Spartans snap Ohio State's long home win streak

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/11/2012 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adreian Payne scored a team-high 15 points as No. 11 Michigan State handed third-ranked Ohio State its first home loss in almost two years with a 58-48 decision at Value City Arena.

Keith Appling added 14 points and Draymond Green had 12 with nine rebounds for Michigan State (20-5, 9-3 Big Ten), which earned its third straight win and now sits in a tie with Ohio State for the top spot in the conference.

Jared Sullinger recorded 17 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for Ohio State (21-4, 9-3), but also had a career-high 10 turnovers in the Buckeyes' first loss in Columbus since February 17, 2010. They were riding a 39-game home win streak entering Saturday's contest.

Aaron Craft dropped in 15 points in a losing effort as Ohio State shot just 26.4 percent from the floor in the contest, including a 2-for-15 mark from three-point range.

After Payne's layup gave Michigan State an early 4-2 lead, Ohio State reeled off seven straight points. But Green's three-pointer halted the spurt and sparked a 7-1 swing by the Spartans to take a slim, 11-10, lead.

A pair of Sullinger free throws put the Buckeyes back on top before an 11-4 run by Michigan State put them ahead, 22-16, as Ohio State failed to make a shot from the floor for over nine minutes.

Sullinger's trey stopped Ohio State's offensive drought and brought the Buckeyes within three, but the Spartans recorded the game's next six points to take their largest lead of the game to that point, 28-19, with less than five minutes left in the first half.

The Buckeyes never got closer than six for the remainder of the half and trailed 35-25 at the break for their largest halftime deficit of the season.

Ohio State shot just 7-for-21 from the floor and turned the ball over eight times in the first half, while Michigan State went 15-for-32 and recorded 14 points off of the Buckeyes' giveaways.

Ohio State scored the first four points of the second half to close the gap to six, but the Spartans responded with six straight points to go ahead, 41-29, just past the four-minute mark of the half.

The Spartans held at least an eight-point lead over the next four minutes, but after Appling's layup gave Michigan State a 44-34 lead, Ohio State made a push, scoring six straight to get within 44-40.

Two Appling free throws then put Michigan State back up six, and after Ohio State missed four straight shots in succession in an offensive flurry, Derrick Nix's jumper stopped the Spartan's seven-minute streak without a basket from the floor.

Ohio State never threatened again from there, as the Spartans made enough free throws down the stretch.

Game Notes

Michigan State recorded its 12th 20-win season in the last 15 years...Ohio State fell to 5-3 against ranked opponents this season...The Spartans hold a 64-53 advantage in the all-time series...Michigan State shot 40.4 percent in the game and outscored Ohio State in the paint, 30-12.

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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%.

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