NBA Betting

NBA Handicapping
NBA bettors cashing in on Kings and PacersRegardless of the sport, it's not very often a player trade benefits both teams. Typically, the player on one side of a trade will benefit their new team, while the player on the other side will have little effect if not hurt their new team. Occasionally, a trade will fail to benefit either team. Every once in awhile, however, a trade will have a positive effect on both teams. Such appears to be the case with the Ron Artest-Peja Stojakovic swap which took place in January. Since acquiring Artest, the Sacramento Kings have gone 11-7 straight up (SU) and are closing in on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Artest's positive impact is also putting smiles on the faces of bettors - those betting on the Kings have gone 12-5-1 against the spread (ATS). That's a winning percentage of 67 percent. Artest has quickly established himself as a valuable component of the Kings' offense averaging 17.1 ppg, second-most on the team. His well-known defensive skills have also been a factor - the 6-foot-7 small forward leads the team in steals with 2.4 per game. The big question mark, however, is whether Artest will be able to keep his head straight and not get into any trouble during the stretch drive of the regular season. The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, have been enjoying success despite the absence of leading scorer Jermaine O'Neal, who has been out with a groin tear. A big part of that success can be attributed to Stojakovic. The 6-foot-10 small forward is averaging 19.7 ppg, second on the team behind O'Neal (20.9). Since Stojakovic joined the team, the Pacers have gone 9-6 SU and are in the thick of the playoff race. Those placing wagers on Indiana have also been cashing in thanks to the big Yugoslavian. In the 15 games he has played, the Pacers are 11-3-1 ATS. That's a winning percentage of 73 percent. Both the Pacers and the Kings are now among the top ATS teams in the NBA. As of Wednesday, Indiana was 31-23-3 ATS, which is the third-best betting record in the league. The Kings are 31-28-1 ATS, the eighth-best record.
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NCAA Betting

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, the regular-season champions of the Big Sky Conference, take on the second-place Montana Grizzlies for the conference tournament title Wednesday night, with an automatic bid into the NCAA championship tournament at stake.
Montana has won six of its last seven games. The Grizzlies beat Eastern Washington 73-71 in OT Tuesday night as six-point favorites to advance to this conference tournament title game.
Northern Arizona is 2-2 in its last four games. The Lumberjacks beat Sacramento State Tuesday 98-83 as seven-point favorites to get here.
The teams have split the last six meetings, and two meetings this season, each winning on their home courts. In the first game back in January, Montana led by 13 points at halftime before Northern Arizona came back for an 83-80 win. In the second game 10 days ago, the Grizzlies led by 20 at the half on their way to a 96-83 victory. In those two games, Montana hit 26 out of 50 three-point attempts, and both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field. Also, Montana outrebounded the Lumberjacks by 10 each game.
Montana is 11-12 against the spread this season, 6-6 ats on the road, just 5-9 ats vs. Big Sky opponents but 5-1 ats as an underdog.
Northern Arizona is 13-10 against the spread on the season, 5-4 ats at the Walkup Skydome (the site of tonight's game), a profitable 10-5 ats in Big Sky play and 6-5 ats as a favorite.
In the latest RPI at NCAAsports.com, Montana is #76, Northern Arizona #119. In USA Today's Sagarin PREDICTOR rankings, the Grizzlies are at #103 at 77.6, while the 'Jacks are at #137 at 74.3.
Both teams shoot the ball very well. Montana on the season is hitting 49 percent from the floor, 38 percent from 3-point range and 72 percent from the line. Northern Arizona is shooting 48 percent from the floor, 40 percent from long range and 76 percent from the stripe.
But both teams also allow their opponents to shoot fairly well. Montana opponents shoot 44 percent from the floor, Northern Arizona opponents 47 percent.
The over is a collective 27-20 in Montana and Northern Arizona games this season. The total on this game opened up at 150 1/2, but was quickly bet up two points. The average total points scored in the last six meetings between these two teams is 160.
To bet this game
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NCAA Betting

College Basketball Betting
Kansas padding bankrolls
Back in December, it looked like it was going to be a long season for the Kansas Jayhawks. As it turns out, they were just getting warmed up. Kansas began the season losing four of their first seven games. Among those losses was an embarrassing 61-49 loss to Arizona at the Maui Invitational. The poor start wasn't too surprising for the Jayhawks, who lost four starters from last season. Among them was their leading scorer Wayne Simien, who averaged 17.8 ppg. Regardless, that didn't stop the KU faithful from calling for the head of coach Bill Self, who saw his team humiliated by Bucknell in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament. Kansas had entered last season as a contender to win the national championship but ended up losing six of its last nine games. This season Self was forced to turn to his youngsters, and after the early-season stumble, the kids responded. Following their loss to Saint Joseph's on Dec. 6, the Jayhawks won 19 of their next 22 games. The kids saved their best effort for conference play where they went 13-3 straight up (SU) and captured a share of the Big 12 title with Texas. Their one big blemish was a loss to rival Kansas St. in January, which snapped a 31-game winning streak. Among the kids stepping up this season is 6-foot-6 freshman guard Brandon Rush, who leads the team in scoring with 14.1 ppg and rebounds with 6 rpg. He's followed by 6-foot-2 freshman guard Mario Chalmers, who's averaging 10.9 ppg. Three of the Jayhawks top four scorers are freshman, and the team's top seven scorers are, at most, sophomores. Kansas has also been a slam dunk for bettors. Heading into the Big 12 conference tournament, which starts on Thursday, the Jayhawks are 10-3 against the spread (ATS) in their past 13 games. Overall on the season, the Hawks have one of the best betting records in college hoops at 17-10 ATS. For those who like to wager on the total, KU has been a great UNDER bet. The Jayhawks have seen just 10 of 27 games (37 percent) top the posted total this season. Overall, KU is 22-7 SU on the season and will enter the Big 12 tournament as the No. 2 seed behind the Longhorns, who finished 25-5 SU. Their first game will be on Friday against the winner of the No. 7 Oklahoma State-No. 10 Iowa State game (7 p.m. ET). The Hawks have beaten both teams this season: 64-49 at Oklahoma St. as 3-point favorites, 95-85 at Iowa St. as 1.5-point favorites, and 88-75 versus Iowa St. as a 9.5-point home chalk. The Big 12 tournament will be played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Jayhawks are 8-2 ATS and 4-6 O/U away from home.
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NCAA Betting

Oklahoma (20-6) at Texas (24-5) Sunday, 4 p.m. Eastern, CBS The Red River Rivalry bubbles up again Sunday afternoon when the Oklahoma Sooners travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns in the regular season finale for both teams.
The Sooners have beaten the Longhorns three straight times, including an 82-72 decision in January in Norman as three-point home dogs. In that match-up between two of the top four rebounding teams in Division 1, Oklahoma won the battle on the boards by a 35-30 margin and shot 31 of 57 from the floor against Texas' third-ranked field goal defense.
Oklahoma, unbelievably, has won four games in a row by one point after Monday's 67-66 victory over Oklahoma State. But when you're always favored, winning by one doesn't cover the spread. And the Sooners are 0-5 ats in their last five games.
Just in Big 12 play this season, Oklahoma has won five games by one point. But they've also lost two games by one point and another by two points.
Meanwhile, Texas is outscoring opponents by 17 points per game.
Texas is 2-2 in its last four games, including a 46-43 defeat at Texas A&M Wednesday as a six-point road favorite. After going 27 of 49 from the floor against Kansas' top-ranked field goal defense Saturday, the Longhorns shot just 13 of 38 against the Aggies.
Texas is tied with Kansas for first place in the Big 12 at 12-3. Oklahoma is in third place, one game back. Both teams have clinched first-round byes in the conference tournament, which starts Thursday in Dallas.
The Sooners are a costly 8-13 against the spread this season; 4-6 ats on the road, 7-8 ats in the Big 12 but 3-1 ats as an underdog.
Texas is 12-11 against the spread this season; 6-4 ats at home, 8-7 ats in the conference and 11-10 ats as chalk.
The over is 13-8 in Sooner games this season, but 9-14 in Longhorn games.
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