Denmon helps Missouri edge Oklahoma

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Denmon made four three-pointers en route to 25 points, as the fourth-ranked Missouri Tigers snuck past the Oklahoma Sooners, 71-68.

Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (22-2, 9-2 Big 12), who have won four in a row since a loss to Oklahoma State on January 25. Michael Dixon donated 13 points.

Steven Pledger ended with 22 points and five boards for the Sooners (13-10, 3-8), who have dropped three straight. Sam Grooms tallied 17 points and 10 assists.

Trailing by eight, 66-58, with under 4 1/2 minutes to play, Carl Blair and Pledger made back-to-back three-pointers to spark an 8-2 spurt. Oklahoma had the ball following Pledger's turnover and Dixon's missed three-pointer.

Grooms made 1-of-2 from the line to cut the gap to three. Denmon's turnover led to Pledger's 1-of-2 effort from the charity stripe, which cut the gap to 68-66 with 1:29 remaining.

Kim English made a three-pointer from the corner, stopping the surge and giving the Tigers a 71-66 lead.

But Andrew Fitzgerald made two free throws at the other end to make it a three-point game with 41.6 seconds to go. Dixon followed with a missed jumper at the opposite end.

Oklahoma dribbled the ball to halfcourt before calling a timeout with 3.9 ticks left on the clock. Romero Osby was intentionally fouled and missed both foul shots. The second shot, which was missed on purpose, hit off the backboard and was tapped to Pledger beyond the three-point line. His shot was off the mark as time expired.

Down by three, 33-30, with 3:04 to go in the first half, the Tigers scored the final six points of the frame. Ratliffe bookended the burst with a pair of layups to make it 36-33 at the break.

Denmon started the second half with a three-pointer and three foul shots, making it 42-33.

But the Sooners stayed within striking distance to set up the tight finish.

Game Notes

Oklahoma holds a 112-97 lead in the all-time series. Missouri has won nine of the last 13 meetings, including an 87-49 victory earlier this season in Columbia...The Tigers shot 56.3 percent from the field...Oklahoma turned the ball over 16 times...Fitzgerald ended with 12 points.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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