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Thunder, Grizzlies collide in OKC

Basketball Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Thunder make a quick stop back in Oklahoma City searching for their sixth straight win tonight in the Sooner State when they play host to the Memphis Grizzlies.

OKC, which has an NBA-best 17-4 record, is in the middle of a tough stretch in which it will play eight of nine on the road. The Thunder opened the string on the West Coast by winning at Golden State before suffering a hiccup in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

Kevin Durant and Company rebounded from that loss on Wednesday by taking a 95-86 decision over the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Russell Westbrook finished with 33 points, including six in the final two minutes, in that one as the Thunder escaped American Airlines Center with the victory.

Kevin Durant, who was named a Western Conference All-Star starter on Thursday, totaled 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Serge Ibaka blocked a franchise record 10 shots and pulled down 11 boards for Oklahoma City, which will hit the road again for a five-game trek after tonight's contest. James Harden posted 10 points and a game-high nine assists.

"We're doing a better job of closing out games. You saw that tonight," Westbrook said. "Everybody did a great job of coming out and doing their roles."

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are coming off a really impressive 96-77 rout of the Hawks in Atlanta on Thursday behind Rudy Gay, who led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds.

Memphis finished with five players in double figures, including 18-point efforts from O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen. The Grizzlies also got a double-double from Marc Gasol, whose 11-point, 10-rebound performance helped Memphis garner its second win in a row after dropping four straight.

"It doesn't matter how many times you've lost in an arena, each game is different," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said about the Grizzlies' previous struggles in Atlanta, where they hadn't won since 2005, a span of five games. "Even though there's a few guys that are still here that hadn't won here, it's still a different group and most of the guys didn't even know we hadn't won here."

OKC, which topped Memphis in a tough seven-game series during last year's West semifinals, has already bested the Grizzlies twice this season in Memphis.

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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.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards