Atlantic 10 supremacy at stake at Cintas Center

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2010 - Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams competing for the Atlantic 10 title hook up at the Cintas Center today, as the 23rd-ranked Richmond Spiders battle the Xavier Musketeers.

Coming into the day, Richmond and Xavier, along with Temple, are all tied for first place in the A-10 standings at 11-2. With the season winding down, this is obviously a crucial game for both squads.

The Spiders are the hottest team in the conference, as they have won eight straight and 10 of their last 11 bouts. Richmond, which has been ranked in consecutive weeks for the first time since the 1957-58 season, has had plenty of time to prepare for this game, last participating in a 74-70 triumph of George Washington on February 20th. Now at 22-6 overall, the Spiders are out for their first nine-game winning streak since the 1990-91 season.

As for the Musketeers, the are streaking as well, notching four straight victories and eight in their past nine contests. Xavier edged Saint Louis, 73-71, on Wednesday, giving the program its fifth straight 20-win season. The Musketeers now return back home, where they have won 30 consecutive games in A-10 play.

Xavier leads the head-to-head series with Richmond, 10-3, but the Spiders knocked off the 17th-ranked Musketeers, 80-75, in last season's meeting.

The Spiders have been tough on defense this season, holding opponents to just 38.7 percent shooting from the floor while forcing 15.5 turnovers per game. Kevin Anderson has gotten the job done at both ends for Richmond, as he tops the roster in scoring (17.5 ppg) as well as steals (55). David Gonzalvez follows with 13.6 ppg and 49 steals, while Justin Harper chips in with 10.4 ppg. In the team's prior outing, Anderson tallied 24 points and seven assists to lift the Spiders past George Washington. Gonzalvez and Harper both had 10 points for Richmond, which went 20-of-29 at the foul line and forced 16 turnovers.

Xavier shot 47.6 percent from the floor and dominated the boards, 42-28, as it escaped Saint Louis with a 73-71 win on Wednesday. Jordan Crawford led the charge with 26 points and five boards, while Jason Love had 21 points and nine rebounds. On the season, Crawford averages a healthy 20.0 ppg to pace the Musketeers and he also turns in 4.7 rpg and 3.0 apg. Love adds 11.8 ppg and a team-high 8.4 rpg to the mix, while Terrell Holloway contributes 10.9 ppg and a team-best 4.0 apg. Overall, the Musketeers are tallying a hardy 79.4 ppg and converting on 47.1 percent of their attempts from the field and 38.2 percent from downtown.

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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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