Broncos battle 17th-ranked Aztecs

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trying to win their first conference game as a member of the Mountain West, the Boise State Broncos face one of their toughest tests yet as they tangle with 17th-ranked San Diego State at Viejas Arena tonight.

Boise State, which has lost all five MWC games thus far, has fallen in six straight games overall and won just twice in the last 10 outings. Over the weekend, the team was pitted against Wyoming at home and failed to take advantage of the favorable surroundings in a 75-64 setback. Since starting the 2011-12 campaign with eight wins over nine games, the team has won just twice.

As for the Aztecs, they suffered their first setback in nearly two months on Saturday when they were stunned by an up-and-coming Colorado State squad in a 77-60 final at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. The defeat snapped an 11-game win streak during which SDSU took down UNLV in a battle between nationally-ranked MWC members back on January 14. Now 4-1 in conference, the Aztecs enter play on Wednesday tied with the Runnin' Rebels for first place in the standings.

This is just the second meeting ever between these two teams, which makes sense since Boise State is the latest edition to the MWC. The only other clash took place during the Bicentennial when the Aztecs picked up a 78-68 win at Peterson Gym.

Boise State fell behind early against the Cowboys at home over the weekend, making just seven field goals and shooting 2-of-10 behind the three-point line in the first half, so by the time the Broncos connected on 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half it was too late. Not a single starter scored in double figures for the hosts, instead it was Joe Hanstad who tallied 13 points off the bench, followed by fellow reserves Ryan Watkins and Tre' Nichols with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The loss of Jeff Elorriaga with a broken thumb certainly doesn't help the BSU cause as the team tries to find the mystery behind winning in the MWC. Before bowing out Elorriaga was the top scorer for the Broncos in conference with his 9.3 ppg, now that falls to Westly Perryman who is posting 9.0 ppg as he shoots 40.5 percent from the field. As a group, Boise State is converting just 38.5 percent from the floor and scoring 60.4 ppg versus the new set of conference foes.

Against the Aztecs on Saturday, Colorado needed more than just a little luck to handle one of the most successful teams in college basketball the last two seasons, and the Rams got it as they nailed all 23 of their free-throw attempts to set a new conference record. Over on the other side, SDSU missed just three of its 20 free-throw tries and forced 17 turnovers, but that simply didn't cut it. Jamaal Franklin tried to keep the visitors in the mix with his 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Xavier Thames and Chase Tapley both added 10 points in the losing cause. Overall this season, the Aztecs are scoring a modest 72.2 ppg, 10.8 ppg more than the competition, but when it comes to conference games the points become slightly more scarce for SDSU which is producing only 62.6 ppg in those outings. Still, the defense is holding MWC opponents to just 60.0 ppg, but the margin for error is far too small. Jamaal Franklin accounts for 17.2 ppg in those outings and is also first on the glass with better than nine rebounds per game, but those pesky Mountain West opponents are beating San Diego State on the glass by almost four per game.

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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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