Rutgers faces tough task in Big East bout with No. 10 Marquette
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/22/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will try to stop the bleeding as they head to the Bradley Center for Big East Conference action with the 10th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles.
Marquette and Rutgers have met six times before. The Golden Eagles hold a 5-1 lead in the all-time series after picking up victories in each of the last five matchups.
Rutgers fell for the fifth straight game on Sunday as it was bested 74-64 by the Syracuse Orange. The Scarlet Knights shot 41.9 percent from the field, but slightly won the rebounding battle 34-29 with Syracuse in the loss. Second year head coach Mike Rice's Rutgers team is 12-15 and 4-10 in Big East action. The Scarlet Knights have not been overwhelming offensively, averaging just 65.6 ppg, and they have allowed opponents to outscore them with an average of only 64.7 ppg.
The Scarlet Knights are a very young team as no seniors receive significant playing time. Freshman guard Eli Carter leads the charge with a scoring average of 13.4 ppg. Carter has scored in double figures 20 times this season and ranks third among freshmen in scoring in league play. Myles Mack has been a very serviceable sixth man. In his last 16 games, Mack has netted 10.0 ppg off the bench. With Gilvydas Biruta providing size and scoring from the forward position and Dane Miller's energetic play on the wing, Rutgers has the tools to hang around with nearly anyone, but still lacks the experience.
Marquette enters tonight's bout with a 22-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in Big East play, which has it tied for second in the conference with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Golden Eagles picked up their third straight win on Saturday as they defeated Connecticut 79-64. Head coach Buzz Williams did not use a player taller than 6-7 against the Huskies, yet the Golden Eagles still finished with a 33-30 advantage on the boards. Marquette is a very talented team offensively, as it is second in the Big East in scoring offense with an average of 76.7 ppg. The Golden Eagles are allowing opponents to produce 65.5 ppg.
The Golden Eagles are led by their dynamic duo of Darius Johnson-Odum and Jae Crowder. Johnson-Odum is second in the Big East in scoring with an average of 18.6 ppg after he netted 24 points against Connecticut. It was the third contest in a row the senior guard scored 20 points or more. Crowder is contributing 16.7 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. Vander Blue and Todd Mayo are chipping in 8.5 ppg each, while Junior Cadougan is dishing out 5.7 assists per contest.
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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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