Winless England has eyes on quarterfinals

Soccer Betting Lines

09/16/2007 - Chengdu, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England advanced to the quarterfinals in its only other appearance in the Women's World Cup in 1995. The team is in a great position to do so once again Monday despite the fact it has failed to win either of its first two games in the group stage.

England was held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in its first match after conceding a goal in the 94th minute, but it put together a much better performance in holding defending champion Germany to a 0-0 draw on Friday.

England will advance to the next round no matter what if it records a two- goal win against Argentina, which should not be a problem for Hope Powell's club.

The Brits have performed better than expected to this point, and will give any team in the quarterfinals a tough time. Star striker Kelly Smith has proven to be one of the top strikers in the world, scoring two goals against Japan and giving the strong German defense all it could handle.

What has been the most impressive so far is how well the English defense has held up.

England keeper Rachel Brown has performed well, including a big stop in the final 10 minutes to preserve the 0-0 draw with Germany. Both Japan goals came from free kicks, so England has not allowed a goal from the run of play in two matches and shouldn't have a problem keeping that streak going against a weak Argentina side.

England captain Faye White has anchored the back line, along with Alex Scott and Casey Stoney. That trio combined to hold the German attack in check, including Birgit Prinz, who had almost no impact on the match.

Argentina has hardly even threatened to score and, with no firepower up top, is unlikely to do so against England. The South Americans have lacked any ability to sustain a build up, and although they lost only 1-0 to Japan last time out, don't look to have much of a chance.

Poor play in goal has been another problem for Argentina, with Vanina Correa getting overmatched in the first game with Germany, and veteran Romina Ferro spilling a bad rebound in stoppage time that prevented Argentina from earning a point against Japan.

This combination bodes well for England's Smith, who figures to add to her goal total in this competition.

England should not have to do any watching of the scoreboard on Monday because it will go out and put itself in the quarterfinals with a big win, something Japan failed to do against Argentina.

Powell has England going in the right direction, and it will take more than Argentina to knock the team off track.

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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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