Arizona's NCAA run all but over at 25

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 -

LOS ANGELES (AP) -Arizona's streak of 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances is all but over.

The Wildcats lost to UCLA 75-69 in the Pac-10 tournament on Thursday night, dropping their record to 16-15, a number that almost certainly won't be good enough for the NCAA selection committee this time.

The record is still good enough for the NIT, but not for Arizona freshman Lamont Jones, who came to Arizona fully aware of the streak.

``That's what everybody talks about,'' he said. ``That's the history of the program and the culture of the program, and we just have to understand that. Unfortunately, we're not going to make it this year, but I guarantee we're going to get back there next year.''

The Wildcats salvaged NCAA tournament appearances the last two years, extending their streak thanks mostly to the prestige built by the Pac-10. With a roster dominated by underclassmen, their chances of making it again seemed unlikely.

``Everybody knew from the beginning of the season that it would be tough. We barely made it last year, so it would be even tougher this year,'' said Nic Wise, who led the Wildcats with 16 points. ``It's just been a great accomplishment, and it's tough to have it end this year.''

Derrick Williams added 14 for Arizona, which lost in the Pac-10 quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.

Arizona's NCAA tourney streak began in 1985 under Lute Olson, and ended with first-year coach Sean Miller, who noted he was 16 and ``just learning how to drive'' when the run began.

``Any coach that comes to Arizona is going to find he's a paranoid coach,'' said Miller, who arrived in Tucson in April to find Wise on the fence about returning for his senior season. ``The reason I came to Arizona is to rebuild our program. We have a possibility to get a NIT bid. It's a terrific tournament. I feel very, very good about what we've been able to accomplish.''

Reeves Nelson returned for the Bruins Thursday afternoon, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in UCLA's quarterfinal win. The Bruins will face top-seeded California, which dispatched Oregon 90-74 later Thursday night.

The Bruins (14-17) have also fallen on hard times. Unless they can win the tournament, the Bruins likely aren't going anywhere except back to Westwood to contemplate how losing so much of their best talent to the NBA draft did them in.

Kevin Love would have been a junior this season, but he jumped to the NBA. Nelson is no Love, but he is the Bruins' only solid inside presence offensively.

``He has great strength,'' coach Ben Howland said. ``When he has the ball, it's very hard to wedge it from him.''

Michael Roll and Nikola Dragovic added 18 points each, extending their careers for at least another game.

``As I was telling the guys, 'I'm just really not ready to go home,''' Roll said. ``Being out there is fun.''

Arizona played catch-up the entire game, but got to 58-55 with 7:52 remaining on two free throws by Solomon Hill. But the Bruins kept making free throws - they hit 77 percent in the second half - and Malcolm Lee hit a big 3-pointer to push their lead to 64-57 with 5 1/2 minutes left.

``We're not a good defensive team,'' Miller said. ``We'll be better in the future.''

And hope is all Miller has to sustain him as he follows in the Hall-of-Fame footsteps of Olson.

``That's my only choice,'' he said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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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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