Jayhawks capitalize on turnovers to top Texas

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris posted 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, as No. 1 Kansas overcame a poor shooting performance by clamping down defensively on the 14th-ranked Longhorns to earn an 80-68 Big 12 victory.

The Jayhawks (23-1, 9-0) made up for their 40 percent shooting effort by converting 17 turnovers into 27 points for their ninth straight victory.

Xavier Henry added 15 points and five rebounds, while Sherron Collins had five assists and four steals to go with 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting for the victors.

Texas (19-5, 5-4), which was the top-ranked team in the country just three weeks ago, has lost five of its last seven games following a torrid 17-0 start to the season.

J'Covan Brown paced the Longhorns with a career-high 28 points, while Damion James chipped in 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in defeat.

The hosts were down 61-44 before Brown scored seven straight points late in the second half. Brown's three-pointer made it a 10-point contest with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, though Markieff Morris bought Kansas a little more breathing room with a three-point play.

Cole Aldrich was whistled for a technical foul when he landed an elbow to James' head after pulling down a miss from Brown, who hit the two freebies prior to James converting a three-point play for a 64-56 contest.

Two Henry free throws and a Tyrel Reed make inside pumped the margin back to double digits, and the Jayhawks rolled to another big road win.

After hitting five of their first eight shots for a 14-8 lead six minutes into the game, the Longhorns missed 13 straight from the field over an 11-minute span.

Brady Morningstar, Markieff Morris, Tyshawn Taylor and Collins each hit from behind the arc on the subsequent 22-0 run, the latter a deep three from the left wing giving Kansas a 30-14 cushion with five minutes left in the half.

James, who ended with 15 first-half points to keep Texas in the game, banked in a three-ball to end the scoreless stretch, and Avery Bradley's late trey cut the hosts' deficit to 34-24 at halftime.

Kansas led by double digits through most a sloppy second half, forcing a lifeless Erwin Center crowd out of the game even further.

The Jayhawks scored the first five points of the stanza for a 15-point game three minutes in, and near the midway point, Collins stripped Dogus Balbay in Texas' end of the court, leading to a Marcus Morris dunk for a 50-34 margin.

Game Notes

Texas has never beaten the No. 1 team in the country, dropping all seven matchups...The Longhorns had won three straight home games against Kansas...Texas had just five points off 10 Kansas turnovers...Kansas is now 7-1 in true road games, while Texas fell to 12-2 at home.

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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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