Posted on
3/6/2008 2:08:22 PM
Bet On NCAA Basketball - Arizona at Oregon State
By Charles Jay
BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: ARIZONA -13
The Arizona Wildcats (17-12 SU, 15-11-1 ATS) have to be feeling a bit of anxiety right now as they try to piece together enough credentials to be considered for an NCAA at-large bid. On Thursday night they'll have to take advantage of a "gimme," as they'll visit Corvallis to play the Oregon State Beavers (6-22 SU, 10-17 ATS) in Pacific 10 action that is slated to tip off at 9 PM ET at the Gill Coliseum.
In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, Arizona is listed as a 13-point favorite.
Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* ARIZ has lost four of its last five games SU
* ARIZ has covered five of its last seven road games
* ARIZ has played 13 of its last 19 road games UNDER the total
* OSU has lost its last 18 games SU
* OSU has lost its last five games ATS
* OSU has played its last seven games OVER the total
* OSU has lost its last eight home games SU
* OSU has lost its last 11 home games ATS
* OSU has played its last four home games OVER the total
* OSU has covered four of the last five meetings
* ARIZ has won seven of the last eight meetings SU
* OSU has covered four of the last six meetings as the home team
* ARIZ has won five of the last seven meetings SU as the road team
* ARIZ has had the shooting edge in five of the last seven meetings
* ARIZ has had the rebounding edge in eight of the last ten meetings
* OSU has made more three-pointers in four of the last five meetings
Unless Arizona rallies to win the Pac-10 tournament, the Wildcats are going to go to the NCAA Committee looking to become a rare 12-loss at-large team. They did not strengthen their case by losing home games to both USC and UCLA this past week, regardless of how spirited the last effort against the Bruins was. It is imperative that they win here, and honestly, it shouldn't be all that tough a Beaver team that has put forth consecutive efforts of 32%, 32%, 34.5%, 34%, and 39% from the field.
Oregon State isn't even at the 38% level overall, and that includes its non-conference schedule of such luminaries as Alaska-Fairbanks, South Carolina-Upstate and Cal State-Bakersfield. The Beavers are 337th in the country in scoring on their own home court, and miss their free throws too (just 64.5%). Under these circumstances, it doesn't really handicap Arizona all that much that they are still without point guard Nic Wise, as they normally might be. Jerryd Bayless, the standout freshman who was stifled this past week, scoring just eight and 15 points, respectively, against USC and UCLA, should find a heck of a lot more room here to do his one-man show (he missed the first meeting between these two).
There is no home court edge for OSU, which has dropped its last eleven against the number at the Gill Coliseum. We will lay the points with 'Zona, the 13-point favorites in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: ARIZONA
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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)