Surging Bucks host Allen, Celtics

Basketball Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweet-stroking veteran Ray Allen has already recorded his 20,000th career point and will add to that mark tonight, when the Boston Celtics hit the road to Milwaukee for a showdown with the Bucks.

On Sunday, Allen hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 17.1 seconds left in regulation to lift the Celtics to an 86-83 comeback victory over the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. Allen ended with a game-high 25 points for Atlantic Division-leading Boston, which closed out the game on a 20-4 run in the final 6:33 of the fourth quarter for its fourth straight win.

"The bigs set great screens, and I came off," Allen said of his big shot. "I think I had more time but that's one thing about shooting the ball, I don't like sitting there on the three point line, once I come off its like the ball comes and I'm up in the air with it."

Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the victors, while Kevin Garnett had eight points and 10 boards in the win.

The Celtics, seeded third in the Eastern Conference, have won two in a row away from Beantown and are 22-10 as the guest this season.

Bucks head coach Scott Skiles has his squad on the right path, as the Bucks are riding a three-game winning streak and have won nine of their last 10 games. Milwaukee opened a four-game homestand with Saturday's 92-85 victory over the LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers at the Bradley Center thanks to 25 points from Brandon Jennings, who buried 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.

James was given the night off to rest a twisted right ankle and the Bucks took advantage. Carlos Delfino added 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while Luc Mbah a Moute tallied 10 points and 11 boards for the Bucks, who got 15 points and nine boards from Andrew Bogut and seeded fifth in the East.

"When we had to get stops and a rebound, we did," said Skiles, who is two wins (348) away from the 350th victory of his coaching career. "We had a lot of guys chipping in."

Milwaukee's next win will match their win total from last season (34). It will also host the Jazz and Pacers on the residency and owns a 20-9 record in Wisconsin this season. The Bucks are unbeaten in their last four home games and are three wins shy of 500 at the Bradley Center. They are 11-2 at home in the new year.

Boston defeated Milwaukee, 98-89, back on December 8 this season and has won seven of eight and nine of the last 12 meetings.

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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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