Bet NCAA March Madness - Sizing up the West RegionalBy Charles JayThe top seed in the West, the UCLA Bruins, is still remaining as the Sweet 16 is upon us. But due to several upsets, lower seeds are still alive in the Big Dance. besides #1 UCLA, #3 Xavier, #7 West Virginia and #12 Western Kentucky will be vying for a spot in the Final Four. WEST REGIONAL @ Phoenix West Virginia vs. Xavier 8:10 PM ET on Thursday BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: West Virginia -1, Total 135.5 West Virginia has obviously been making great strides on defense lately, and the Mountaineers are demonstrating that they can win with scoring balance as well as offensive explosions by the big gun, 6'8" forward Joe Alexander, who went wild in the Big East tournament and scored 22 points in eliminating over-rated Duke on Saturday. Have you been studying up on your March Madness team and player statistics? For the quickest and easiest depositing methods available, sign-up today at BetUS.com, "for over 14 years they have been the World-Wide Leader in Online Sports, Poker and Casino Gaming!" Always receive great odds, huge bonuses and fast payouts only at BetUS.com! BET ON FOOTBALL! First time deposits receive $75 free with a $200 deposit! Coach Bob Huggins also got a big game from backup point guard Joe Mazzulla, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the Duke game. But this was an anomaly; the first time since February 20 where he had made more than one field goal in a game. Xavier has such great balance, with six players averaging between 9.8 and 12.1 a game. That makes things much harder for a defense, especially the type Huggins likes to employ, which often takes away the other team's best scorer and dares them to win with somebody else. Xavier shot 54% in its game with Purdue, and that was no accident. With Drew Lavender seemingly over his ankle injury (18 points, nine assist against the Boilermakers), this makes the Musketeers even tougher. So does the fact that they hit 75% of their free throws, which has a way of extending lead at the end. Alexander is only 11-of-34 (32%) from the field since the NCAA tournament began. And Xavier can lock down on opposing backcourts with Lavender and Stanley Burrell. I like Xavier and couldn't be happier grabbing a point, which is a gift in the BetUS March Madness betting odds. JAY'S PLAY: XAVIER UCLA vs. Western Kentucky 10:45 PM ET on Thursday BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: UCLA -12.5, Total 133 Western Kentucky made its bones in this tournament with an overtime win over Drake, then turned back pesky San Diego, to whom it had almost lost a big second-half lead. The Sun Belt champions certainly deserve to be here. The Hilltoppers are clearly reliant on their guards - Courtney Lee, perhaps the best player in the Sun Belt, and Ty Rogers, whose jump shot beat Drake at the buzzer. Rogers shadowed San Diego's Brandon Johnson in the previous game and slowed him down considerably. But shutting down lightning-quick Darren Collison is quite another story. Meanwhile, Lee could find Pac-10 defensive player of the year Russell Westbrook draped all over him. At the same time, I recognize several things, namely that UCLA often makes things much more difficult than it should; in fact, the Bruins outscored a team in regulation by more than three points only once in the last six games of the Pac-10 season. Also, Lee is an NBA-caliber talent who lit up San Diego for 29 points. But look, Westbrook did a great job on OJ Mayo before. Kevin Love (eight blocked shots vs. Texas A&M) is a talent in the pivot that Western Kentucky can not match, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ought to be sharper after returning to the lineup against A&M. UCLA can make things ugly for the opponent when it plays 'lockdown." I will lay the points with the Bruins, the 12.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds. JAY'S PLAY: UCLA As far as the Elite Eight is concerned, I'd give UCLA a clear edge over either Xavier or West Virginia because of its inside-outside balance. The Bruins would cause more havoc for West Virginia because Ben Howland would devise a defense to rattle Alexander, and as good as Josh Duncan is, Xavier would not be able to extract an edge in the front court and probably could not prevent it if the Bruins decided they wanted to run a little with those famous Love outlet passes. It was said before the tournament that UCLA had the clearest path to the Final Four of all the #1 seeds. I agree. They could-go-all-the-way....... --- by BetUS at 1800-sports.com on March 27, 2008
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