Seeking perfection, Nevada takes on rival UNLV

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/09/2006 - Reno, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bragging rights in the Silver State are on the line tonight as the 20th-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack welcome the UNLV Runnin' Rebels to the Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The Pack have run out to a perfect 7-0 mark in the first month of the 2006-07 campaign and recently took out California by a score of 77-71 during the Pete Newell Challenge in San Jose on Sunday night.

As for the Rebels, they too have gotten off to a strong start as far as wins and losses are concerned, going six up and two down to this point. On Tuesday night, the team captured its second win of the season against the Hawaii Warriors, this time posting a narrow 61-58 victory out in Honolulu.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Rebels may hold a commanding 48-19 advantage over Nevada, but the last three meetings have been claimed by the Wolf Pack. The most recent of those conquests took place last season in Las Vegas with a 68-61 triumph.

Single free throws by Wink Adams and Curtis Terry in the waning moments proved to be the difference at the Stan Sheriff Center on Tuesday as the Rebels captured the three-point victory over Hawaii. Wendell White recorded a double- double for UNLV with his 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Adams and Gaston Essengue accounted for 15 and 12 points, respectively, to make up for a lackluster effort by Kevin Kruger who made just 1-of-7 shots from the floor to eventually finish with eight points and four of the team's seven assists. White, the scoring leader in half the team's games thus far, is currently pouring in 15.5 ppg thanks to 53.0 percent shooting from the field. Unfortunately, his woeful 51.5 percent effort at the free-throw line prevents him from being recognized as one of the top scorers in the Mountain West Conference at the moment. Kruger was supposed to be the top addition to this squad, but even though he's putting up 11.2 ppg and is first with 27 assists through his six games, it's hard to overlook his 37 percent accuracy from the field and meager 27.5 percent effort out on the perimeter.

What makes Nevada such a dangerous team this season is the fact that Nick Fazekas doesn't always have to be the savior for the group. Against California he put up just 12 points, although he was the top guy with 16 rebounds, adding three assists and a pair of blocks to his stat line. Marcelus Kemp tallied a team-high 20 points, followed by Ramon Sessions who scored 19 points and handed out a team-best six assists as well. Kyle Shiloh chipped in 14 points in 23 minutes. Once determined to make himself into a legitimate inside-outside threat, someone got into the head of Fazekas and convinced him that his strength was in the paint, which is why he is currently leading the nation in rebounding with close to 14 caroms per contest. As a top-20 scorer with 22.6 ppg, there are few in college basketball who rival his talent, just as long as he doesn't stray too far, too often. He still has his touch on the outside where he's made 53.3 percent, but he would be doing himself and Nevada a great disservice if he didn't work to his strengths. Kemp (19.1 ppg) has been more than capable at taking over the perimeter shooting with his 20-of-41 effort behind the three-point line.

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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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