Big Ten foes meet in Bloomington

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - 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's clash with Wisconsin, the top team in the league, and the result was a 71-55 setback. Still, the Wolverines are 16-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, and a win today would allow the club to inch closer to a spot in the national poll.

Like Michigan, Indiana is 4-2 against Big Ten opponents and has only lost five games all season. One of those defeats came on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers had a five-game win streak halted with a 51-43 setback to Illinois. The 43 points marked the worst offensive output of the season for Indiana, which is a perfect 10-0 at home heading into today's clash.

The Hoosiers own a 96-51 lead in the all-time series with Michigan, and the Hoosiers have won the last 10 meetings.

Michigan is not an explosive offensive team by any means, as the club is only averaging 66.8 ppg this season. Fortunately, the Wolverines have been outstanding at the defensive end of the floor, as they are limiting opponents to 58.0 ppg on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Michigan is outrebounding foes by 7.3 rpg, and the positives mentioned have enabled the club to overcome an average of 15 turnovers per contest. Dion Harris is the leading scorer for the Wolverines, as he is netting 13.2 ppg despite his inconsistent shooting. Harris is also tops with 88 assists and 26 steals. Courtney Sims is scoring 12.1 ppg, and Lester Abram checks in with 9.6 ppg. In the 13-point loss to Wisconsin earlier this week, Sims scored 16 points to lead Michigan, but he was responsible for seven of the team's 19 giveaways. Abram tallied 10 points for the Wolverines, who permitted the Badgers to connect on 54.2 percent of their field goal attempts.

Indiana is scoring 72.2 ppg this season while limiting opponents to 60.2 ppg on 40.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Hoosiers have committed 50 fewer turnovers than their foes, but they have attempted 76 fewer free throws. D.J. White is the leading scorer for Indiana with 14.2 ppg, and he is tops with 7.3 rpg and 46 blocks as well. The only other double-digit scorer in the lineup is Roderick Wilmont, as he is posting 11.3 ppg. On Tuesday, the Hoosiers shot a lowly 38.6 percent from the floor, including 5-of-17 from three-point range. They were also outscored 13-4 from the foul line by Illinois, and those factors led to the eight-point setback. White scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but he got little help from his mediocre supporting cast.

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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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