Colonials face tall task in clash with Panthers
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/08/2010 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Panthers take a break from their Big East Conference schedule this evening to battle the Robert Morris Colonials of the Northeast Conference at the Petersen Events Center in the Steel City.
Robert Morris enters this tilt playing its best ball of the season, as the club has won its last nine games to move to 16-8 overall and 11-1 in league action. The Colonials are fresh off Saturday's 75-63 triumph over St. Francis (PA), and the hope tonight is that the club can improve a 6-5 road record. Robert Morris has played only one other Big East Conference opponent this season, as the club was crushed in the opener by Syracuse, 100-60.
Pittsburgh carried a two-game skid into Saturday's clash with Seton Hall, and the Panthers had lost four of their last five entering that showdown. Fortunately, they knocked off the Pirates by an 83-58 final to move to 17-6 overall and 7-4 in conference. There is reason for confidence tonight, as they are 12-1 at home thus far.
The Panthers beat up on the Colonials last season by a 92-72 final and have won all 27 of all-time meetings with Robert Morris. Furthermore, Pitt is 65-0 versus Northeast Conference members.
Through 24 games, Robert Morris is scoring 69.7 ppg while allowing 68.1 ppg to opponents. Obviously, a differential of +1.6 ppg is surprisingly low for a team that has won twice as many games as it has lost, but lopsided non- conference losses like the one to Syracuse help explain the numbers. Karon Abraham is the only double-digit scorer in the fold for the Colonials, as he is netting 12.9 ppg on the strength of his 45.9 percent shooting from three- point range. In the recent triumph over St. Francis (PA), Abraham scored 14 points, while Velton Jones pitched in 13 points and five assists. As for Dallas Green, he posted 12 points and eight boards for the Colonials, who shot 64.1 percent from the field while limiting their overmatched opponent to 31.3 percent shooting.
Gilbert Brown scored 23 points off the bench to lead Pittsburgh to the easy victory over Seton hall two days ago. Jermaine Dixon netted 15 points, Brad Wanamaker tallied 13 points and seven assists, while Gary McGhee finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers. They also got 11 points from Ashton Gibbs, and the team shot 51.7 percent overall while holding the Pirates to 35.7 percent efficiency. Pitt earned a 39-30 rebounding advantage and finished with 20 assists against only nine turnovers. Gibbs continues to lead Pitt in scoring with 16.3 ppg, and Wanamaker provides 12.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Brown (11.3 ppg) and Dixon (10.1 ppg) round out the productive foursome for the Panthers, who are limiting opponents to 60.6 ppg on 39.4 percent shooting from the field. The team is mediocre offensively in regard to output, as it is generating 67.4 ppg.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs face the toughest test of their annual Rodeo Road Trip when they face the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center tonight. Each year around this time the Spurs hit the road
<< Mavs kick off road trip in Oakland vs. Warriors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southwest Division-leading Dallas Mavericks will hit
the road for three games starting with Monday's contest against the Golden
State Warriors at ORACLE Arena.
Dallas will also visit Denver and Oklahoma City on the roa
<< Magic, Hornets collide in Orlando
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic hope to carry the momentum from their big
win at Boston into tonight's home tilt versus the New Orleans Hornets at Amway
Arena.
Orlando posted a 96-89 triumph over the Celtics on Sunday at TD Garden, as
<< Missed opportunities cost Colts
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peyton Manning was one quarter away from
capturing his second Super Bowl title in four years, but the four-time league
MVP didn't get enough support from his teammates, and in the end a costly
interce
<< Brees brings home MVP to the Big Easy
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a city that has struggled in both the world of
sports and in day-to-day life, Drew Brees has brought a smile to the faces of
the New Orleans residents.
The party will be rocking for the next few days in the B
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off their first Big East Conference loss of the season, the Villanova Wildcats will attempt to get back on track in Morgantown against the West Virginia Mountaineers this evening. Villanova dropped a 1
Jayhawks and Longhorns duke it out in Austin >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Big 12 heavyweights collide in Austin
this evening, as the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks take on the ninth-ranked Texas
Longhorns from the Frank Erwin Center.
Bill Self's Jayhawks sit atop the Big 12 stan
Ramblers try to cool off red-hot Bulldogs >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The red-hot Butler Bulldogs continue their
run at a perfect Horizon League campaign tonight, as they host the Loyola
Chicago Ramblers at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Bulldogs are enjoying another terrific season
Giguere seeks to continue hot streak as Leafs host Sharks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs will test themselves
tonight against the top team in the Western Conference, as they host the San
Jose Sharks at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs ended January on a six-game losing streak
Avs resume homestand with visit from Blues >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to forge a tie atop the
Northwest Division standings tonight, when they welcome the St. Louis Blues
for a battle at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche have 70 points and are two behind idle Vancouv
With all the style and sex appeal of Las Vegas, MySportsbook.com is without a doubt the coolest online sportsbook on the Internet.
At MySportsbook.com, players get to enjoy the luxury of a five star sportsbook, a racebook that's second to none, a casino with all the bells and whistles, and a swanky new poker room!
MySportsbook also has a unique games room where players can go head-to-head for cash playing such things as sports trivia and fantasy games, popular arcade games, word and memory games, and more.
Throughout MySportsbook, visitors and members are treated to informative sports news and sports betting stats Sports matchup reports and sports betting trends as well as entertaining columns written by colorful personalities.
The management at MySportsbook has been in the online gaming business since 1997. As a result of this success, management has earned a coveted spot on eGaming Review's "Power 50" list, which recognizes leaders in online gaming.
With MySportsbook.com , management's goal is to provide players with an exciting place to experience the thrill of gaming in a safe and trustworthy environment.
Thus, players at MySportsbook are assured of getting top notch customer service while having a wickedly good time.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
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
Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.