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NCAAB Handicapping: Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma St (Jan. 26)

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys will both be trying to pick up a win on Monday when they battle at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Oddsmakers currently have the Sooners listed as 3-point favorites…

Showdown in Oklahoma – Sooners at Cowboys

BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: OKLAHOMA -3.5

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* OU has won its last seven games SU
* OU has covered four of its last five games
* OU has played four of its last six games OVER the total * OU has won four of its last five road games SU
* OU has covered four of its last six road games
* OU has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
* OSU has won eight of its last ten games SU
* OSU has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* OSU has won 11 of its last 12 home games SU
* OSU is 5-1-1 ATS in its last seven home games

Also…

* OU has won five of the last six meetings SU
* OSU has won six of the last eight meetings SU as the home team
* OSU has had the shooting edge in six of the last eight meetings * OU has had the rebounding edge in five of the last seven meetings

Oklahoma, which has regularly flogged Baylor over the years, did so again on Saturday, as the Sooners scored a 95-76 win in which they shot a blistering 58% from the field (and 7-for-15 from beyond the arc). It’s been a pretty good two-week period for OU, which also beat the Texas Longhorns 78-63 on January 12. Blake Griffin is making a very strong bid for player of the year. He has 16 double-doubles on the season, and no one in the country has more. Griffin’s averages on the season are 22.2 points (on 62% shooting) and 13.8 rebounds.

Oklahoma State was impressive in its own right on Saturday, as it visited Lincoln and beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who had won 25 of their last 29 home games, despite giving up 31 free throws to Nebraska. The Cowboys also shot 55% against a team that emphasizes defense, which is nothing to sneeze at.

OSU is a racehorse team, reflective of the style coach Travis Ford brought over from U-Mass. There are five players in double figures for the Cowboys, but the problem is that all of them are guards. There is not much strength offensively on the front line, so there is not much hope that they will overwork Griffin on the defensive end.

Oklahoma State has not one, not two, not three, but FOUR backcourt players who are shooting better than 40% from the three-point line. One of these guards, Obi Muonelo, also paces the team in rebounds with 9.6 per game. Can this team deal with Griffin on the glass, or with a Sooner “D” that is permitting less than 38% shooting?

Remember that defense has never been the strong suit of Ford’s teams, and that OU just dealt with a Baylor team that throws a plethora of guards (and three-point marksmen) at its opponents. However, four of the last eight Oklahoma opponents have shot at least 40% from downtown, and Baylor has 12 three-pointers on Saturday. This is the way OSU will go, and that stretches out the defense. At home, this could work. That’s why we’ll take the points with OSU, the 3.5-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball sports betting odds.

Our PLAY: OKLAHOMA STATE +3.5 **

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"