posted April 4, 2008 at 18:54 EST in NCAA B Articles

BetUS NCAA betting odds: Memphis -3, Total 134.5

It's a great contrast of styles being played out in San Antonio in the first of two national semifinal games on Saturday night, as the Memphis Tigers (37-1 SU, 19-19 ATS) square off against the UCLA Bruins (35-3 SU, 22-14-1 ATS) at the Alamodome, with a berth in the national championship game at stake. Tipoff time is set for 6:07 PM ET.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Memphis is listed as a three-point favorite, with a total of 134.5 points.

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

* MEM has won its last 11 games SU

* MEM has covered seven of its last 18 games

* MEM has played its last four games OVER the total

* UCLA has won its last 14 games SU

* UCLA has covered two of its last six games

* UCLA has played six of its last nine games OVER the total

Memphis was the most impressive team I saw during the Elite Eight round. They play at a fast pace, yet do it in an organized fashion. they have lots of depth. they have useful size. They can hit the three-pointer. They can defend. They are not over-rated. They have beaten plenty of good teams. And they are experienced.

But as in boxing, where styles make fights, in college basketball, styles often dictate the outcomes of games. Can anybody say "San Diego over Connecticut"?

Two years ago, these teams met up in the Elite Eight, at which time UCLA had its slowdown game ready and waiting for Memphis. The result was that even though UCLA hit only 35% of its shots, the Bruins were able to limit Memphis to less than 32% from the field and two three-pointers in registering a 50-45 victory in what was the lowest-scoring game in a regional final since the shot clock was introduced to college basketball.

Granted, Derrick Rose is now aboard for Memphis at the point, and Chris Douglas-Roberts, who was not a starter for the Tigers at the time, has developed into an all-American, but the Bruins now have Kevin Love, who is probably as good a pivot man as there is in the country. And UCLA has arguably a better defensive backcourt than they did in 2006, as Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook use quickness, rather than size, to disrupt the opposition. The dribble-drive offense, conceived by former Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg and adopted by John Calipari, will not have a major effect here. In fact, Calipari has admitted that he's not able to use it all the time anyway, and not against the better defenses.

So Memphis' best hope is to run. UCLA gets back on defense, and can make the opposition work on the other end. Coach Ben Howland is an expert at conceiving schemes to take away what his foes do best, and we have already seen him do it under similar circumstances. Remember, Memphis came into that Elite Eight game having won three straight games by 16 points, while UCLA had life-and-death with Gonzaga and Alabama previously. And the Tigers wanted to run, run, run then too.

If you want a present-day example, take a look at the game Memphis played earlier in the season against USC in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. USC coach Tim Floyd, like Howland, is one of those coaches who has a bunch of defensive tricks in his bag, and he brought them all out in that game, including a triangle-and-two defense that befuddled Calipari's team. the Trojans slowed the game to a crawl, and despite shooting only 29% (and hitting ONE three-pointer), USC, a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores, held Memphis to 37% and 54 points in regulation, though it went on to lose in overtime. And they should have won the game.

So it can be done, I assure you.

UCLA's game plan will be to absolutely disallow Memphis from getting into a full-court game. And they have normally ben successful at this level; in the last three NCAA tournaments (including this one), they have held their opponents to 55 points per game, yielding more than 59 points only four times in 15 games.

Love's presence is a key, as the freshman sensation has emerged as a shot-blocker (17 rejections in the last four games) and is hitting almost 62% of his shots in the tournament. You can expect that the Bruins will continue to pound the ball into him, in an attempt to get joey Dorsey into foul trouble (and they could well be successful).

Can UCLA do it? Can you say 'discombobulated"?

We're taking the points with UCLA, the three-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAYS: UCLA

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)