Spurs battle Nuggets at Pepsi Center

Basketball Betting Lines

12/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs arrive in the Rocky Mountains Thursday to take on the streaking Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

The Spurs dropped their second straight game on Tuesday in San Antonio when Detroit's Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace scored 19 points apiece to lead the Pistons in an 89-77 comeback win over the Spurs.

Tim Duncan scored 23 points and hauled in 13 boards for the Spurs, who have dropped two straight on the heels of a four-game win streak.

Tony Parker added 18 points and Manu Ginobili, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since offseason ankle surgery, 13 in defeat.

The red-hot Nuggets, who are currently 2-0 on a three-game homestand, won their third straight game on Tuesday when Chauncey Billups had 24 points and 14 assists, and Denver crushed the Toronto Raptors, 132-93.

Carmelo Anthony added 23 points and six rebounds, while Nene had 19 points and 11 boards for the Nuggets, who have won three straight and five of six.

J.R. Smith had 14 points, Kenyon Martin 11 and Linas Kleiza 12 in the victory.

Denver topped the Spurs, 91-81, on November 19 in San Antonio and has won three of the past four games in the series. Before that, the Spurs had won five straight over the Nuggets.

The Spurs are winless in their last two trips to the Pepsi Center.

Supercazino Basketball Betting News

<< Cards pick up Greene from Padres
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly acquired shortstop Khalil Greene from the San Diego Padres. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two minor league relievers will be heading the other way i

<< BC Lions release Clermont
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions released slotback Jason Clermont Wednesday night. A first-round draft pick by the Lions in 2002, Clermont has 428 career catches for 5,917 yards, placing him sixth on the club'

<< Hansbrough leads No. 1 UNC in rout of Michigan State
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Hansbrough scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to pace top-ranked North Carolina to a 98-63 blowout of No. 13 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. By the way the Tar Heels (8-0) are

<< Yao fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center. Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei

<< Villanueva leads Bucks over Bulls
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Villanueva scored 23 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 97-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Richard Jefferson added 21 points for the Bucks, who snapped a s

Suns attempt to end skid in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will try to stop a season-high three-game losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Suns dropped their third in a row after Wednesday's

Sun Devils set to tame Tigers in Tempe >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils have an outstanding chance to add another victory to their non-conference record as they host the Jackson State Tigers this evening in Tempe. Jackson State owns a 1-6 over

Top-25 foes clash in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series >>
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what promises to be an outstanding battle of non-conference heavyweights, the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns play host to the 12th-ranked UCLA Bruins this evening in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. UCLA ope

UConn battle Buffalo in upstate New York >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The second-ranked Connecticut Huskies are set to play their first true road game of the season tonight, as the Buffalo Bulls play the role of host team in this non-conference clash. UConn has opened the season

Villanova hosts Houston Baptist at the Pavilion >>
Villanova, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In what appears to be a monumental mismatch, the undefeated and 17th-ranked Villanova Wildcats will play host to the winless Houston Baptist Huskies this evening. Houston Baptist opened the season against a r


Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

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.









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.

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.