Spurs, Hawks tangle in Atlanta

Basketball Betting Lines

03/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of playoff-caliber teams get together this evening at Philips Arena in Atlanta, where the Hawks will try to snap a seven-game losing streak to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs have also won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Atlanta, which hasn't defeated tonight's opponent since a 94-84 triumph back on December 10 of the 2005-06 campaign. San Antonio is unbeaten in its last three visits to Dixie and leads the all-time series 40-35, with the Hawks holding a 23-14 advantage in home games.

San Antonio is currently seventh in the Western Conference, just a half-game ahead of Portland, and has a tough stretch of games on the horizon against the Hawks, Thunder, Lakers, Cavs and Celtics. It is four games off the Southwest lead and posted a 147-116 drubbing of Golden State the last time out on Friday in the Alamo City. Manu Ginobili led the way with 23 points and a season-best 11 assists, while Richard Jefferson added 21 points and Tim Duncan ended with 17, six rebounds and five assists for the Spurs, who have won five of their last six games.

"We basically have the tough 15, the last 15 games are going to be rough," said Ginobili, who is averaging 19.6 points since the All-Star break. "It's good to get a win and have time to rest a little bit. We have a really rough back-to-back coming up in Atlanta and Oklahoma City. They are both good teams, strong at home so we are going to have to do very good against them."

The Spurs recorded their biggest point total since beating Denver, 161-153, on November 7, 1990, and got a career-best 16 points from Malik Hairston off the bench. Reserves Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair both chipped in 14 points. San Antonio will visit the Thunder on Monday and is 16-16 away from the AT&T Center in 2009-10.

Atlanta will shoot for its sixth straight home win Sunday and is coming off Friday's thrilling 93-92 overtime victory versus the Charlotte Bobcats. Joe Johnson tied the game at the end of regulation and then made a 21-foot jumper as time expired in overtime, finishing with 18 points after missing the previous two games because of a strained Achilles.

"It felt great when it left my hand," Johnson said of his game-winning shot. "I couldn't even see the basket after I shot. But if felt so good, I pretty much knew it was in the bucket. I just got a clean look."

Josh Smith also contributed 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Jamal Crawford chipped in 16 points for the Hawks, winners of four of their last five games overall. Atlanta, which is 27-7 at home and four games off the Southeast lead, is fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, only a half- game behind No. 3 Boston.

Crawford, a leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging 20.5 points per game this month and leads the NBA in scoring among players that have not started a game.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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 MySportsbook.com’s “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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