Lakers begin tough stretch in Milwaukee
Basketball Betting Lines
01/28/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off halting a three-game skid, the Los Angeles Lakers
will begin a tough stretch tonight in Milwaukee in which they will play eight
of nine games on the road.
Kobe Bryant netted 24 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists on
Wednesday as the Lakers squeaked past the rival Clippers, 96-91, at Staples
Center.
Pau Gasol contributed a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and
Andrew Bynum had 19 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, who have now
beaten the Clippers nine consecutive times when tabbed as the host.
Rookie Andrew Goudelock had a career-high 14 off the bench and Metta World
Peace dished out a season-high seven assists.
"I thought our guys played a good game," Lakers head coach Mike Brown said.
"We got a lot of production from a lot of different guys. The Clippers are a
good team, they're athletic and they have a lot of talent. I applaud our guys
for trying to defend out there."
The Lakers, however, are just 1-6 away from SoCal so far and this stretch
could very well define their season. After tonight's game LA will visit
Minnesota before making a short stop home to face off with Charlotte. Brown's
team will then hit the road for six straight starting in Denver.
The Bucks, meanwhile, fell in Chicago on Friday, 107-100, after learning they
would be without their best player, center Andrew Bogut, for up to three
months.
Bogut left Wednesday's game in Houston with what was originally called a left
ankle sprain. However, Milwaukee general manager John Hammond confirmed that
the big man fractured the ankle on Friday through the club's Twitter account.
"This morning in Milwaukee, Andrew had additional diagnostic tests performed
on his left ankle. The results of the testing confirmed a left ankle fracture
which will keep Bogut sidelined for a period of 8-to-12 weeks."
The Bucks stayed competitive against the mighty Bulls without Bogut but
Derrick Rose proved to be too much in the end, pouring in a season-high 34
points to lead the Bulls.
Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee with 25 points and seven rebounds, while Drew
Gooden, replacing Bogut in the starting lineup, added 23 points and 15 boards.
Jon Leuer added a season-high 19 points.
Chicago really ratcheted up its defensive effort in the third quarter, forcing
the Bucks to shoot just 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) in the frame.
"They were coming out hard on the pick-and-rolls and doubling me a little bit
more," Jennings said of the Bulls' defensive effort. "I wasn't able to come
off the pick-and-roll like I was in the first half."
Milwaukee snapped a six-game skid to the Lakers with a 98-79 win at Staples
Center last season.
<< Grizzlies finish road trip in the desert vs. Suns
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies hope to finish a four-game road trip
on a winning note Saturday when they pay a visit to the struggling Phoenix
Suns.
The Grizzlies started their trek in a positive fashion, winning at Golden
State b
<< Jimmer returns to SLC when Kings visit Jazz
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmer Fredette will return to Utah Saturday as the
Sacramento Kings attempt to put the brakes on a three-game skid when they open
up a brief two-game road trip against the Jazz.
The Kings were blown out in their last enco
<< Knicks limp into Houston to face Rockets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A Carmelo Anthony-less New York team limps into South
Texas on Saturday to face off with the red-hot Houston Rockets.
The Knicks lost for the eighth time in nine games and fell to 1-2 on a four-
game road trip Saturday in
<< Sixers resume lengthy homestand against struggling Pistons
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will resume a season-long seven-game
homestand tonight by welcoming the struggling Detroit Pistons to Wells Fargo
Center.
The Sixers improved to 2-1 on the residency Friday when Lou Williams scored 1
<< Tiger, Rock share lead in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiger Woods and Robert Rock
posted matching rounds of six-under 66 Saturday to move atop the leaderboard
after three rounds of the Abu Dhabi Championship.
The duo ended 54 holes at 11-und
Wizards try to conjure up a road win in Charlotte >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eastern Conference's worst two teams square off for the
second time this week Saturday when the Charlotte Bobcats play host to the
Washington Wizards.
The Bobcats are coming off an awful performance in Philadelphia on
Braves and Bluejays mix it up in MVC action >>
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams at opposite ends of the Missouri Valley
Conference standings meet for the second time in three weeks tonight, as the
Bradley Braves have made the trip to Omaha to challenge the 15th-ranked
Creighton Blueja
Panthers come to Murray seeking upset of 11th-ranked Racers >>
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 11th-ranked Murray State Racers continue the
greatest season in school history when they entertain Ohio Valley Conference
foe Eastern Illinois tonight at CFSB Arena in Kentucky.
Eastern Illinois is hoping to
Villanova plays host to No. 17 Marquette >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to exact some revenge for an
earlier defeat this season, the Villanova Wildcats will try to knock off the
17th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles when the two teams hook up for a Big East
Conference clash
Kansas heads to Ames for Big 12 clash with Iowa State >>
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winners of 10 straight, the seventh-ranked Kansas
Jayhawks continue their run through the Big 12, as the take on the Iowa State
Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum this afternoon.
Bill Self's Jayhawks haven't lost since a
Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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