02/21/2007 -
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel McCoughtry scored 21 points and ripped
down 14 rebounds as 23rd-ranked Louisville crushed Big East foe St. John's,
91-62.
Helen Johnson also scored 21 points while Jazz Covington tallied 17 for the
Cardinals (23-5, 9-5 Big East), who led by just 32-31 at the break before
outscoring St. John's by 28 in the second half to cruise to the victory.
Toni Slaughter contributed 10 points for Louisville while Patrika Barlow
finished with 11 assists.
Monique McLean scored 17 points and Kia Wright posted 14 points and seven
assists for the Red Storm (8-17, 4-10), who shot a respectable 47.9 percent
from the floor but committed 23 turnovers that turned into 28 Louisville
points.
<< Stastny and Avs down Calgary
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Stastny scored two power-play goals during
a high-powered first period and Peter Budaj made 33 saves, as the Colorado
Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, at Pepsi Center.
Milan Hejduk tallied
<< Kruger leads UNLV past No. 14 Air Force
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kruger scored 14 points and added 10
assists to help the UNLV Rebels to a 60-50 victory over the 14th-ranked Air
Force Falcons at Thomas & Mack Center.
Joel Anthony added 10 points and nine re
<< Williams advances to quarters in Memphis
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Seventh-seeded American Venus Williams
advanced into the quarterfinals of the $175,000 Regions Morgan Keegan
Championships and the Cellular South Cup with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over
Denmark
<< Parker and Spurs knock off Denver
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker led a balanced San Antonio
attack with 17 points, as the Spurs routed the Denver Nuggets, 95-80, for
their third straight win.
Manu Ginobili added 14 points and Tim Duncan scored 12 f
<< Koivu lifts Wild over Stars in shootout
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikko Koivu scored the lone goal of the
shootout, as the Minnesota Wild nipped the Dallas Stars, 2-1, at XCel Energy
Center.
Brian Rolston scored in regulation for the Wild, who won for the fourth t
Third-quarter drought dooms Hawks >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta went through the definition of futile
in the third quarter, ending the period without a field goal, as the Chicago
Bulls widened a halftime edge and rolled to a 106-81 rout of the Hawks at the
United
Billups leads Pistons past Bucks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 19 points, as the
Detroit Pistons held on for an 84-83 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee's Mo Williams missed a driving layup in the final seconds of
regulation, and
Happy Returns: Nash leads Phoenix over Clips >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash scored 13 points and dished out
12 assists before spending a large chunk of the second half enjoying his
return to the lineup from the bench, as Phoenix cruised from the outset in a
115-90
Sedin leads Canucks past Ducks in OT >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Sedin scored 2:19 into overtime, as the
Vancouver Canucks won their fifth straight game with a 3-2 decision over the
Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
Kevin Bieksa and Markus Naslund also scored fo
Kings edge Celts >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin scored 22 points as the Kings
held off a late Boston rally to beat the Celtics, 104-101, and continued their
domination in the series.
Ron Artest contributed 18 points, eight rebounds a
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.
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.
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