WAC rivals lock horns in Reno

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2007 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Utah State Aggies take on their toughest opponent of the season tonight as they matchup against the 18th-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack in Western Athletic Conference action from the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The Aggies, currently third in the WAC standings with a record of 4-2, have won five straight games since falling in back-to-back outings versus Boise State and Fresno State to open league play earlier this month. The most recent win for USU came a week ago with a narrow 57-56 victory over San Jose State on the road.

As for the Pack, they bounced back from their first WAC loss of the campaign a week ago by posting an easy 84-67 triumph against Louisiana Tech at home on Thursday night. The decision pushed Nevada to 6-1 in league play and kept the squad in a tie for first place with the New Mexico State Aggies.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Aggies are ahead of Nevada by a commanding 23-9 mark even after the Pack defeated USU in the title game of last year's WAC Tournament with a 70-63 overtime decision.

Jaycee Carroll dropped in a game-high 22 points last week as the Aggies defeated San Jose State in California. The victory pushed Utah State to 12-0 this season and 23-2 when Carroll puts up 20 points or more in a contest. Also scoring in double figures for the Aggies was Chaz Spicer with 16 points, with the team getting a mere six points off the bench with only two players seeing action in a reserve role. Carroll, one of the nation's top three-point shooters a year ago, is at it again this time around as he is knocking down 44.3 percent out on the perimeter, which leads to his 21.1 ppg. But Carroll is much more than a deep threat these days because he is also first on the team with 5.9 rpg and has converted 83-of-89 (.933) at the free-throw line as well. Stephen DuCharme and Spicer account for 10.2 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, with the former chipping in 5.1 rpg and shooting almost as well from the field (.601) as he is at the charity stripe (.612). As a team, the Aggies are one of the most accurate shooters at the line in the nation with a mark of 77.2 percent after 20 games.

Ramon Sessions took over the spotlight for a change with the Wolf Pack as he tallied a game-high 21 points in the team's double-digit victory over Louisiana Tech on Thursday night. But more than shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 at the free-throw line, Sessions also cleared seven rebounds and handed out a team-high seven assists as well. Nick Fazekas cruised through the evening with 13 points and seven boards, followed by Marcelus Kemp who posted 12 points. Hard to believe but Sessions, who has led the team in scoring in three of the last four outings, has actually been to the free-throw line more than both Fazekas and Kemp, converting 90-of-111 to come upon his 14.2 ppg. Sessions, who raises his scoring almost a full two points per game against WAC opponents, also paces the program with 88 assists, so the Pack is now much more than just Fazekas (19.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg), Kemp (18.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and those other guys. However, make no mistake, when the Pack needs a big play they always turn to the WAC's two-time Player of the Year in Fazekas before considering alternative options.

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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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