Lions battle Zags in WCC Tournament semifinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs are the top- seeded team in the West Coast Conference Tournament, and they begin play at the event with a semifinal-round matchup against the fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount Lions.

The winner of this tilt will battle either second-seeded Saint Mary's or third-seeded Portland on Monday for the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Loyola Marymount has three WCC tourney titles to its credit, but the most recent came way back in 1990. The Lions have certainly worked hard to reach these semifinals, as they knocked off Pepperdine by three points on Friday before defeating San Francisco in an 84-76 final in Saturday's quarterfinals. LMU is now 18-14 overall and seemingly peaking at the perfect time.

Gonzaga has won the WCC Tournament 10 times, far more than any other team in the league. The Bulldogs have won five of the last six titles and defeated Saint Mary's by 25 points in the championship game a year ago. This year's team is 25-5 overall and has been idle since Tuesday's regular-season finale, a 19-point romp over CSU Bakersfield. That victory was the fourth in a row for the Zags.

The Lions actually beat the Bulldogs by a 74-66 final on February 18th to force a regular-season split. Overall, Gonzaga owns a 53-21 advantage in the series.

In the eight-point victory over San Francisco yesterday, Loyola Marymount shot 20-of-25 from the foul line, an obvious key to the outcome. There were four double-digit scorers in the tilt for the Lions, and they got 18 points from both Drew Vinney and Vernon Teel. Ashley Hamilton added 14 points, and Jarred DuBois contributed 11 points. LMU shot 49.2 percent from the floor and finished with a 12-4 edge in fast-break points. Through 32 games, the Lions are generating 76.2 ppg, marginally better than the 75.6 ppg they are surrendering. Vinney leads the team with 16.8 ppg on the strength of his 42.9 percent shooting from three-point range, and he is pulling down 7.0 rpg. Teel adds 15.2 ppg, and he has dished out 183 assists to go along with 59 steals. Both DuBois (12.5 ppg) and Kevin Young (10.6 ppg) add balance to the lineup.

Matt Bouldin leads a balanced Gonzaga attack into this semifinal showdown, as he is netting 16.0 ppg. Elias Harris provides 14.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg, while Steven Gray adds 13.5 ppg. The fourth and final double-digit scorer on the roster is big man Robert Sacre, who is netting 10.2 ppg to go along with nearly two blocks per outing. The Bulldogs are racking up 78.1 ppg on 49.5 percent shooting from the floor, and they are holding opponents to 66.7 ppg on 40.3 percent field goal efficiency. Gonzaga is outrebounding its foes by more than five boards per outing, key to the team's 25 wins. In the easy victory over CSU Bakersfield earlier in the week, Bouldin scored 15 points to lead the way for the Zags, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor and played outstanding defense.

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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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