posted March 29, 2008 at 17:46 in NCAA B Articles

BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: Memphis -3.5, Total 145

The Memphis Tigers (36-1 SU, 18-19 ATS), who put together one of their most impressive halves of the year on Friday night, will go after the third Final Four berth in its history on Sunday when they face off against the Texas Longhorns (31-6 SU, 17-13-2 ATS) in the final of the NCAA Tournament's South Regional, set to tip off at 2:20 PM ET at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Memphis is listed as a 3.5-point favorite, with a total of 145 points.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* TEX is 3-5-1 ATS in its last nine games

* TEX has won 15 of its last 17 games SU

* TEX has played three of its last four games OVER the total

* MEM has covered two of its last six games

* MEM has won its last ten games SU

* MEM has played its last three games OVER the total

Memphis looked spectacular in getting off to a 50-20 halftime lead against Michigan State on Friday night, and it was clear that they had just too much athleticism and depth for the Spartans. Michigan State's backcourt was absolutely riddled, and Drew Neitzel, an all-Big Ten player, wasn't able to hit a shot from the field until the final moments of the game.

Memphis can throw players in droves at the opponent - if it isn't Joey Dorsey, it's Robert Dozier. Or Anthony Anderson. Or Andre Allen. Or Willie Kemp. Or Shawn Taggert. Or the huge Pierre Miles. Or, of course, the All-American, Chris Douglas-Roberts.

And what is particularly scary is that while Memphis went into overdrive and put the wheels in motion to blow Michigan State away, point guard Derrick Rose, who could be one of the top three choices in the next NBA draft, was on the bench with a cramp.

What we took out of this game was that when Tom Izzo decided to go to a strategy of fouling the Memphis players in the second half, and throwing shots up from beyond the arc, his team began to claw back toward respectability, and could have cut the margin below ten in the last six minutes or so if not for a bad break here or there. Memphis made 74% of their free throws, but that was a fortunate turn, as the Tigers are only 59.7% from the charity stripe.

Texas will find it difficult to extract that much of an edge in the free throw department, since the 'Horns are only 68% themselves, but they have qualities they can exploit in other areas. While Anderson was able to prevent Neitzel from getting any good looks from the perimeter, he'll have a harder time corralling D.J. Augustin, who is a point guard fully capable of getting his own shot, anywhere and anytime. Dorsey is going to have his hands full with Connor Atchley, the emerging center who has chipped in more than 12 points a game during the tournament, and who mans the lane pretty well. And let's not forget the athletic Damion James, who had 16 rebounds, three blocked shots and a trio of three-pointers in the second-round game against Miami.

What we're saying, without disparaging Memphis in any way, is that the Longhorns are perfectly capable of coming away with a victory, and the Tigers may just cooperate with their errant free throw shooting if they are trying to protect a lead late.

At any rate, we'll grab the points with Texas, the 3.5-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: TEXAS

Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)