Texas (12-3) @ Oklahoma (15-1) - January 12th, 2009

By WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

Texas and Oklahoma is one of the best football rivalries out there, no doubt about it. However, the basketball version of the Red River Rivalry has been anything but, as the Horns have won six straight over their northern neighbors.

But the Sooners have opened as 4-point WagerWeb.com favorites to end that streak on Monday night.

The Sooners, who have won their last 13 at Lloyd Noble Center (9-0 this year), are coming off a 61-53 road win at Kansas State. Texas, a 75-67 home winner over Iowa State on Saturday, is 1-1 in Big 12 road contests.

At 15-1, Oklahoma is off to its best start in 23 years (the 1985-86 team won its first 17 games). But OU’s six straight losses to Texas have all come by double figures. Its last win against the Longhorns came in January 2006 when the 24th-ranked Sooners handed the fourth-ranked Longhorns an 82-72 defeat in Norman. This will be the first time since that season that both teams enter ranked in the Top 25

Of course, this year’s Sooner team has probably the best player in the country in power forward Blake Griffin, who averaged 18.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three games against Texas last year as a freshman. Griffin leads the Big 12 in scoring (22.5 ppg), rebounding (14.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (.647) while ranking fourth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg) and eighth in steals (1.6 spg). Earlier this season, he became the first man in Big 12 history to record consecutive games with 20 points and 20 rebounds.



The Sooners lead the Big 12 by holding opponents to 37.7 percent shooting this season, including 35.4 over their last nine contests.

The Longhorns have a tall, deep front line, led by Dexter Pittman and Connor Atchley, that can challenge Griffin. Horns guard A.J. Abrams is averaging 17.5 points, but has been held to single digits in four of his last five contests while shooting 28.8 percent during that span. If he struggles again, that could be the difference.

Texas has won 11 of the last 14 games with the Sooners and has won 63.8 percent of its Big 12 road games under Rick Barnes.

WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Longhorns are 23-8 ATS in their last 31 Monday games.
* Longhorns are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS loss.
* Longhorns are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. win.
* Longhorns are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Longhorns are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. Big 12.
* Sooners are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
* Sooners are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
* Sooners are 8-18 ATS in their last 26 vs. Big 12.
* Sooners are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 Monday games.
* Sooners are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.
* Under is 4-0 in Longhorns last 4 games following a S.U. win.
* Under is 4-1 in Longhorns last 5 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Under is 21-8-1 in Longhorns last 30 Monday games.
* Under is 15-6 in Longhorns last 21 games following a ATS loss.
* Over is 11-5 in Longhorns last 16 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
* Over is 11-5 in Longhorns last 16 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
* Under is 8-0 in Sooners last 8 vs. Big 12.
* Over is 4-1 in Sooners last 5 home games.
* Under is 4-1 in Sooners last 5 vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Over is 5-2-1 in Sooners last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Under is 17-8 in Sooners last 25 Monday games.
* Longhorns are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Home team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
* Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
* Longhorns are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Oklahoma.
* Favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Bet on Texas @ Oklahoma