Martin leads Rockets into Salt Lake City to face Jazz
Basketball Betting Lines
02/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin hopes to build on his best performance as a Houston Rocket when he leads his teammates into Salt Lake City to face one of the Western Conference's best teams, the Utah Jazz.
Martin finished with 33 points last night as the Houston Rockets made a little team history in a 109-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Aaron Brooks (31) and Luis Scola (career-high 30) also netted at least 30, making it the first time that three Rockets players had at least 30 points in a single contest.
The trio combined to go 30-of-64 from the field and 32-of-32 from the foul line.
Martin's point total was the highest he has recorded since the Rockets acquired him from Sacramento last week, while Scola had 13 rebounds for Houston, which snapped a three-game slide. The Rockets also broke a four-game skid at home.
"This was an emotional game," Brooks said. "To get that lead and have them battle back like that, showed the character of our team. Our offense got going early and our defense was spaced well to where we got points off turnovers. We need to build on this and try to carry this momentum as long as we can."
Forward Trevor Ariza continues to sit for the Rockets with a strained left hip flexor.
The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off a bit of a hiccup, falling to Martin's old team, the Sacramento Kings last night. Beno Udrih scored a season-high 25 points in that one, as the Kings edged Utah, 103-99, at ARCO Arena.
Carlos Boozer finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Jazz, who had a seven-game road winning streak come to an end. Andrei Kirilenko tallied 16 points and six rebounds. Wesley Matthews and CJ Miles added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Utah, which has dropped two of three since a four-game win streak.
"You have to have a short memory," Boozer said. "We'll remember this game, but we have to let our frustration out [Saturday] against Houston."
The Jazz have taken three of their last four over Houston but the Rockets did win in their last trip to Utah, a 113-96 triumph in November. Martin, meanwhile, averaged 28.3 points in his last six games against the Jazz while toiling with the Kings.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Central Division rivals clash at Conseco Fieldhouse Saturday as Indiana plays host to a streaking Chicago Bulls team, aiming to sweep the season series with the Pacers for the first time in 13 years. Chicago has already to
<< Bucks visit Heat in key Eastern Conference matchup
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams jockeying for Eastern Conference playoff
positioning meet in South Beach Saturday as the Miami Heat host the Milwaukee
Bucks.
After losing to lowly Minnesota on Tuesday the Heat hold down the eighth and
final pl
<< Celtics shoot for 13th straight win over lowly Nets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Expect the Atlantic Division's remake of Beauty and the
Beast this afternoon as the first place Boston Celtics host the cellar-
dwelling New Jersey Nets.
The Celtics play the beauty is this version, having beaten the ugly-
<< Pistons finish road trip in Oakland vs. Warriors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons hope to close out their western road
swing in positive fashion tonight when they shoot for a sixth straight win
over the defensively-challenged Golden State Warriors.
The Pistons fell to 1-2 on their fo
<< Blazers aim to continue dominance over Wolves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to bounce back from a tough
overtime loss when they resume a five-game road trip in the Twin Cities
against a team they traditionally dominate, the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Blazers
Cedar Falls, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The regular season comes to a close tonight for the Illinois State Redbirds and the 25th-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers, as the two meet in a Missouri Valley Conference clash at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls
Villanova visits Syracuse in Big East showdown >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The two top teams in the Big East Conference
duke it out at the Carrier Dome tonight, as the seventh-ranked Villanova
Wildcats come calling on the fourth-ranked Syracuse Orange.
Villanova, which had at one poi
Panthers come to Big Apple to battle Red Storm >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big East Conference foes square off at New
York's famed Madison Square Garden this afternoon, as the 12th-ranked
Pittsburgh Panthers come calling on the St. John's Red Storm.
Pitt had a four-game win streak sn
Dons seek second win over Zags this season >>
Spokane, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their 10th consecutive West Coast
Conference regular season title in the bag, the 18th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs
try to keep the momentum going as they play host to the San Francisco Dons
tonight at the McCarth
Commodores visit Razorbacks in SEC action >>
Fayetteville, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a thrilling victory, the 16th-
ranked Vanderbilt Commodores hope to continue their recent string of strong
play when they drop in on the Arkansas Razorbacks for an SEC clash this
afternoon at Bud Wa
Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
| The Bubble Breakdown | |||
| CONFERENCE | LOCKS | SHOULD BE INS | AT-LARGES TAKEN (assuming no auto bid outlier) |
| ACC Betting Odds | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Big East Betting Odds | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Big Ten Betting Odds | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Big 12 Betting Odds | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Pac-10 Betting Odds | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| SEC Betting Odds | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| MVC Betting Odds | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MWC Betting Odds | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 | 5 | 25 |
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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