Thunder return home to face Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Oklahoma City Thunder seem to be well on their way towards ending a playoff drought, the New Orleans Hornets enter tonight's showdown between these teams in danger of missing out of the postseason fray.

The injury-plagued Hornets head to the Ford Center, their one-time temporary home when displaced by Hurricane Katrina a few years back, in 11th place in the competitive Western Conference and five games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff seed. A recent four-game losing streak has hurt the club's postseason chances, although New Orleans was able to end that slide with Monday's 135-131 triumph over visiting Golden State.

David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 28 points to pace the Hornets, while Darren Collison dished out a career-best 20 assists to go along with 16 points. The rookie's assist total tied Phoenix's Steve Nash for the most by an individual in the NBA this season.

West added 13 rebounds on the night, while Emeka Okafor also notched a double- double with 22 points and 11 boards. The Hornets outrebounded the Warriors by a 44-23 margin for the game in addition to shooting just under 59 percent from the field.

Peja Stojakovic scored 16 points for New Orleans before exiting in the third quarter with a strained groin. The veteran forward's status for tonight's matchup is uncertain.

In a tight game down the stretch, Golden State held a 123-121 lead with three minutes left before the Hornets ran off nine consecutive points. Thornton ended the rally with three layups as New Orleans took a seven-point advantage with 1:23 to play.

Golden State closed within one on back-to-back three-pointers from Stephen Curry, the second coming with 30.7 seconds remaining, but Collison sank a floater on the ensuing possession as the Hornets held on.

"We just wanted to execute down the stretch," Collison said. "We haven't been doing that down the stretch the last parts of the games we've been losing. It was important we get a good look at it."

While the Hornets have been struggling as of late, the Thunder have posted a sensational 14-3 record since January 29 to move into sixth place in the West standings, just a half-game back of fifth-seeded Phoenix. Oklahoma City has been especially tough at home during that span, having won seven of eight tilts at the Ford Center.

One of the Thunder's victories during its current strong stretch came against the Hornets in New Orleans back on February 3. That snapped a 10-game losing streak for Oklahoma City in this series, though, and the Hornets have prevailed in their last four matchups as the visitor versus the Thunder/Sonics franchise.

Oklahoma City returns home after completing a three-game road trip with Sunday's 108-102 verdict over Sacramento, with Kevin Durant amassing 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the way.

Russell Westbrook added 21 points and eight boards in the victory, the Thunder's fifth in its last six games, with rookie James Harden contributing 14 points off the bench.

Oklahoma City, which is 19-11 at the Ford Center this season, began its recent swing with a loss at Denver on March 3 before bouncing back with Friday's 104-87 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “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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