Panthers hope to make it two in a row in clash with Hoyas

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off their first win in more than month, the Pittsburgh Panthers will try to make it two in row as they play host to the ninth-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in a Big East Conference bout this afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.

Georgetown is an impressive 16-3 on the year, and the team has won six of its first eight league games. A 52-50 triumph at home over Rutgers last Saturday was the most recent, and ran the team's current win streak to three in a row, which comes after losing a pair of games to West Virginia and Cincinnati. The Hoyas are 4-1 in true road tilts this season, winning its last two away from home.

Pittsburgh's troubles have been well documented at this point, as an 11-1 start has all but been erased following a stretch in which coach Jamie Dixon's club lost eight in a row. An 86-74 win over Providence on Wednesday night stopped the bleeding, but at just 1-7 in conference play, the Panthers have some serious work to do earn enough victories to qualify for the upcoming Big East Conference Tournament. For a team that had one of the most dominant homecourt advantages in the country over the last several years, Pitt's 8-5 home mark this season leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Georgetown owns a 40-34 lead in the all-time series with Pittsburgh, but the Panthers have won four of the last five meetings. The Hoyas did win the most recent game played in the Steel City, taking a 74-66 decision during the 2009-10 season.

Solid defensive play has been Georgetown's strength this season, as foes are averaging a mere 59.4 ppg in hitting 39.3 percent of their field goal attempts, and only 29.2 percent of their three-point tries. The Hoyas also own favorable margins in both rebounding (+5.8) and turnovers (+1.5), while offensively, boasting three double-digit scorers, each of whom helps the team produce 72.1 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 47.3 percent overall and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. Jason Clark is a 50.2 percent shooter who leads the team with 15.9 ppg, while Hollis Thompson, who also connects on better than half of his total shots, tallies 14.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Henry Sims adds 11.8 points and 5.5 caroms per contest. Sims was high man in GU's recent win over Rutgers, as he logged a double-double consisting of 12 points and 10 boards, while Clark went 8-of-10 at the free-throw line to finish with 11 points. The Hoyas shot just 29.3 percent from the floor, but claimed a whopping 25-4 advantage in points from charity stripe to earn the hard-fought victory.

The backcourt duo of Ashton Gibbs and Tray Woodall combined for 39 points in leading Pittsburgh back to the win column earlier this week, as the Panthers clawed their way past visiting Providence in an 86-74 final. With the effort, Gibbs raised his team-leading scoring average to 16.7 ppg, and he has hit 15 three-pointers in his last three games to up his long-distance shooting percentage on the year to .352. Nasir Robinson chipped in with 14 points against the Friars, and Lamar Patterson came close to notching a double-double as he finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. The Panthers shot 49.2 percent from the floor, nailing 11 treys along the way, and they won the rebounding battle (40-35) while committing only 10 turnovers. Robinson (12.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Woodall (11.6 ppg, 7.1 apg) round out the double-digit scorers for a Pittsburgh team that is averaging 71.4 ppg this season, while giving up 67.0 ppg. The Panthers are +10.2 in rebounding differential, but they commit roughly two and a half more turnovers than do their opponents on average.

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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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