Rockets try to stay hot on the road in Denver

Basketball Betting Lines

11/30/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets shoot for their fifth straight road win tonight when they take on the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

Houston has won four in row away from home and is 7-3 as the visitor this season. In Saturday's 103-84 victory over the rival San Antonio Spurs in Houston, Luther Head scored 21 points in place of injured star Tracy McGrady, who will miss his third straight game Sunday because of a knee problem. McGrady has been experiencing discomfort and is scheduled to meet with doctors regarding his surgically repaired left knee.

Ron Artest added 16 points and eight rebounds in the victory for the Rockets, who are 1-1 without McGrady and have won four of five overall. Shane Battier netted 15 points while Yao Ming and Rafer Alston each had 12 in the win. Battier is expected to miss Sunday's game because of an ankle issue.

The Nuggets will open a three-game homestand tonight versus Houston, Toronto and San Antonio, and are 5-2 in Denver this season. They have won three of four and seven of their last nine games overall, including last night's 106-97 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

Chauncey Billups recorded a season-high 27 points, including a 12-for-12 showing from the foul line, to lead Denver, which got 25 points and 10 rebounds from star Carmelo Anthony. Linas Kleiza chipped in 15 points and fellow reserve Anthony Carter ended with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Houston and Denver split four meetings a year ago. The Rockets, though, have won three of five and six of the past nine meetings in the series.

The Nuggets have beaten Houston two straight times at the Pepsi Center.

Wwwdonbest Basketball Betting News

<< Nets close out trek at Phoenix
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Nets will wrap up a four-game road trip out west tonight with a showdown against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. New Jersey is 2-1 on the trek after back-to-back wins, including Saturday's 105-88

<< Lakers wrap up homestand vs. Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will try to close out a perfect five-game homestand tonight versus the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. Los Angeles is 4-0 so far on the residency and improved to 8-1 as the host with Fri

<< Sorenstam leads International team to Lexus Cup title
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Annika Sorenstam made her last appearance in an LPGA Tour sponsored event a memorable one. Sorenstam, the International team captain, defeated Asian team captain Se Ri Pak, 3 & 2, as the International t

<< Sweden runs away with World Cup title
Shenzhen, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson teamed to fire a nine-under 63 on Sunday to run away with the title at the World Cup. Sweden completed the event at 27-under-par 261 for the first win f

<< Pampling topples Fraser in Australian Masters playoff
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rod Pampling needed three extra holes Sunday to defeat countryman Marcus Fraser and win the Australian Masters. Fraser got into the clubhouse first after posting a stellar seven-under 65. Pampling card

Sixers aim to snap skid versus Bulls >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will try to snap a three-game losing streak Sunday when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to the Wachovia Center for the opener of a home-and-home series. Philadelphia dropped its third consecutive ga

Blazers open trip against Pistons >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will kick off a five-game road trip this afternoon against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Portland is 4-6 away from the Rose Garden this season and will also visit New York

Rangers welcome Panthers for home-and-home finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will aim for a fourth consecutive victory when they host the Florida Panthers this afternoon at Madison Square Garden in the finale of a home-and-home series. The Rangers, who lead the Atlantic Divisio

Sliding Thrashers invite Blues to town >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Not much has gone right for Atlanta since matching a franchise record with five straight wins earlier this month. The Thrashers will close out their November schedule today as they try to avoid a sixth loss in seven games whe

Stars, Oilers meet in Big D >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling teams will meet today in Texas, as the Dallas Stars welcome the Edmonton Oilers for a battle at American Airlines Center. The Stars are last in the NHL with just 18 points on the year and have lost fo


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.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.