Posted on
2/22/2008 5:24:11 PM
College Basketball Betting - Oklahoma at Texas
By Charles Jay
BetUS NCAA basketball betting matchup:
The Oklahoma Sooners (18-8 SU, 11-12 ATS), who might have to hustle to get themselves an NCAA tournament bid, can take a huge step toward that objective when they visit Austin on Saturday to play the Texas Longhorns (22-4 SU, 12-8-1 ATS) in a Big 12 matchup that will start at 3:30 PM at the Frank Erwin Center.
Here are some of the NCAAB betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* OKLA has covered three of its last 11 games
* OKLA has won 11 of its last 16 games SU
* OKLA has covered six of its last 25 road games
* OKLA has won seven of its last 24 road games SU
* OKLA has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total
* TEX has won its last six games SU
* TEX is 5-0-1 ATS in its last six games
* TEX has covered five of its last six home games
* TEX has played seven of its last eight home games UNDER the total
* TEX has won and covered four of the last five meetings
* Five of the last seven meetings have gone UNDER the total
* TEX has won five of the last six meetings SU as the home team
* TEX has covered five of the last seven meetings as the home team
* Four of the last six meetings in Austin have gone UNDER the total
We can't imagine how Texas could play any better than it did on Monday night, when it took nationally-ranked Texas A&M and slapped them around like a rag doll, romping to a 77-50 win. That gives you an idea of just how strong the Longhorns can be when they want to be.
Oklahoma is in one of those "bubble" situations where the NCAA committee is going to be able to take them or leave them. There are wins over West Virginia, Gonzaga, Texas Tech and a sweep over Baylor, but in the end those credentials may not be good enough. So it becomes time for sensational freshman Blake Griffin to show up like he did in the overtime win against Baylor on Tuesday, when he ripped the Bears for 29 points.
But Rick Barnes' Texas defense played a little "lockdown" on the Sooners last time out in Norman, holding Oklahoma to just 33% shooting and 54 points in the ten-point victory, despite 19 points from Griffin. And that is nothing out of the ordinary, as Texas has won and covered the last four meetings, all by double digit margins. A current streak of 5-0-1 against the number and 5-1 ATS at home would seem to indicate that Texas has some focus as we come down the Big 12 home stretch.
We're laying the points with Texas in the BetUS NCAAB betting odds.
JAY'S PREDICTION: TEXAS BY 17
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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)