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Bobcats hope to end slide against Suns

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats certainly hope to halt an ugly 10- game skid tonight but maybe Paul Silas' club should just focus on staying competitive when its visits the desert to take on the Phoenix Suns.

The Bobcats are an NBA worst 3-20 and have lost the first two games of a four- game road trip by an average of 38.5 ppg. After falling in Hollywood to the Lakers by 33, Charlotte responded with a 44-point setback in Rip City against Portland.

Gerald Henderson scored 16 points on Wednesday vs. the Blazers while Derrick Brown finished with 12 points for the Bobcats, who shot just 32.1 percent from the field.

"This one's over and we have to move on...it was a bad game for us," Silas understated.

Henderson, the team's leading scorer at 15.0 ppg, strained his hamstring in Portland and is expected to miss two to four weeks of action.

Charlotte, which will finish its trek in Boston on Tuesday, is a dismal 1-12 as the visitor on the season. It has lost 10 straight for the longest slide since a franchise-record 13-game skid from Jan. 11-Feb. 1, 2006.

The Suns are back in the desert following a brief two-game road trip (1-1) and hope to gain a measure of consistency, having lost five of seven and 10 of their last 14 contests.

In a 99-81 loss at Houston last night, Marcin Gortat recorded a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jared Dudley also scored 15 points and Steve Nash provided just six points and handed out nine assists for Phoenix, which made 41 percent of its shots and was outrebounded by a 49-39 margin.

"We came out without any energy and we could never find our rhythm," Gortat said. "They came out strong and with a lot of energy. We were not ready to play either physically or mentally. We didn't have the best effort. I'm trying to do as much as possible and it is very frustrating."

Phoenix hopes to improve on its 4-6 home record tonight.

The Bobcats have actually won four straight over Phoenix and five of six overall. In the Valley of the Sun, Charlotte is 2-5 all-time in its short history.


<< Blazers entertain Nuggets at Rose Garden
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Northwest Division rivals meet in Rip City on Saturday when the Jekyll and Hyde Portland Trail Blazers entertain the well-rounded Denver Nuggets at the Rose Garden. The Blazers have been two different teams this season

<< Hawks host 76ers at Philips Arena
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks will try to bounce back tonight versus the Philadelphia 76ers in the continuation of a four-game homestand. Atlanta had won three straight and nine of 11 games until dropping a 96-77 decision to t

<< Pacers try to stay hot vs. Magic
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers will try to extend their season-high winning streak to five games when they entertain the Orlando Magic tonight in the opener of a modest two-game homestand. Indiana has won four in a row and se

<< Mavs hit the road to Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps a change of scenery will bring different results for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, who will commence a three- game road trip tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The

<< Knicks square off with Nets at MSG
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks will play their third game in as many nights when they entertain the local New Jersey Nets Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have lost the first two of back-to-back-to-back con

Lakers resume trek in Utah >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers will resume a six-game road trip tonight against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. The Lakers have won three in a row and four of five games since a season-high three-game slide and kicke

Clippers kick off trek in Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were named starters on the Western Conference All-Star squad and look to get the Los Angeles Clippers back in the win column tonight against the Washington Wizards. The Clippers will

Kings, Warriors meet again in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state rivals meet for the second time this week when the Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors just finished up a lengthy six-game homestand by beating Sacramento on Tuesday by

Hawks C Collins out at least 2 weeks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins will miss a minimum of two weeks with a sprained left elbow, the team announced Saturday. Collins was injured in the first quarter of Thursday's loss to the Grizzlies. He i

Kvitova, Benesova lift Czechs to lead over Germany >>
Stuttgart, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Petra Kvitova and Iveta Benesova each won three-set thrillers to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over Germany in its Fed Cup quarterfinal. Benesova gave the defending Fed Cup champions

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

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