Dallas shoots for ninth straight win vs. Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

12/30/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The scorching Dallas Mavericks try to collect their ninth straight victory when they host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets this evening at American Airlines Center.

This is the third of four meetings between the squads this season. Dallas won the two previous contests, as it picked up a win in front of its fans and at New Orleans Arena. The Hornets are scheduled to host the Mavericks on March 27th at the Ford Center.

Dallas wraps up a four-game homestand this evening. All-Star Dirk Nowitzki drilled the game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds left in regulation and finished with 27 points to lift Dallas over the Phoenix Suns, 101-99, on Thursday at American Airlines Center.

Nowitzki, who took a pass from Jason Terry and hit the game-winning shot over Shawn Marion, finished just 8-of-20 from the floor but went 10-of-11 from the foul line. He also pulled down 10 rebounds in the thrilling victory.

Terry led the Mavericks with 35 points and dished out eight assists in the win over Phoenix, while forward Josh Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 12 boards.

Dallas is 13-3 at home this season. The Mavericks have won six in a row at American Airlines Center. They will visit Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at the Pepsi Center.

Meanwhile, the Hornets ended a three-game losing streak with Friday's 99-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Devin Brown netted 19 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists off the bench to lead New Orleans/Oklahoma City at the Ford Center. Rasual Butler added 20 points and six boards for the injury-riddled Hornets, who played without Chris Paul (right ankle), Peja Stojakovic (lower back) and David West (right forearm/elbow).

Desmond Mason chipped in 17 points for New Orleans/Oklahoma City, which won for just the second time in its last nine games. The Hornets are 10 games off the lead in the Southwest Division and 5-11 on the road in 2006-07.

Dallas is 2-0 against New Orleans/Oklahoma City this season and has won 19 straight, 22 of the last 28 meetings and 30 of the 42 overall matchups.

The Hornets have lost 10 straight and 11 of their last 12 visits to Dallas.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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