Jazz close out stretch in Oklahoma City
Basketball Betting Lines
02/14/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah just might be a sitting duck when it finishes a
grueling three games in three nights road stretch tonight in Oklahoma City.
The Jazz lost to the Thunder, 101-87, in Salt Lake City last Friday and has
played two games since, a 98-88 win in Memphis on Sunday and an embarrassing
86-80 setback to the lowly Hornets in New Orleans on Monday.
Al Jefferson had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. New
Orleans while Derrick Favors also scored 14 for the Jazz, who have lost six of
their last eight games overall and fell to a Hornets team that had dropped
eight straight and 23 of 25.
Utah coach Tyrone Corbin benched Jefferson and fellow starters Devin Harris,
Raja Bell and Paul Millsap for the entire fourth quarter.
"It's absolutely [disappointing]," Corbin said. "It's everything I thought it
wouldn't be, it happened tonight. We thought we could just show up and win the
ballgame."
"I thought we came out and played pretty well early. Surprisingly, it fell
apart on us," Bell added.
The Thunder, meanwhile, have been resting since topping the Jazz last week
behind All-Star Russell Westbrook's game-high 28 points.
Fellow All-Star Kevin Durant added 19 points and Serge Ibaka contributed a
double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Western Conference-leading
Thunder won three of their last four games to wrap up a five-game road trip
with a 3-2 record.
"We have always been a good bounce-back team after a loss," said Thunder coach
Scott Brooks, who earned the right to coach the Western Conference at the
All-Star Game later this month with the win. "Tonight was a good indication of
how we play. We didn't have a lot of things going for us early. We were
turning the ball over, but we fought, we stuck together and we competed."
OKC has won six straight on its home floor and is a stellar 9-1 at Chesapeake
Energy Arena this season while Utah fell to 3-8 on the road with last's night
setback in NOLA. The Thunder haven't started 10-1 at home since they were the
Seattle SuperSonics back in 2004-05.
"It's just good to be home in our own house, our own city," Brooks told the
Thunder's website. "We're going to be home for a while. That doesn't guarantee
victories. We still have to work on a lot of the things that we need to
improve and play with good energy, but it's nice to be in front of our home
crowd for a while."
Oklahoma City, which plays six of its next seven at home, has won four
consecutive games over the Jazz overall.
<< Lin leads Knicks into Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity goes north of the border this evening when Jeremy
Lin and the New York Knicks shoot for a sixth straight win against the Toronto
Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
One night after netting a career-best 38 points
<< Bulls open homestand against Kings
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back home after a successful and lengthy road trip, the
Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls are scheduled to play their next six
games on familiar territory and will host the Sacramento Kings tonight.
The Bulls own an E
<< Rockets wrap up road trip in Memphis
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets will wrap up a six-game road trip
tonight against the Southwest Division-rival Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
The Rockets are 3-2 on the journey and suffered a 106-97 loss at Golden State
the last ti
<< Spurs resume lengthy trek vs. Pistons
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs are starting to pick up their game on
the road and will resume a nine-game Rodeo Road Trip tonight against the lowly
Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Spurs have won seven in a row ov
<< Heat finish hectic stretch in Indy
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat try to continue one of their best starts in
team history this evening when they visit the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life
Fieldhouse.
Miami kept rolling on Monday, as LeBron James scored 35 points to lead the
Suns, Nuggets clash at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver halted one losing streak on the road in its last
outing and will now try to stop its longest skid at home in nearly a decade
when they play host to the Phoenix Suns.
Ty Lawson scored 27 points on Saturday
Blazers try to halt home skid vs. Wizards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to halt a rare losing
streak at the Rose Garden when they play host to a Washington Wizards team
coming in off its second road victory.
The Blazers had been a gaudy 11-1 in Rip Ci
Hawks commence trek against Lakers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta will kick off a five-game road trip tonight at
Staples Center when they take on a Lakers team returning from its annual
Grammy trek.
The Hawks, who will also visit Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and New
Devils try to bounce back in Buffalo >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils will try to get back in the win
column this evening when they visit the Buffalo Sabres for a clash at First
Niagara Center.
The Devils had won a season-high five straight heading into a two-game
home
Blues roll into Columbus >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues will try to extend their winning streak
to a season-high five games when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets
tonight at Nationwide Arena.
St. Louis is in the midst of its fifth four-game win stre
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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