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Blazers, Clippers open second half in Rose CityBasketball Betting Lines02/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers hope to have All-Star Brandon Roy in the lineup when they get back to work against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at the Rose Garden. Roy, the Trail Blazers' leading scorer at 23.1 points per game, has missed the team's last 12 games as well as the All-Star Game since re-injuring his hamstring in a 98-90 win at Philadelphia on Jan. 20. Prior to a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 6, the team announced Roy would miss the final three games before the break in addition to the All-Star game but general manager Kevin Pritchard sounded hopeful Roy would return soon afterwards. "We're hopeful that this extended rest will put Brandon in the best possible position to return to the lineup shortly after the All-Star break," Pritchard said at the time. The Blazers are just 5-7 since losing Roy but are holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and entered the break on a positive note when Steve Blake recorded season-highs of 20 points and 12 assists last Wednesday, as Portland held off a late Phoenix rally to hand the Suns a 108-101 defeat at US Airways Center. LaMarcus Aldridge had a team-high 22 points and Andre Miller checked in with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, helping Portland snap a two-game skid and run its winning streak against Phoenix to four games. The Clippers, meanwhile, are still searching for their first win since interim coach Kim Hughes took over the team after Mike Dunleavy stepped down. Rookie Stephen Curry picked up the slack in the absence of leading scorer Monta Ellis, notching his first ever triple-double with 36 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds last Wednesday, as Golden State routed Los Angeles, 132-102, to halt a nine-game losing streak. Al Thornton had 18 points, while Rasual Butler and Eric Gordon each scored 16 for the Clippers, who have dropped four straight and eight of their last nine games overall. Clippers All-Star center Chris Kaman, averaging a career-high 20.0 points and 8.9 rebounds, made his All-Star debut on Sunday, scoring four points with three rebounds as the injury replacement for Roy. LA snapped a four-game skid to Portland with a 105-95 win at Staples Center on Jan. 4.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana Should be in: Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it? Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel. Work left to do: Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third. Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim. Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either. Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim. For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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