Celtic downs Motherwell as McDonald tallies three

Soccer Betting Lines

10/27/2007 - Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott McDonald returned to the Celtic lineup in a big way as the Australian striker scored three times to lead Celtic to a 3-0 win over Motherwell at Celtic Park on Saturday.

McDonald was held out of the lineup on Wednesday for the team's Champions League contest, but he came back to haunt his former team with a goal three minutes before the break and two more after the restart.

The win takes Celtic three points clear of Rangers, who will meet Dundee United on Sunday.

Motherwell began the game by creating a few early chances, but it was Celtic who had the better of the play in the first half.

Motherwell keeper Graeme Smith was called upon a number of times, but he didn't crack until right before the break.

A corner off the foot of Shunsuke Nakamura found its way into the six-yard box and was headed home by McDonald for a 1-0 Celtic lead.

The Hoops kept their foot on the gas after halftime and went ahead by two goals in the 56th minute. A good ball from Lee Naylor allowed McDonald to get down the left wing and in on the keeper. With just Smith to beat, McDonald fired his shot under the Motherwell keeper and into the back of the net.

The visitors were unable to produce much in the offensive third, and they finished the game down three goals as McDonald drew a penalty kick in the final minutes and then converted the chance for his second hat-trick as a member of Celtic.

In other SPL action on Saturday, Inverness hammered Gretna 4-0 in a battle of the bottom two teams in the league, Hibernian lost its second straight contest as they fell 1-0 to St Mirren, and Kilmarnock toppled Hearts 3-1 at Rugby Park.

On Sunday, Aberdeen tries to extend its three-game winning streak when the club hosts Falkirk, while Rangers visits Dundee United in a top-four clash.

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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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