Cougars set to pounce on Horned Frogs

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2010 - Provo, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clinging to first place in the Mountain West Conference standings, the 12th-ranked BYU Cougars try to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the member schools as they host the TCU Horned Frogs tonight at the Marriott Center in Provo.

BYU, played twice last week and in the first outing suffered its first league defeat of 2009-10 with a 76-72 setback to nationally-ranked New Mexico on the road. Three days later, the Cougars redeemed themselves with an 82-69 victory over Utah at home, running their record to a perfect 12-0 in their own building and 6-1 in conference.

As for the Horned Frogs, who are tied with Wyoming for sixth place in the league standings at just 2-5, they are trying to halt a season-high three-game slide on the road tonight. The squad took on New Mexico on Saturday at home and was handed a 72-57 loss.

At one point in this series the Horned Frogs put together a three-game win streak against BYU, but that was finished more than a decade ago and since then the Cougars have captured 10 consecutive victories over TCU. Last season, BYU posted a 73-61 win in this building in January and then logged a 79-63 triumph down in Fort Worth as well.

The schools will complete their regular-season series this year the first week of March at TCU.

Ronnie Moss exploded for a career-high 30 points, shooting not only 12-of-17 from the field but also 5-of-7 behind the three-point line for the Horned Frogs on Saturday as he logged the 600th point of his career, but it wasn't nearly enough as he and TCU bowed to New Mexico on the road. Moss, who is sixth in the nation in assists with almost six and a half per contest, handed out eight of the unit's 11 assists in the outing. Zvonko Buljan was the only other double-digit scorer for the program, posting 11 points for a team that was outscored at the free-throw line, 20-2, and turned the ball over 16 times. Moss has been trying to keep it all together for the Horned Frogs this season, leading the team and ranking among the league leaders in scoring with his 14.5 ppg, even though he is shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor at the moment. Zvonko Buljan and Edvinas Ruzgas account for 13.3 and 12.4 ppg, respectively, the former collecting a team-best nine rebounds per game and the latter having made good on 42.5 percent of his three-point tries as the Frogs hit on only 33.4 percent out on the perimeter.

Once again it was the Jimmer Fredette show for the Cougars over the weekend as he tallied a game-high 36 points in the win over Utah at home. Fredette, who now holds the BYU record for the most points ever scored against a Utah program, connected on 4-of-5 beyond the arc and 11-of-23 from the floor overall, while Tyler Haws added 15 points to the offensive attack for BYU. Named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday for the fourth time, Fredette is now posting a lofty 21.2 ppg and is even shooting better behind the three-point line (.484) than he is the field (.474) through 21 appearances. Fredette has not only made good on almost 90 percent of his free- throw tries (122-of-136), he has also found opportunity to hand out a team- best 104 assists, benefiting the likes of Haws (12.3 ppg) and Jackson Emery (12.0 ppg) who have been filling the gap left by Jonathan Tavernari (9.7 ppg) who has gone from being one of the leading performers in the MWC a year ago to barely shooting 40 percent from the floor and coming off the bench now for a group that is converting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent out on the perimeter.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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