Underdogs ruling at upset-filled ACC tournament

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 -

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -The underdogs are trying to top each other at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament - and they're succeeding.

``I've been seeing all the highlights of all the games, and what it seemed like is all the lower seeds were coming out on top,'' North Carolina State freshman Scott Wood said. ``I kind of didn't want to let them all down.''

Three upsets in the quarterfinal round set up a pair of unlikely semifinal matchups Saturday: Top-seeded Duke faces 12th-seeded Miami, and seventh-seeded Georgia Tech takes on 11th-seeded N.C. State.

The fourth-ranked Blue Devils - the only one of the top six seeds to make it to the semifinals - beat Virginia 57-46 before the Hurricanes started the binge of upsets by topping fourth-seeded Virginia Tech 70-65.

Then came the evening session, when the Yellow Jackets toppled No. 19 Maryland 69-64, and the Wolfpack beat third-seeded Florida State 58-52.

The ACC's two bottom seeds have made it to the semifinals, and five of the top six seeds are done - both firsts in the storied league tournament's history. In fact, never before had four of the top six been eliminated by this stage of the event.

``That's just one thing that I've noticed, and it just shows that the lower seeds have probably been wanting it a little bit more,'' Wood said. ``I think that's how it should be.''

At least one team - either N.C. State or Georgia Tech - is assured of becoming the latest ACC team to play four tournament games in four days. The Hurricanes, who sprung their second upset in a 24-hour period, hope to join them.

``In AAU, we played four games in one day. This is what I'm here for,'' said Miami's Durand Scott, who scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 6 minutes against the Hokies. ``This is what I like. I love to play basketball. I live for this. If I could play it nonstop without a break, I would do it.''

Three of the league's top players struggled just as mightily as its top teams.

ACC player of the year Greivis Vasquez of Maryland and fellow all-conference players Jon Scheyer of Duke and Malcolm Delaney of Virginia Tech combined to make 14 of 53 shots, including 3 of 25 from 3-point range.

The ACC's only favorite to win Friday used Scheyer's timely scoring surge. He scored seven of his 15 points during the decisive run against the Cavaliers.

Kyle Singler had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Nolan Smith also had 15 points while Scheyer, the third member of Duke's ``Big Three,'' keyed the 11-0 run that saved the Blue Devils from joining the league's growing list of upset victims.

Instead, they'll face the Hurricanes, who had dropped 11 of 14 games before arriving here and joined the 2006 Wake Forest team as the only 12th-seed to reach the semifinals. DeQuan Jones added 14 points for the Hurricanes, who had never won two games in their previous five ACC tournaments.

In the other half of the bracket, Wood had his second hot shooting performance against the Seminoles, scoring 18 points on six 3-pointers to send the Wolfpack into the semifinals for the first time since coach Sidney Lowe reached the title game in his first season in 2007. They'll face a Georgia Tech team that blew most of a 19-point lead, overcame 25 turnovers and needed Iman Shumpert to strip the ball from Vasquez in the closing seconds.

That gave the Yellow Jackets' NCAA tournament resume a boost, with Selection Sunday drawing closer. Not that coach Paul Hewitt is looking that far ahead just yet.

``Right now, we're in this tournament. We can answer all the questions ourselves,'' Hewitt said. ``It's in our hands. We'll just see what happens tomorrow, and we'll take it from there.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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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%.

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