Oklahoma State and Missouri battle in Big 12 brawl

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/15/2012 - Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The third-ranked Missouri Tigers continue their quest for a Big 12 regular season crown, as they welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys to Columbia this evening, for a conference showdown at Mizzou Arena.

Frank Haith's debut season in Columbia has been highly successful, as the Tigers have won 23 of their first 25 games. The team is currently boasting of a five-game win streak following an impressive 72-57 win over a strong Baylor squad on Saturday. The victory improved Missouri to 14-0 at home and 10-2 in the Big 12, trailing only Kansas (11-2) in the standings.

Travis Ford's Cowboys have struggled both in and out of conference. Oklahoma State is a game under .500 overall (12-13) and two games under that mark in conference play (5-7). OSU has dropped two of its last three games, including an 81-66 setback at Kansas this past weekend, falling to 2-5 in true road games this season.

Missouri holds a sizeable 75-41 advantage in the all-time series with Oklahoma State, but it is the Cowboys seeking the regular-season sweep after posting a 79-72 upset of the Tigers in Stillwater on January 25th.

The Cowboys dug themselves in a deep hole early on, trailing by as many as 29 points in the first half against Kansas. OSU cut the lead to 12 at one point, but settled for a 15-point setback in Lawrence. Four Cowboys reached double figures in the loss, led by Markel Brown's 21 points. Keiton Page was right behind with 19 points, while Le'Bryan Nash and Brian Williams chipped in with 11 points each. The Cowboys, who shot a mere .327 from the floor in the game, were abused on the boards, getting outrebounded 50-21.

Oklahoma State's -0.2 scoring margin is the primary reason for the sub-par campaign thus far. The team has struggled to find consistency at the offensive end of the floor, averaging just 66.7 ppg on a modest .415 shooting. Page provides the veteran leadership, as the senior guard paces the team with 14.4 ppg. The 6-7 Nash is just a freshman, but has shown flashes of brilliant play, netting 13.3 ppg. Brown is a 6-3 sophomore who rounds out the top scoring threats for OSU at 10.7 ppg.

There is no shortage of offensive firepower for Missouri this year, as the team ranks seventh in the nation in scoring (80.2 ppg), third in field-goal percentage (.500) and sixth in scoring margin (+16.2). Senior guard Marcus Denmon headlines the group, ranking second in the Big 12 in scoring at 18.0 ppg. Kim English adds 14.0 ppg to the perimeter assault and has combined with Denmon for 126 off the team's 200 three-pointers to date. Ricardo Ratliffe (14.0 ppg. 6.8 rpg) is the top performer in the frontcourt. Michael Dixon (12.4 ppg) is one of the best sixth-men in the country, while point guard Phil Pressey (9.7 ppg, 5.8 apg) can both score and distribute.

Missouri drilled a season-high 14 three-pointers in the rather easy win over Baylor this past weekend. Phil Pressey hit four three-pointers en route to a team-high 19 points. Denmon and Dixon both added 16 points in the win and matched Pressey's performance from long range. English added 12 points for Missouri in the win.

Horswracing NCAA Basketball Betting News

<< Lobos head to San Diego to take on 13th-ranked Aztecs
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Entering the week there were three teams tied atop the Mountain West Conference standings and two of those programs go up against each other tonight, as the 13th-ranked San Diego State Aztecs entertain the New M

<< Lions visit Gaels in pivotal WCC clash
Moraga, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels put their perfect home record on the line for the final time this season, as they entertain the Lions of Loyola Marymount in a West Coast Conference clash tonight at McKeon Pav

<< Wildcats and Hoosiers mix it up in Big Ten action
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten Conference rivals square off in Bloomington this evening, as the Northwestern Wildcats have come calling on the 18th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. Northwestern comes in sporting a 15-9 overall record, wh

<< Cavs resume lengthy homestand vs. reeling Pacers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will play their fourth game on a lengthy nine-game homestand tonight, when they entertain the Central Division- rival Indiana Pacers from Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland is in the midst of the longes

<< Panthers give D Strachan one-year extension
Sunrise, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Panthers signed defenseman Tyson Strachan to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday. Strachan has one goal and two assists in eight games this season for the Panthers. The 27-year-o

ACC showdown pits Heels against 'Canes >>
Coral Gables, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels take to the road in search of their fourth straight ACC win away from Chapel Hill, as they invade the BankUnited Center to take on the dangerous Miami- Florida Hurri

Missouri State comes calling on No. 24 Wichita State >>
Wichita, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 24th-ranked Wichita State Shockers put their new-found status as Missouri Valley Conference front-runner on the line Wednesday as Missouri State comes to town for a league showdown at Charles Koch Arena. W

Rutgers hits road seeking upset of No. 23 Notre Dame >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Notre Dame looks to continue its surge up the conference standings Wednesday when the 23rd-ranked Fighting Irish welcome Rutgers to the Joyce Center for a Big East Conference clash. Notre Dame made it six st

Racers and Redhawks duke it out in OVC action >>
Cape Giradeau, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 16th-ranked Murray State Racers head to the Show Me Center for a rematch with the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks in what could be another Ohio Valley Conference thriller. The Racers and Redhawks al

Zambia cracks top 50 in FIFA Rankings >>
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the first time since February 2001 Zambia finds itself in the top 50 in the latest edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Rankings. The African Cup of Nations had a big impact on the ranking

Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.