Kentucky holds on against Vanderbilt
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/12/2012 - Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Doron Lamb scored 16 and his three-pointer with under four minutes left gave Kentucky the lead for good, as the top- ranked Wildcats beat Vanderbilt, 69-63, for their 17th straight win.
Anthony Davis tallied 15 points, Terrence Jones 14 and Marquis Teague 13 for Kentucky (25-1, 11-0 SEC), which continued its unbeaten stretch in conference play.
The Wildcats scored the final eight points, blanking Vanderbilt over the final four minutes.
John Jenkins had 15 points for the Commodores (17-8, 6-4), who lost for the third time in four games. Festus Ezeli, Jeffery Taylor and Brad Tinsley all scored 13 in defeat.
Tinsley's jumper provided Vandy with a 63-61 edge with 4:10 left, but the Commodores went cold from the field the rest of the way, missing their final nine shots.
Lamb's three with 3:18 to go gave Kentucky the lead for good and Michael Kidd- Gilchrist added a pair of free throws with 2:08 left to make it a 66-63 difference.
Ezeli then missed a jumper and Taylor was off the mark on the following shot.
The Wildcats essentially sealed the win with a circus play at the other end. Kidd-Gilchrist dribbled into the lane before losing his footing, but somehow passed the ball from his knees to Darius Miller, who made an acrobatic layup just before the shot clock expired with 1:13 remaining.
Missed free throws from Teague and Kidd-Gilchrist opened the door for Vandy, but the Commodores continued to miss the mark in the closing seconds.
Jones jammed off an assist from Lamb, and then hit a jumper to cap a run of eight straight points for the Wildcats to give them a 20-11 advantage. A jumper from Jones provided a 34-20 lead with 1:27 left in the half and the margin stood at 13 at the break.
A three-pointer from Jenkins capped a 9-2 push for Vandy, getting the hosts within 44-41 with 14:08 left. The Commodores pulled even at 48 following a three-ball from Taylor barely inside 12 minutes left.
Game Notes
Kentucky's defense forced Vanderbilt into 28 percent shooting in the first half; its lowest first half showing of the year. Vanderbilt ended at 36.5 percent shooting...Kentucky was 3-of-14 from three-point range...Kentucky is 70-1 under John Calipari when holding an opponent to 67 points or fewer...The Wildcats held a 44-22 scoring advantage in the paint.
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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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