Bruins and Bears battle in Berkeley

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2009 - Berkeley, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked UCLA Bruins and California Golden Bears will both try to remain in the Pac-10 title race tonight, as they lock horns in a pivotal matchup at Haas Pavilion.

UCLA and Cal, along with Arizona State, are all tied for second place in the Pac-10 at 10-5 and they each trail Washington, which sits at 12-4. The Bruins remained in the hunt for their fourth straight Pac-10 championship on Thursday, recording a 76-71 win at Stanford. It was a nice rebound for UCLA, which was coming off a shocking and critical home loss to Washington State last weekend. Winners of two of their last three games, the Bruins are now 21-7 overall on the season.

As for Cal, it put itself back in title contention on the strength of a five- game winning streak. Most recently, the team hosted USC on Thursday and nipped the Trojans, 81-78, in overtime. It was the 16th win in 17 home outings for the Bears, who improved to 21-7 overall.

California though, trails the all-time series with UCLA, which holds a 130-94 advantage, including an 81-66 victory in the first meeting of the season.

Josh Shipp sparked the Bruins on Thursday, as he dropped in 24 points and grabbed seven caroms in a win at Stanford. Alfred Aboya tallied 16 points and Nikola Dragovic finished with 10 and four boards. The Bruins shot an efficient 51.8 percent from the floor, including an 8-of-16 showing from three-point land. The sound shooting performance is nothing new though, as UCLA is hitting on 50.3 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from beyond the arc this season. Darren Collison, who was held to just seven points on Thursday, currently leads UCLA in scoring at 14.8 ppg and he is also dishing out a team- high 4.9 apg. Shipp, a 43.4 percent three-point shooter, adds 13.5 ppg, while Aboya contributes 10.1 ppg and a team-high 5.9 rpg.

Patrick Christopher turned in a career-high 29 points to power to the Bears past USC in overtime of a crucial bout on Thursday. Jerome Randle got involved with 15 points and eight helpers, while Theo Robertson had 10 points and six boards. Cal connected on 54.2 percent of its total shots and also went 5-of-11 from downtown and 24-of-27 at the foul line. The Bears have had great success making shots from all over this season, knocking down 49.1 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from long distance and 75.8 percent at the stripe. Randle tops the roster in scoring at 17.7 ppg and he is also distributing a team-high 5.0 apg. Christopher follows with 15.0 ppg and Robertson chips in with 12.2 ppg on an impressive 53.4 percent shooting from three-point range. Jamal Boykin rounds out the double-figure scorers with 12.2 ppg and he is also pulling down a team-best 6.5 rpg.

Casiononnet NCAA Basketball Betting News

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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.

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

It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.

As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.

Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.

Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.

Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.

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