament

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/11/2010 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Baylor Bears are seeded third in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will begin action in the event tonight with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the sixth-seeded Texas Longhorns.

Up next for the winner is a date with either second-seeded Kansas State or seventh-seeded Oklahoma State.

Texas was defeated by Kansas in three straight Big 12 title games from 2006-2008. The Longhorns have never won this tournament and are 17-13 in the event all-time. They are 23-8 this season, but the campaign has clearly been a tale of two halves. After jumping out to a 17-0 start to earn the nation's top ranking, Texas lost eight of its next 14 games. Fortunately, the team was able to earn an 82-75 victory over Iowa State yesterday in the first round of this event.

Baylor has never won the Big 12 Conference Tournament and is 8-12 all-time at this event. Scott Drew has done a phenomenal job of resurrecting a program that was in peril when he arrived, and the 2009-10 Bears own a 24-6 overall record, including 11-5 in Big 12 play. They carry a four-game win streak into this tournament and are coming off a 15-point romp over these same Longhorns in the regular-season finale.

Baylor has beaten Texas twice this season, but the Longhorns still own a commanding 155-78 advantage in the all-time series.

Damion James exploded for 28 points and 16 rebounds to power his Longhorns to the seven-point victory over Iowa State yesterday. Gary Johnson racked up 15 points and 10 boards for Texas, Dexter Pittman helped the Longhorns with 16 points, and Avery Bradley added 10 points. Texas scored the first seven points of the game and owned a 31-28 lead at intermission. The contest was close in the second half until an 11-0 run enabled the Longhorns to pull away for good. Texas earned a 46-34 rebounding advantage in the showdown, a key to the victory. James is posting 18.0 ppg and 10.4 rpg this season, and the fact that he also has 52 steals and 38 blocks to his credit speaks to his tremendous versatility. Bradley checks in with 11.7 ppg for the 'Horns, who are getting 10.5 ppg from Pittman. Texas is racking up 81.7 ppg while holding foes to 69.2 ppg on 39.8 percent shooting.

There is no doubt that Baylor gets the job done at the offensive end of the floor, as it is netting 77.4 ppg on 48.6 percent shooting from the field, including 39.1 percent from three-point range. What is rarely mentioned however, is that the team excels at the defensive end as well, limiting opponents to 65.3 ppg on 38.2 percent shooting from the floor. The Bears are tremendous on the boards, ripping down 7.4 rpg more than the opposition. LaceDarius Dunn leads the club with 19.2 ppg on the strength of his 42.4 percent shooting from three-point range. Tweety Carter provides 15.8 ppg, and he has dished out 164 assists while committing a mere 67 turnovers. As for Ekpe Udoh, he adds 13.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 123 blocked shots. Udoh is second on the team in assists as well, proof of his tremendous versatility. Dunn scored 30 points in the regular-season finale against Texas, and Quincy Acy had 10 dunks en route to 24 points off the bench.

Wwwcbot NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Miners open C-USA Tournament play against Knights
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of 14th straight games, the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Texas El Paso Miners set their sites on a C-USA Tournament championship, starting with tonight's quarterfinal-round matchup against the ninth-seeded UCF

<< TCU seeks upset of BYU in Mountain West quarterfinals
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rematch of the regular-season finale has 14th-ranked and second-seeded BYU taking on the seventh-seeded TCU Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament tonight at the Thom

<< Falcons face tall task in Mountain West Tourney tilt with Lobos
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 24 hours after picking up just their second win all-time in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, the Air Force Falcons are back on the hardwood of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as they

<< No. 1 Kansas begins Big 12 Tournament play against Texas Tech
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they are slated to do battle with the ninth-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders this afternoon in the quarterfinal round.

<< Cowboys tangle with Wildcats in Big 12 quarterfinals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterfinal action of the Big 12 Conference Tournament pits the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats against the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys. Awaiting the winner of this tilt is a

Vols open SEC Tournament against hapless Tigers >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers are set to take on the LSU Tigers in the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament. The winner of this contest will move on to face Ole Miss, the West Division's second seed,

Cornhuskers battle Red Raiders in Big 12 Tournament action >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 23rd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies are the fourth-seeded team in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, and they will play a quarterfinal-round game against the surprising 12th-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers today.

Mountaineers and Bearcats collide in quarterfinal action >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-seeded and seventh-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers begin their march towards a Big East Tournament title tonight, as they face off against the 11th-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the quarterfinals at M

Orange and Hoyas clash in Big East quarterfinals >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked and top-seeded Syracuse Orange make their much anticipated debut in the Big East Tournament today, as they lock up with the 22nd-ranked and eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in the quarterfinals at

Wildcats and Golden Eagles square off in Big East Tourney >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams that have a history of playing close games meet in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament today, as the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles battle the fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Villanova

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